Chamber anger at piecemeal rail investment for North East

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John McCabe, chief executive, North East England Chamber of Commerce said: “Today’s announcement gives us some recognition for our Fast Track East Coast and Northumberland rail campaign but it is still a huge missed opportunity for our region.  The benefits of this piecemeal investment will be hugely diluted by cancelling HS2 and detailed Northern Powerhouse Rail plans.  Speed is not the problem with our region’s rail network. We need more capacity and reliability of services more urgently.

“The Government’s integrated rail plan fails to deliver on the levelling up agenda and give much-need commitment to transformational projects for the North. Without the full delivery of Northern Powerhouse Rail, the eastern leg of HS2 and improved capacity on the East Coast Main Line our region’s potential will continue to be held back by out-dated rail infrastructure.

“This is especially disappointing after COP26 and the need to shift travel from road to rail to meet net zero targets. Media reports have said that there could now be more than 12,000 extra car journeys a day in the North of England due to the poor rail connections in the North causing congestion and harming air quality.

“Rail connections are key for the North East’s businesses helping to encourage more trade between northern cities, as well as giving people a wider choice of employment opportunities, encouraging people to stay and work in the region.

“The Government had previously committed to Northern Powerhouse Rail and set up bodies like Transport for the North to advise on rail connectivity. Failing to listen to them and Northern leaders on the need to invest demonstrates that there is a lag between rhetoric and action on levelling up.

“I am urgently requesting a meeting with the relevant ministers to raise our members’ concerns directly and begin discussions on how we might salvage something from any future transport policy. The Government’s entire levelling up credibility is at stake here.”

Chamber comment on HS2 update

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Mark Thurston, Chief Executive of HS2 said in his update to the transport select committee that they had been told by the Department for Transport to only focus on the western leg of HS2.

Chamber policy adviser, Marianne O’Sullivan comments:

“It is deeply concerning to hear that the eastern leg of HS2 may be scaled back or scrapped. Doing so will increase regional disparities and do nothing to improve rail connections in the region. We need both the east and west sections completed to truly level up the North’s rail infrastructure.

“The North East has faced historic under-investment in its transport network. Better connections will increase productivity and help to encourage more trade between northern cities as well as giving people a wider choice of employment opportunities, encouraging them to stay and work in the region.

“The Government must publish its Integrated Rail Plan immediately and commit to the eastern leg of HS2, Northern Powerhouse Rail and upgrades to the East Coast Main Line.

“Without investment our region’s potential will continue to be held back by out-dated infrastructure. We need Government to be ambitious in its ‘build back better’ programme and commit to investing in transformational projects for the North to build a truly fair recovery.”

North East leaders urge Government to invest in regional rail links

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A powerful group of North East business and political leaders has written to Government urging it to make investment in the East Coast Main Line an urgent priority.

The letter to the Transport Secretary Grant Shapps sets out the substantial economic advantages to improving capacity along the crowded route from Northallerton to Berwick.

Signed by James Ramsbotham, chief executive, North East England Chamber of Commerce on behalf of businesses, local authorities and Northern Powerhouse Partnerships, in the letter he said: “We are writing to you united to make the urgent case for investment in the East Coast Main Line as part of the Government’s Integrated Rail Plan. This funding will show that the Government truly is committed to investing in the North and the levelling up agenda as part of the recovery process.

We need HS2 and Northern Powerhouse Rail delivered, along with investment in regional links to tackle decades of underinvestment in the North East’s rail links.”

Capacity issues on the East Coast Main Line, which has only one track north, and one south are a key concern. The letter highlights how upgrades can be delivered through reinstating the Leamside line in full and upgrading the line between Northallerton and Norton and the Stillington line as land is already available on which to run new track. The letter also highlights the Durham Coast line and investment in local links connecting from the East Coast Main Line to the whole of the North East.

Councillor Martin Gannon, Chair of the North East Joint Transport Committee, said: “North East business and political leaders are fully united in this call for investment in the East Coast Main Line including the reopening of the Leamside Line in full. This is a crucial priority for our region and it is imperative that the government acts now.

“We urgently need to increase capacity on the East Coast Main Line which would deliver significant economic benefits across our region. As it stands, the East Coast Main Line is too slow and unreliable, and it simply doesn’t offer the capacity we need on this vital connection, now or in the future. As well as solving capacity constraints on the East Coast Main Line, a reopened Leamside Line could enable the introduction of local passenger services and extensions to the Metro, so its importance cannot be overstated.

“The North East Joint Transport Committee strongly urge Government to commit to upgrade the East Coast Main Line in the upcoming Integrated Rail Plan (IRP), including the full reopening of the Leamside Line. We continue to work closely with key partners to push for this long-overdue investment.”

