Villiers calls on leaders to support £32bn rail plans
Transport minister Theresa Villiers has urged business leaders in the Midlands to make their voices heard if they want the government’s plan for a £32bn high-speed rail network to go ahead.
She told Insider: “For years, governments have tried to address the north/south divide, but this is going to provide the most effective way to deal with that than anything that’s been tried over the past half century.”
Villiers was speaking to Insider in Manchester to brief public and private sector leaders on the government’s proposals for the line. The Department for Transport has estimated that the Y-shaped network would generate economic benefits of around £44bn and fare revenues of about £27bn over a 60-year period.
The first phase of the HS2 network would be built from London to Birmingham, with a second phase on to Manchester and Leeds. Journey times between Birmingham and London would be cut to 49 minutes.
Villiers said: “All the economists predict that demand for travel between our cities is going to grow dramatically. There’s also a broad consensus that the West Coast Mainline is going to be full to bursting by the mid-2020s. We’ve got to start making the preparation now to address the capacity issues of the future.”
Although local authority leaders and business groups across the North have lobbied heavily for the plans to go ahead, opposition is mounting south of Birmingham. In a letter sent to Insider last week, the Chiltern Countryside Group said it was “seeking to hold [its] arguments in an evidence-based manner and look[ed] to the government to do the same”.
The government is currently holding a public consultation on its proposals for high speed rail which runs until 29 July. Villiers said business leaders who support the plans now have to make their voices heard.
“There’s concern about the government’s plans in areas affected,” she said. “We’re going to be doing our very best to mitigate the environmental impact of the line, but we also need to make sure that those who stand to benefit from the line make it very clear.
“We need a fair debate and make sure it’s not just the people that are affected by the line who are hears, but also the people who are going to benefit.”
Alison Munro, the chief executive of HS2, the company set up by the government to consider the case for new high speed rail services, echoed Villiers’ calls. She told Insider: “It’s important that those who will benefit from the line make their voices heard. We’re aiming to make people aware of the consultation and aware of the opportunities that high speed rail will bring.
“Something needs to be done – if it’s not this then something else has to tackle the capacity issues. But it’s more than just a transport investment – it can help to alter the economic landscape of the country.”
Villiers added that the government would continue to work with Network Rail over its £530m Northern Hub plans – a scheme which is backed by Insider – and said HS2 “doesn’t have to crowd out” other investment in railway infrastructure.
