All I Want for Christmas is...Midlands Transport Investment!

Thanks for all your help and support in 2018

No. 32- December 2018

The Midlands Connect team took a day off from the world of transport earlier this month and spent the day packing more than 1,000 Christmas shoeboxes for Operation Christmas Child. Hundreds of thousands of shoeboxes filled with presents make their way to war torn countries all over the world each year.

A Christmas thank you

As we head towards the end of what has been a busy and eventful year for Midlands Connect, we want to thank all of the partner organisations, industry professionals, interest groups, politicians and members of the public who’ve contributed to our plans to improve  transport in the Midlands.

2019 is already looking bigger and busier still, with major progress on our Midlands Rail Hub and A46 corridor projects, as well as new studies being published on the important A5 and A50/A500 corridors.

With the region continuing to pull together to speak with one voice, we can turn our evidence in to investment. We wish you all a peaceful Christmas, and a productive new year.

Miles covered by parcel delivery vans on the region’s roads hits all-time high

If you’re anything like us, you’ll be feverishly ordering last minute Christmas presents online this week, hoping they arrive through your letterbox before Christmas Day. As a nation, we’re ordering more parcels than ever before, and we've found that it's leading to a big increase in delivery vans on Midlands roads.

Research compiled by Midlands Connect found so-called Light Commercial Vehicles (LCVs) travelled 8.8 BILLION miles across the Midlands in 2017, 1.3 billion miles (17.3%) more than in 2008.

Driven by rising demand for parcel deliveries, the presence of vans on the Midlands’ roads is expected to keep rising, with light goods traffic forecast to grow ten times faster than heavy goods vehicles between 2015 and 2050.

Online shopping and parcel deliveries are also fuelling a rise in freight movements at East Midlands Airport, the UK’s busiest for dedicated air-freight. Goods are handled at the airport by DHL, UPS, FedEx/TNT and Royal Mail, with 356,000 tonnes of cargo passing through each year – growing by almost 10% a year. The October-December period, including Black Friday and Christmas, is typically the airport’s busiest.

Sir John Peace, Chairman, Midlands Connect, said: “The freight industry and retailers are rightly embracing new technology to become more efficient. This must go hand in hand with proper investment in road and rail networks across the country, and especially in the Midlands, to improve the reliability and resilience of our trade routes. We must look at the opportunities and the threats posed by our changing consumer habits, and future-proof our infrastructure accordingly.”

With freight increasingly important to the Midlands economy, and with congestion set to cost the UK £307 billion by 2030, The Freight Transport Association is backing Midlands Connect’s call for a long-term plan that addresses the need for a recognised, multi-modal approach to national freight strategy.

Chris Yarsley, Freight Transport Association’s Policy Manager for the Midlands, said: “The Freight Transport Association strongly welcomes what Midlands Connect is doing and is always concerned that connectivity to our ports - both sea and air - always operates to optimal levels; to be a world leader in logistics, the UK needs world class infrastructure.”

Midlands Connect calls for specific regional funding allocations for new Major Road Network

The Department for Transport released its Investment Planning Guidance for the Major Road Network earlier this week.

The new middle tier of the country's busiest and most economically important local authority 'A' Roads is a welcome opportunity for Sub-National Transport Bodies to guide and influence significant government funding in to the Midlands, but we are concerned its implementation could risk capping the benefits.

Midlands Connect Director Maria Machancoses said:

We are pleased the Department for Transport (DfT) has confirmed the important role Sub-national Transport Bodies (STBs) like Midlands Connect have in developing the Major Road Network (MRN).  By filling the gap between national and local transport authorities, STBs are best placed to develop a compelling Regional Evidence Base to champion schemes with the biggest economic potential.

However, Midlands Connect is concerned that each region is being asked to submit its top 10 priority schemes, regardless of an area’s relative size, population or economic significance. This arbitrary number limits ambition and risks unnecessarily capping the potential benefits of this welcome new funding stream. 

Instead, Midlands Connect is calling on the government to provide specific regional funding allocations, in line with the government’s own Rebalancing Toolkit, which was designed to ensure local schemes boost the economy across the whole country.

We have also called for a development budget to support local authorities to prepare business cases for their MRN schemes. Without this support, councils with already squeezed budgets may find it difficult to provide the evidence necessary to get a project off the ground.

We agree that formalising this middle tier of the country’s busiest and most economically important local authority ‘A’ roads, sitting between the national strategic road network and the rest of the local road network, will help reduce congestion, boost economic growth, support new housing development and future-proof the UK’s transport network.

In 2019 Midlands Connect will continue to work with local and central government, Highways England and other STBs to submit a five year programme of investment-ready schemes for the MRN, including shovel-ready proposals that could begin construction in 2020. We will also continue to make the case for greater regional influence over the scope, scale and implementation of the MRN to ensure we get a fair deal for the Midlands.

Last chance for businesses close to the A5 to have their say on improvement plan

If you’re a business based close to the A5 in the Midlands, we want to hear from you. We’re working to understand the importance of the A5 to shape our investment and development plans for this strategic east-west route.

The A5 is a key freight corridor and, with the right investment, could become a resilient alternative to the congested motorway network.  

The survey is here - it won't take long and there’s a £30 Amazon voucher up for grabs for one lucky respondent.

So if you’re based in Coventry, Leicestershire, Shropshire, Staffordshire or Warwickshire, we want to hear from you! The survey closes in January, so be quick!