Chamber comments on National Infrastructure Commission’s ‘Rail Needs Assessment’

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Whilst it is positive to see the East Coast Mainline and regional stations highlighted in the National Infrastructure’s report the North East shouldn’t have to choose between investment in these or HS2 and Northern Powerhouse Rail.

Improvements to Darlington and Middlesbrough stations have been highlighted by the Commission as quick wins to increase capacity and help to deliver more services along with the Northumberland Line scheme to provide connections between Newcastle and Ashington.

The East Coast Main Line was highlighted by the Commission as a key route, we need to see a major upgrade to the route north of York with a focus on improving capacity. The reinstatement of the disused Leamside Line coupled with upgrades for the existing East Coast Main Line, including between Northallerton and Norton will help to increase capacity and reliability on the route.

We need to see the Government commit to upgrading existing lines, improving regional links in the North and investing in long distance links to link the North and Midlands to the rest of the country.

We need HS2 Eastern leg in full and Northern Powerhouse Rail delivered along with investment in regional links to tackle decades of underinvestment in the North East’s rail links. HS2 and Northern Powerhouse Rail are essential to increase capacity and create reliable rail connections across the North.

With the government now set to publish an Integrated Rail Plan in 2021 it is essential that Northern Powerhouse Rail, the HS2 Eastern Leg, and upgrading the East Coast Main Line in the North East are all included. In order to achieve its levelling up agenda and increase productivity the Government needs to invest to increase capacity and create reliable, sustainable connections for the North East.

View the National Infrastructure’s report here.

Chamber strongly welcomes green light for HS2

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North East England Chamber of Commerce has campaigned vigorously for HS2 to be given the go-ahead and strongly welcomes the Government’s decision today.

Rachel Anderson, Chamber assistant director of policy said: “We strongly welcome the go-ahead for this £12b investment for its positive impact on our future connectivity around the North with the rest of the country.

“This decision to approve HS2 is also extremely important for the economy of the UK. It will support many SMEs in particular in the transport, engineering and construction sectors to get back on their feet after the devastating impact of Coronavirus.

HS2’s full release is below

HS2 CEO welcomes Government approval to issue Notice to Proceed

Following on from the publication of the Oakervee Review and the Government’s decision in February to continue with the HS2 project, today (Wednesday 15 April) the Department for Transport (DfT) has given approval for HS2 Ltd to issue Notice to Proceed (NtP) to the four Main Works Civils Contractors working on the project – SCS Railways, Align JV, EKFB JV, and BBV JV – to commence full detailed design and construction of Phase One of the HS2 railway (the route from London – West Midlands).

To date, the contracts between HS2 Ltd and the Main Works Civils Contractors (MWCC) for Phase One have focused on undertaking scheme design and site preparation (including pricing and scoping) for the civils work. The issuing of NtP marks the point in the MWCC contracts where the work transitions from scheme design and preparatory work, to full detailed design and construction. 

Mark Thurston, CEO of HS2 Ltd, said:

“In these difficult times, today’s announcement represents both an immediate boost to the construction industry – and the many millions of UK jobs that the industry supports – and an important investment in Britain’s future: levelling up the country, improving our transport network and changing the way we travel to help bring down carbon emissions and improve air quality for the next generation.”

HS2 Ltd awarding the contracts to four MWCCs is the next significant step of Phase One of the project. An estimated 400,000 supply chain contract opportunities for UK businesses will be created during Phase One of HS2, supporting thousands of jobs on site and many more around the country. It is estimated that around 95% of those contract opportunities will be won by UK based businesses and around two thirds of those will be small and medium sized businesses.

Mark Thurston continued:

“HS2 has been over ten years in development and design. While the country’s focus is rightly on defeating COVID-19, the issuing of Notice to Proceed today ensures that our contractors and their supply chains have the confidence that they can commit to building HS2, generating thousands of skilled jobs across the country as we recover from the pandemic.”  

The MWCCs will start work immediately, progressing detailed design, site preparation works and placing important sub-contracts. Our contractors are continuously reviewing their ability to work within Public Health England guidelines to ensure the health, safety and wellbeing of our workforce and the communities in which we are working.

The HS2 railway is a significant investment both in the near and longer-term economic health of the country. At this crucial time HS2 is ‘shovel-ready’ and will drive investment right across our country. Cities including Birmingham, Leeds and Manchester are already benefitting several years before the railway opens. Once operational, HS2 will serve over 25 stations connecting around 30 million people. HS2 will significantly improve connectivity in the North and Midlands and will also integrate the existing network serving stations into Scotland, creating 500,000 extra jobs and 90,000 homes around HS2 stations.