Written evidence from Birmingham City
Council (HSR 67)
BIRMINGHAM CITY COUNCIL'S POSITION ON HIGH
SPEED RAIL DEVELOPMENT
1.1 Birmingham City Council unanimously welcomes
the Government's plans for HS2. At its meeting of 11 January 2011,
the Council voted to welcome plans to bring High Speed Rail—HS2—to
the centre of Birmingham and resolved to work with other local
authorities to promote the benefits of the proposals, noting:
— its
potential to free up capacity on the West Coast Main Line, creating
new routes such as Walsall to Birmingham International;
— that
an independent economic study has suggested it could generate
10,000 to 22,0000 extra jobs in the West Midlands conurbation
and an increase in economic output of between £600 million
to £1.5 billion;
— that
the benefits of improved transport links will flow to the wider
region, especially member authorities of the Birmingham and Solihull
Local Enterprise Partnership;
— that
the success of the project will require improved connectivity
in the city centre, especially linking New Street, Moor Street
and the proposed new Curzon Street station, to make the centre
a friendly and convenient interchange for passengers from throughout
the region;
— that
HS2 will provide a swift land route, not only to London and other
strategic commercial and industrial centres, but to Europe as
well.
1.2 The Council further welcomed government commitment
to continued investment in other major city centre projects such
as New Street Gateway, and called upon the Executive to:
— set
out proposals for a step change in connectivity at the time of
High Speed Rail beginning operation; and
— continue
to ensure that Birmingham plays a full part in preparing the way
for HS2 by working practically and strategically with Centro (Integrated
Transport Authority), operators and other relevant agencies/bodies
on, for instance improving City Centre transport links and encouraging
HS2 passengers to use public transport and walkable routes, recognising
that a city Congestion Strategy is essential if journeys to the
new station are not to be longer than the HSR's 49 minute journey
time to London.
1.3 Officers and Members of the Council have
been working with Greengauge 21, the Department for Transport
and HS2 Ltd over the past three years to initially promote the
concept and to develop the proposals.
1.4 There are regular meetings, led by the City
Council, of the West Midlands Regional High Speed Two Steering
Group. This was established by the Regional Development Agency,
Advantage West Midlands in 2009 in order to bring together metropolitan
and shire local authorities, both for and against HS2, to exchange
information and ensure promotion of the issues in an even handed
manner.
2. The strategic significance of High Speed
Rail to economic development in Birmingham
2.1 Birmingham has long recognised that its commitment
to driving economic growth in the Midlands is dependent upon maintaining
and enhancing its strategic location at the heart of the UK transport
networks. The strategic significance of this connectivity is reflected
both in Birmingham's Big City Plan and the emerging Growth Strategy
for the Greater Birmingham and Solihull Local Enterprise Partnership.
2.2 Evidence from Network Rail's Route Utilisation
Strategies and from forecasts prepared for the Department of Transport
suggests that the West Coast Mainline will reach full capacity
by the mid 2020s, and that there is a compelling case for enhancing
the inter-city rail network to deliver substantially increased
capacity and improved performance.
2.3 Failure to invest would result in a very
real risk that local and regional services will be pushed off
the West Coast Main Line to make way for more profitable intercity
services and that would hit hundreds of thousands of regional
commuters and shorter distance travellers. It would also damage
local economies and stifle economic growth and job creation.
2.4 Building HS2 will, however, release badly
needed capacity on the classic rail network. In the West Midlands,
this would allow increased service frequencies to local destinations
such as Lichfield and Tamworth, supporting the emerging Growth
Strategy of the Greater Birmingham and Solihull LEP which envisages
enhanced internal connectivity as being key to harnessing the
collective economic strengths of the area and driving forward
productivity. HS2 will also open up opportunities for more regional
rail services, linking towns currently without direct services.
2.5 We are mindful of the Centre for Policy Studies
Report "Conditions for Growth" which focuses on how
government policy can help to improve the UK's emergence from
recession. It highlights that whilst public investment in the
UK is planned to be around the OECD average for 2010 onwards,
it was historically among the lowest from 2000-07. This study
highlights the importance of not cutting investment in areas such
as infrastructure, which will help facilitate growth in the future.
As a "global city with a local heart", Birmingham feels
strongly that investing in the international competitiveness of
UK PLC is critical to securing good quality of life for our residents.
2.6 We believe that the business case published
by the Department for Transport provides a conservative estimate
of the benefits of the scheme. For example, we are aware that
long-distance intercity travel has grown at 5% a year, more than
doubling between 1994-95 and 2009-10, whilst the Department for
Transport business case is based upon projections of an increase
in passenger demand of only 1.4% per year.[83]
3. Why the alternatives are not acceptable
3.1 A national high-speed network would provide
the best value for money solution to the capacity challenge. A
new railway will deliver a step-change in capacity and reliability
that cannot be matched by upgrading the existing network. Providing
a high-speed railway line will substantially reduce journey times
between our major cities, benefiting passengers and thereby delivering
a much better economic return than lower-speed alternatives.
