Midlands Connect in Leicester and Leicestershire · Midlands Connect in Leicester and...
Transcript of Midlands Connect in Leicester and Leicestershire · Midlands Connect in Leicester and...
Midlands Connect in Leicester and Leicestershire
About Midlands Connect
Midlands Connect is a partnership of Local Authori�es, Local
Enterprise Partnerships, two airports, the Chambers of Commerce,
Highways England, HS2 Ltd, Network Rail and the Department for
Transport.
Our transport network serves several markets, commuters and freight,
visitors and business, local, regional, and na�onal traffic traverses our
roads and rails. For many years the region has been underfunded in
terms of transport development and we need to act now to ensure that
we don’t become a blockage for not just the region – but the whole of
the UK.
Midlands Connect has developed a Strategy which iden�fies transport
connec�vity improvements across the region to resolve key issues and
maximise long-term economic growth in the Midlands.
Two main objec�ves underpin the Strategy:
1. We are speaking together with ‘One Voice’ to ensure the
Midlands reaches a unified posi�on on strategic transport
investment; and
2. All poten�al investments have been reached by an ‘evidenced
approach’ focused on clearly ar�cula�ng the transport needs,
opportuni�es, and investment priori�es for the region. This
technical analysis enables us to shape our priori�es for
investment over the next 15-20 years.
Leicester and Leicestershire: Home to…
• The largest logis�cs park in Europe, Magna
Park in Lu5erworth, which nestles in the
centre of the Golden Triangle for Logis�cs in
the Midlands
• East Midlands Airport, a key interna�onal
connec�vity gateway and the UK’s second
largest air freight hub
• MIRA Technology Park Enterprise Zone which
hosts leading companies such as Aston Mar�n,
Con�nental and Bosch, is prime to become a
global centre for transport Research and
Development
Our Strategy, published in March 2017, includes our
full programme for investment in transport ini�a�ves
and infrastructure to accelerate economic growth and
to improve the quality of journeys for residents,
visitors, and businesses in the Midlands and beyond.
Na�onal Space Centre, Leicester
1 of 4
Growth in the Region
The Leicester and Leicestershire LEP area is captured in the Leicester and Coventry Strategic Economic Hub and sits on two
of the corridors Midlands Connect have iden�fied likely to experience ‘intensive growth’. These corridors - developed from
work with regional businesses and the LEPs recognised growth sites - connect our economic hubs, both to each other and
to other hubs outside our region. If we improve transport links in these corridors our investment will be doubled in
business growth and returns.
Throughout the Strategy, we stress the importance of improving East-West Connec�vity; nowhere is this more required
than between Coventry and Leicester; two growing ci�es with very poor rail connec�ons and a road link that is oAen
congested with traffic.
Further to this, Midlands Connect, with the support of Local Authority, LEP and airport partners, as well as the DfT, will
aspire to achieve a step-change in travel speed, reliability, convenience, and cost. Working closely with our partners to
progress the Strategy will ensure the investment in our strategic network runs in tandem with appropriate local
investment, to maximise the benefits.
Key Components of the Midlands Connect
Strategy in Leicester and Leicestershire
Exis�ng Commitments
• Increased rail capacity between Coventry and Nuneaton
• Midland Mainline upgrade and electrifica�on
• M1 (J19-23a) Smart Motorway
HS2
• Developing plans for HS2 Released Capacity
• Integra�on between exis�ng rail and HS2 in the Toton
area
• Ensuring Access to Toton – A42 mul� modal study
Early Priori�es
• Development of enhanced business case for rail between
Leamington and Leicester
• Development of the A46 corridor – ini�al work between
M40 and Syston
• Midlands Rail Hub
• Major Road Network Development
• Midlands Motorway Hub
• Ac�ve role in technology and smart �cke�ng
• Development of the A5 Corridor from A38 to M1
Longer Term Interven�ons
• A46 – further corridor development
• Further support for access to Felixstowe
• Trials for connected passenger and freight autonomous
vehicles
• Improved direct rail connec�ons from East Midlands to
the Thames Valley
Midlands Connect in Leicester and Leicestershire:
Growth and Schemes
Exis�ng Commitments
Commi5ed developments through NUCKLE will
increase rail capacity between Leamington and
Coventry, a key component to improving access
between Leicester and Coventry. We also an�cipate in
this �me an upgrade to the Midland Mainline will take
place including electrifica�on on the route. The M1,
between junc�ons 19 and 23a is currently being
upgraded to Smart Motorway standard.
