Staffordshire Rail Strategy April 2016 Draft DRAFT FOR CONSIDERATION BY PROSPEROUS STAFFORDSHIRE SELECT COMMITTEE Contents Page 1. Introduction 1 2. Economic Growth 5 3. Passenger Rail Services (Local, Regional and 8 Long Distance) 4. HS2 and HS2 Local Connectivity 15 5. Rail Stations as Gateways 21 6. Rail Freight 26 7. Making it Happen 32 Contact Us 1. Introduction Overview It is essential for Staffordshire to establish its key priorities in terms of rail if the This Rail Strategy sets out the role of County Council and its partners are to Staffordshire’s rail network now and in the achieve their ambitions and ensure that future. It is objective led and sets out the Staffordshire enjoys a rail service that challenges and opportunities facing meets both current and future needs. Staffordshire’s rail network together with how this can be addressed. The Rail Strategy will therefore: The Strategy considers the needs of both • Provide a sound basis to effectively passengers and freight and builds on respond to national consultations existing plans including the rail industry’s including re-franchising. Long Term Planning Process. A suite of technical documents that provide further • Provide a clear set of priorities to detail and support for this Strategy are enable available investment available from opportunities to be maximised. www.staffordshire.gov.uk/transport/transp ortplanning/localtransportplan/railstrategy. • aspx Take advantage of any emerging opportunities such as entrepreneurial Whilst the focus of the Strategy is long private enterprise and open access term – through to the mid 2020s and opportunities. beyond, the Strategy will also identify short-term goals and will therefore include • Help shape the devolution proposals short, medium and long-term action plans. for West Midlands Rail and Rail North, providing greater accountability and This Rail Strategy will remain a fluid decision-making in relation to local rail document that will be updated on a regular services. basis to ensure it remains fit for purpose and reflects the County Council’s priorities • Help shape the industry’s Long Term for investment. Planning Process for future investment in the rail network. Context • Help provide the best possible It is recognised that better connectivity is opportunities to gain access to the an enabler of growth and prosperity and existing and future National and therefore forms a key element of the European High Speed Passenger County Council’s Strategic Plan vision. In Network. addition, one of the Council’s top strategic priority outcomes is to be able to access • Help plan for the best use of released more good jobs and feel the benefits of capacity on the classic network upon economic growth. Rail will be a key driver completion of HS2. in achieving these ambitions. Figure 1 demonstrates how delivering the In 2014/15 over 10.3 Rail Strategy for Staffordshire will integrate with and influence wider policy million people used rail and strategy, and support the securing of greater investment and economic growth stations in Staffordshire in Staffordshire. Page 1 Figure 1: Integration and Influence of Staffordshire Rail Strategy Geographic Scope Birmingham is just a 38-minute journey from Stafford Rail Station. Other main Staffordshire is uniquely placed at the stations within Staffordshire include Burton centre of the country’s rail network, upon Trent which lies on the Cross located on key transport arteries and Country Route between Birmingham and corridors, giving easy access to large Derby, and Tamworth which is served by economic centres such as Manchester both the WCML and the Cross Country and the North West, Birmingham, the East Route. There are 19 local rail stations in Midlands and the South East. The West the area that offer varying degrees of Coast Main Line (WCML) runs north to connectivity to both local destinations and south through the county, providing those further afield. frequent connections to London, Manchester and Liverpool. Figure 2 shows the average journey times to Birmingham, Manchester and London. Rail Staffordshire’s rail network plays an Patronage important role in the movement of freight and is located at the centre of some has important regional and national routes, increased in with good connections to a number of freight terminals. The most important Staffordshire freight route for Staffordshire is the by 74% WCML, one of the country’s principal routes with over 50 freight trains operating since 2006/07 along it per day in each direction. Page 2 Staffordshire County Council is also a member of the North Staffordshire Community Rail Partnership which works to promote and develop the Crewe-Derby Route which is also known as the North Staffordshire Line. Figure 2: Average Peak Journey Times to Birmingham, Manchester and London Page 3 Vision Rail Vision is available from: www.staffordshire.gov.uk/transport/transp A well-connected, modern, safe, ortplanning/locatransportplan/railstrategy.a affordable, reliable, attractive and low spx) carbon rail network that allows businesses, people and goods to connect Objectives efficiently and effectively