3.2 In this matter, we share the view set out
in the findings of research undertaken by Atkins for the department
of Transport in 2009 and 2010; for the Strategic Rail Authority
in 2003; Network Rail's New Lines Programme and Greengauge 21's
2009 Fast Forward Programme.
3.3 The modernisation of the West Coast Main
Line, which cost £8.8 billion, resulted in nine years of
delay and disruption, and still failed to deliver the level of
enhanced capacity needed, is still fresh in our minds. As we strive
to promote Birmingham as the best place to do business, this is
a scenario we do not wish to see repeated.
3.4 In contrast, HS1 was built to time and to
budget.
3.5 Other modes of transport—air and road—cannot
deliver the additional capacity needed without environmental costs
and increased carbon emissions.
4. Why commitment is needed to a national
high-speed network
4.1 Birmingham supports the findings of Greengauge
21's research that there is an excellent case for a national high
speed rail network which will deliver economic benefits and improved
connectivity across all parts of Britain, and that there should
be a long-term strategy for its delivery and implementation in
phases, along the lines of the planning and development of the
national motorway network from the 1950s onwards.
4.2 As an active member of the Core Cities network
supporting HS2, Birmingham, along with Bristol, Cardiff, Edinburgh,
Glasgow, Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester, Newcastle, Nottingham and
Sheffield, recognise the collective potential of UK cities to
drive Britain's economic recovery. A step change in the speed
and quality of rail connections between our cities is a key ingredient
in achieving this potential.
4.3 Recent independent forecasts[84]
have demonstrated that the new Core Cities' Local Enterprise partnership
areas are capable of producing an additional 1 million jobs and
£44 billion of Gross Value Added over the next ten years,
dependent on influencing a number of growth factors, including
infrastructure.
5. Economic rebalancing and equity—why
High Speed Rail is needed to bring prosperity to the Midlands
5.1 The enhanced connectivity to London and the
South-East; and to the northern cities is critical to giving our
local economy a boost. HS2 will reduce journey times between major
cities to below the critical one hour, enhancing leisure, business
and commuting activities. At present, London is well connected
to the continent by HS1 and to several international airports.
Birmingham City Council wishes to see through services to HS1,
making continental trips by rail more attractive and delivering
significant carbon savings.
5.2 The opportunities for concentrated development
around the station sites will be grasped. Both the Birmingham
City Centre location and the Birmingham Airport/M42 location are
encompassed by the Greater Birmingham and Solihull LEP's emerging
Growth Strategy. Whilst the jobs which come to these locations
will attract applicants from a wide area, we will take specific
measures to ensure that opportunities are accessible to people
from local communities where worklessness is high.
5.3 Local investment will be needed in access
infrastructure, people movers and feeder services. The cost of
this should not fall solely on local tax payers and we believe
that it is appropriate that the Government should seek support
from the EU's TEN-T programme, especially given the European Union's
commitment to the development of a Trans-European High-Speed Rail
Network.
6. Wider Impacts
6.1 We share the Government's commitment to reducing
carbon emissions from transport. Whilst we believe that more needs
to be done, for example in reducing the carbon emissions associated
with electricity generation, to reduce the carbon footprint of
future rail travel, current projections would appear to suggest
that moving one seat one kilometre at 225 mph creates no more
carbon than the current Pendolino fleet at 125 mph. Decarbonisation
of the UK's electricity supply will bring further benefits. Creating
a step change in rail capacity to accommodate future growth is
essential. Analysis by ATOC for Greengauge 21 has demonstrated
that a journey by high speed rail today would generate only one-third
of the CO2 emissions of a comparable car journey and
one-quarter the emissions of a comparable journey by air; the
advantages of HSR will only improve in future.
6.2 Ensuring that local transport networks are
developed to ensure that door-to-door journey times by public
transport and active modes will contribute to realising these
benefits.
6.3 Noise impacts on people and properties close
to the line of route remain in some measure uncertain. HS1's impact
has been masked to some extent by the route passing close to existing
busy roads— similar to the proposed HS2 route into Birmingham.
Noise is, understandably, a source of concern to local residents.
Joint working between HS2 Ltd and the Highways Agency will be
needed to understand and mitigate the combined train and traffic
noise.
May 2011
83 Greengauge21, HS2-why the critics are wrong 2010 Back
84
Oxford Economics "Our Cities, Our Future" Core Cities
2011 Back
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