Quick read: Midlands Connect Director Maria Machancoses writes in Transport Times: The road to investment…

Swift travel card teams up with Google in UK first

Midlands Connect is proud to have helped fund a UK first in smart ticketing – with West Midlands Metro the first public transport service to allow passengers to buy a ticket using Google Pay on their smartphone.

The trial is available to the first 500 West Midlands Metro passengers to sign up to the new Swift on Mobile travel app, initially available as one day, one week and four week passes, ahead of full roll out across the tram network in 2019.

Longer term, Transport for West Midlands is working with its technology partners and bus and rail operators to bring Swift on Mobile to other forms of public transport.

Midlands Connect is looking to further develop the technology across the wider Midlands region.

Maria Machancoses, Midlands Connect director said: “There is huge potential to replicate this model in other parts of the Midlands. “Our long-term aspiration is to work with local authorities to allow seamless travel across the Midlands, between different modes of transport.”  

Want to find out more? Watch this short video...

Midlands Connect responds to resignation of HS2 Chairman Sir Terry Morgan

Architects' plans for HS2 Curzon Street Station, Birmingham

Following the resignation of HS2 Ltd Chairman last month, Maria Machancoses, Director of Midlands Connect, called again for leaders to get behind the project to ensure it’s completed in its entirety:

“HS2 is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to revolutionise our transport network and rebalance the UK economy. Birmingham and the West Midlands have already enjoyed significant benefits from HS2: accelerated economic development, more people and businesses locating here and a swathe of other inward investment. 

“HS2 is a very long term project, so it will inevitably change in leadership and personnel over the next 15 years. The most important thing is that we complete HS2 on time and in its entirety, spreading its benefits across the Midlands and the North. We mustn’t allow short term changes to distract from the long term goals of improving capacity, connectivity and the customer experience on our railways, as well as fostering skills and economic growth.

“As civic and industry leaders, we all have a responsibility to work together to provide ongoing, vocal support for this game-changing infrastructure project.”

Rail Sector Deal recognises need for "local solutions to local challenges" 

Earlier this month the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy published its Rail Sector Deal

The Rail Sector Deal rightly recognises the value brought by local solutions to local challenges, a principle at the heart of the Midlands Connect and Midlands Engine strategies. 

We will continue to work with the UK’s rail experts to ensure our plans future-proof the Midlands’ rail network, are informed by comprehensive data, are appropriately costed, and are deliverable in terms of skills, resource and timescales.

We therefore welcome the deal’s three pilot schemes in the Midlands: a rail data platform to provide a complete picture of the user experience, a programme supporting high potential SMEs in the supply chain, and a skills programme on shared apprenticeships and schools engagement.

We share this deal’s focus on the potential of the railway as a driver of economic growth, and the importance of making the Midlands’ already highly competitive supply chain more focused, efficient and productive through investment in skills and capital.

Impact of Brexit first on agenda of new Midlands Engine Economic Observatory

Midlands Engine and Midlands Connect Chairman Sir John Peace launches the economic observatory at Birmingham University last month

An assessment of the potential impact of Brexit on the Midlands' different industrial sectors is one of the first tasks of a new Midlands Engine Economic Observatory, launched last month.

The powerful new economic observatory will provide valuable data and insight, allowing the Midlands Engine Partnership to target resource in the most effective ways to present the evidence to Government on the best ways to accelerate growth in the £207bn economy.

The Observatory will also help the delivery of the strategic programmes within the Midlands Engine, including the transport arm Midlands Connect, trade and investment, skills, innovation and enterprise, and shaping places.

 

Communities Secretary Rt Hon James Brokenshire MP, who is also the Government’s Midlands Engine Champion, said: “Collaboration is at the heart of delivering our modern Industrial Strategy and an economy which works for everyone, so I’m proud to see two of the region’s great universities come together with the Midlands Engine Partnership and other local experts to develop a rich picture of the Midlands economy.

“I look forward to seeing the analysis produced by the Observatory and continuing to work with our partners across the region to deliver our vision for a strong and prosperous Midlands Engine as we leave the European Union.”

Sir John Peace, Chairman of the Midlands Engine, added: “The Observatory will help us develop a crucial piece of the evidence base when we make decisions or present our case to Government.

“We need to develop a greater granular knowledge of our economy if we are to exploit our strengths in the Midlands and increase our productivity. Also it is important that we are ready for what lies ahead – the Observatory will provide us with this vital information at a sub-regional level.”

MPs back Midlands Connect plans for North Staffordshire during Westminster rail debate

MPs held a Westminster Hall debate last month to discuss rail services in North Staffordshire. You can watch the highlights in the video above.

Many of them backed Midlands Connect’s commitment to doubling services on the often unreliable Crewe-Stoke-Derby line, including Stoke-on-Trent South MP Jack Brereton and Stoke-on-Trent Central MP Gareth Snell.

Rail Minister Andrew Jones acknowledged the work we're doing to advance improvements on the line, which our research shows could increase usage by 72%, improving east-west links and access to future HS2 services.

Out and About

22nd January, Oxford Cambridge Corridor Development Conference, MK Dons Stadium, Milton Keynes

24th January, Birmingham Development Plans, Council House, Birmingham

Hosting an event? Email us the details to mcadmin@midlandsconnect.uk and we would be happy to include it in our newsletter. We can also provide speakers and members of the team to come along if you feel this would be beneficial for your event.

If you have any other queries, please do not hesitate to contact us at mcadmin@midlandsconnect.uk or drop us a tweet @midsconnect

Further details of our work and news stories can be found at our website www.midlandsconnect.uk

Next monthly update due – January 2019. Merry Christmas and a happy new year!