with each other, whilst playing a central role in supporting To achieve the vision, Staffordshire the economic growth of Staffordshire. County Council has adopted a series of objectives that are summarised in Figure 3, with greater detail provided in each The vision which underpins this Strategy individual section. has been developed through extensive consultation undertaken with the public, It is important to note that these objectives the rail industry, LEPs and local interest cannot be considered in isolation and groups (further information regarding the individual measures to achieve these consultation undertaken in developing the objectives will still be subject to meeting the appropriate deliverability, affordability and value for money criteria. Figure 3: Staffordshire Rail Strategy Framework Page 4 2. Economic Growth The Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire Staffordshire is home to a strong set of Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) aims businesses in key industrial sectors. The to grow the economy by 50% and manufacturing heritage of the area and generate 50,000 jobs in the next 10 years recent renaissance driven by advanced – 50:50:10. manufacturing industries has led to the growth of a number of niche sectors across Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire, • Staffordshire is home to numerous particularly within: internationally-renowned businesses including: General • Energy Generation and Distribution Electric (GE), Coors, JCB, Jaguar • Automotive / Aerospace Land Rover, Moog and Zytek. • Medical Technologies • The area is home to a buoyant • Agri Tech Small and Medium Sized • Applied Materials Enterprise (SME) sector, making a significant contribution to growth. Growth in exports has been particularly • Inward investment performance strong in the West Midlands over the last has been strong in recent years, couple of years and emphasises the with notable investment including, opportunities presented by manufacturing Jaguar Land Rover and Amazon. industries. • The rural nature of large parts of the area has helped generate significant levels of growth as Exports have increased greater numbers of companies by over choose to relocate to out-of-town locations. £5.9bn year on The LEP’s Strategic Economic Plan (SEP) year in is based on a twin track approach comprising both sector and place-led the West growth with five central objectives: Midlands (2012 to 2014) Core City Region This is a vast increase when compared Connected County with any other area in the UK. Good connectivity to national and international markets will clearly be important if this Competitive Urban Centres growth in exports, a national priority, is to continue. Sector Growth The focus on advanced manufacturing is complemented with a longer-term interest in strengthening the important sectors of Skilled Workforce tourism and leisure, business and professional services. Tourism and leisure currently accounts for more than: Page 5 HS2 hub stations and planned 23,000 jobs in enhancements to local and national connectivity. This is already being Staffordshire and 20 considered through the Northern Gateway Development Zone proposal and Midlands million plus people Connect. Work is also under way to consider how the benefits of HS2 can be visiting Stoke-on- maximised and environmental implications minimised throughout the county. Trent and Therefore, there are significant opportunities for growth that lie beyond the Staffordshire every Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire boundaries, including towards year Manchester, Liverpool and Derby, and significantly to the south into Birmingham The area is home to a large number of and the Black Country. attractions including Alton Towers Resort, Drayton Manor Theme Park and the A certain amount of this business and SnowDome, while there is significant housing growth is likely to be in addition to opportunity to build upon the area’s growth already planned around the sporting and leisure attractions such as strategic centres in the county including at those in the Peak District and Cannock Stafford, Burton upon Trent, Cannock, Chase. Enabling people to easily access Lichfield, Tamworth and Newcastle-under- these attractions in a sustainable manner Lyme as well as Stoke-on-Trent. will clearly be vital in supporting this growth. Along with the centres, the SEP has developed the idea of a growth triangle – a The number of households within the area series of routes linking Staffordshire’s is predicted to rise over the coming years, strategic employment sites which will and an important element of economic enable further rapid economic growth in growth is ensuring that appropriate the peri-urban areas and also underpin housing is available in the right locations. economic ties to the markets beyond Based on current local plans, the SEP Staffordshire’s borders. These vital quotes that around 3,370 homes are corridors include the M6/WCML spine, the proposed to be built across all local A5/M6 Toll Enterprise Belt and the authorities in Staffordshire and Stoke-on- A38/A50 Eastern Links. Trent on an annual basis.