Midlands Connect in Leicester and Leicestershire

About Midlands Connect

Midlands Connect is a partnership of Local Authories, 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 naonal 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 idenfies transport connecvity improvements across the region to resolve key issues and maximise long-term economic growth in the Midlands.

Two main objecves underpin the Strategy: Naonal Space Centre, Leicester

1. We are speaking together with ‘One Voice’ to ensure the Leicester and Leicestershire: Home to… Midlands reaches a unified posion on strategic transport investment; and • The largest logiscs park in Europe, Magna 2. All potenal investments have been reached by an ‘evidenced Park in Luerworth, which nestles in the approach’ focused on clearly arculang the transport needs, centre of the Golden Triangle for Logiscs in opportunies, and investment priories for the region. This technical analysis enables us to shape our priories for the Midlands investment over the next 15-20 years. • East Midlands Airport, a key internaonal connecvity gateway and the UK’s second largest air freight hub

• MIRA Technology Park Enterprise Zone which hosts leading companies such as Aston Marn, Connental 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 iniaves and infrastructure to accelerate economic growth and to improve the quality of journeys for residents, visitors, and businesses in the Midlands and beyond.

1 of 4 Midlands Connect in Leicester and Leicestershire: Growth and Schemes

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 idenfied 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 Connecvity; nowhere is this more required than between Coventry and Leicester; two growing cies with very poor rail connecons and a road link that is oen 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 . Exisng Commitments Key Components of the Midlands Connect Strategy in Leicester and Leicestershire Commied developments through NUCKLE will increase rail capacity between Leamington and Exisng Commitments Coventry, a key component to improving access • Increased rail capacity between Coventry and Nuneaton between Leicester and Coventry. We also ancipate in • Midland Mainline upgrade and electrificaon this me an upgrade to the Midland Mainline will take • M1 (J19-23a) Smart Motorway place including electrificaon on the route. The M1, between juncons 19 and 23a is currently being HS2 upgraded to Smart Motorway standard. • Developing plans for HS2 Released Capacity • HS2 Integraon between exisng rail and HS2 in the Toton area The implementaon of HS2 will unlock addional • Ensuring Access to Toton – A42 mul modal study capacity with the proposed interchange at Toton Early Priories located close to the region. By 2030, it is ancipated • Development of enhanced business case for rail between that growth in ‘highly sensive’ HS2 sectors will be Leamington and Leicester captured across the Midlands. As such, it is imperave • Development of the A46 corridor – inial work between that such areas are well connected to HS2 and the M40 and Syston Midlands Mainline in the Toton area to maximise the • Midlands Rail Hub economic benefits. Released capacity on the exisng • Major Road Network Development network will also will also impact on this region. • Midlands Motorway Hub • Acve role in technology and smart ckeng • Development of the A5 Corridor from A38 to M1

Longer Term Intervenons • A46 – further corridor development • Further support for access to Felixstowe • Trials for connected passenger and freight autonomous vehicles • Improved direct rail connecons from East Midlands to the Thames Valley

2 of 4 Midlands Connect in Leicester and Leicestershire: Schemes, Hubs and Corridors

Midlands Connect Strategic Economic Hubs and Corridors Early Priories

The Rail Hub will enable an addional 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 idenfy a preferred opon 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 addional 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 alternave 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 enrety, there are tremendous opportunies 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 Intervenons

We have idenfied longer-term investment priories for the LEP region in view of constraints on what can be taken forward within the industry and, for some, the potenal scale, complexity, and cost of the intervenons. 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.

3 of 4 Midlands Connect in Leicester and Leicestershire: Going Forward

The Supporng Evidence

The Midlands Region is worth over £220 billion to the UK economy and is home to several naonal strengths; including advanced manufacturing, food technology and freight. Leicestershire is known for its logiscs firms with Magna Park in Luerworth, providing an addional 11,000 jobs. The LEP is also well-posioned in the educaon sector, hosng the second largest science park in the country, not to menon the MIRA Technology Park Enterprise Zone, which is ancipated to become a global centre for transport research and development. As such, it is a good locaon 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 posion to boost economic growth.

Next Steps Midlands Connect has been awarded £17 million to connue 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 intervenons idenfied 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 informaon 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) A full suite of documents is Garry Sco (Leicester City Council) available on our website: Andrew Pritchard (East Midlands Council) www.midlandsconnect.uk

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