HS2
The implementa�on of HS2 will unlock addi�onal
capacity with the proposed interchange at Toton
located close to the region. By 2030, it is an�cipated
that growth in ‘highly sensi�ve’ HS2 sectors will be
captured across the Midlands. As such, it is impera�ve
that such areas are well connected to HS2 and the
Midlands Mainline in the Toton area to maximise the
economic benefits. Released capacity on the exis�ng
network will also will also impact on this region.
2 of 4
Midlands Connect in Leicester and Leicestershire:
Schemes, Hubs and Corridors
Early Priori�es
The Rail Hub will enable an addi�onal 10 trains an hour across the Midlands, our immediate work will look at where
these services should serve. Money from the DfT has already been ring-fenced to develop this work.
Going forward, Midlands Connect will iden�fy a preferred op�on for a direct rail service between Coventry and
Leicester to build and accommodate growth on this corridor. To achieve extra services to the Thames Valley addi�onal
track capacity between Kenilworth and Coventry is required.
The Motorway Hub work will look at the resilience of our network and our dependence upon the M42/M5/M6 box. The
work will look at the best way to use this network and how to strengthen alterna�ve routes. The A46 route which
stretches from Lincolnshire to Gloucestershire is a road which up �ll now has been ignored in its role as a strategic
corridor. By looking at the route in its en�rety, there are tremendous opportuni�es to remove traffic from the already
congested motorway networks. The link between the M40 and Syston will be looked at as a priority. Alongside this
further work will be undertaken in the development of a business case to upgrade the A5 from the A38 to the M1.
Longer Term Interven�ons
We have iden�fied longer-term investment priori�es for the LEP region in view of constraints on what can be taken
forward within the industry and, for some, the poten�al scale, complexity, and cost of the interven�ons. Further work
will be undertaken to have direct rail services from the East Midlands to the Thames Valley, as well as improved access
through our region to Felixstowe.
As part of the long term proposals we look to double service frequency and enhance journey �mes between
Birmingham and Leicester, from two trains per hour to four and to just 40 minutes.
Midlands Connect Strategic Economic Hubs and Corridors
3 of 4
Midlands Connect in Leicester and Leicestershire:
Going Forward
The Suppor�ng Evidence
The Midlands Region is worth over £220 billion to the UK economy and is home to several na�onal strengths; including
advanced manufacturing, food technology and freight. Leicestershire is known for its logis�cs firms with Magna Park in
Lu5erworth, providing an addi�onal 11,000 jobs. The LEP is also well-posi�oned in the educa�on sector, hos�ng the
second largest science park in the country, not to men�on the MIRA Technology Park Enterprise Zone, which is an�cipated
to become a global centre for transport research and development. As such, it is a good loca�on for investment.
The Strategy is supported by a significant technical evidence base which is available on the website
www.midlandsconnect.uk. We have worked with Highways England, HS2 Ltd and Network Rail to ensure that our
�mescales work in line with theirs and that the we act together to ensure that the Midlands is in a prime posi�on to boost
economic growth.
Next Steps
Midlands Connect has been
awarded £17 million to
con�nue our work from
2017 – 2020. This is a huge
vote of confidence for
Midlands Connect from the
Government, and will allow
us to pursue development
of the interven�ons
iden�fied within the
Strategy. Further details on
this plan will be made
available later in 2017.
Right: Forward Planning
with Highways England,
HS2 Ltd and Network Rail
Contact Details
For any further informa�on about Midlands Connect please contact the team on [email protected] or
0121 214 7023
Key contacts within the Leicester and Leicestershire LEP area include;
Phil Crossland (Leicestershire County Council)
Garry Sco; (Leicester City Council)
Andrew Pritchard (East Midlands Council)
A full suite of documents is
available on our website:
www.midlandsconnect.uk
4 of 4