News > Freight brings great opportunities for the West Midlands
Growth in rail freight brings great opportunities for the West Midlands
21 Jun 2012
The West Midlands has the perfect opportunity to reopen a Black Country railway line and take advantage of the UK’s booming rail freight market, says the chief executive of the region’s transport authority.
Latest figures from the Rail Freight Group reveal the volume of UK rail freight has grown 10 per cent in 2011/12.
The UK’s rail freight sector currently generates £6bn of economic benefits per year.
Centro chief executive Geoff Inskip believes the West Midlands is perfectly poised to take advantage of this growth and enjoy the economic and environmental benefits.
“Growth in rail freight is great news for our region and highlights the importance of re-opening the Walsall-Stourbridge railway line for freight,” he said.
Centro, through the emerging rail strategy and freight strategy, the Black Country LEP and the West Midlands Regional Rail Forum have all highlighted the re-opening of the line as a key priority to support the regional economy and provide additional capacity for rail freight growth.
The line would encourage new or existing companies to build new freight terminals, at potential locations such as Bescot, bringing jobs and investment into the Black Country.
The Walsall - Stourbridge freight line would form a key link in a strategic UK freight network and provide a realistic alternative to the M5 – M6 / M42 corridors, helping to reduce congestion on core roads through the region.
Mr Inskip said the importance of freight was a key factor in regional support for high speed rail (HS2).
“HS2 will be a passenger line, but it will release significant capacity on our existing lines for an increase in passenger and freight services. The West Coast Main Line carries more than 50% of all rail freight in the country. More capacity is required to manage the ongoing growth forecast in rail freight.”
Centro is also working on plans to use stretches of the line for so-called Tram-Trains - specially designed passenger vehicles capable of running on both heavy and light rail tracks. This could link Stourbridge with Wednesbury with the option of Tram-Trains connecting with the existing Metro line.
The reopening would also provide the opportunity to divert rail freight services away from central Birmingham releasing capacity for new passenger services on routes such as the Camp Hill line in south Birmingham and the Tamworth line through Castle Bromwich.
He said the environmental benefits of transferring freight from road to rail were often overlooked with road congestion costing the West Midlands economy £2.2bn per year.
“It makes a compelling argument for more rail freight and our region has to seize this opportunity,” Mr Inskip added.
Latest figures from the Rail Freight Group reveal the volume of UK rail freight has grown 10 per cent in 2011/12.
The UK’s rail freight sector currently generates £6bn of economic benefits per year.
Centro chief executive Geoff Inskip believes the West Midlands is perfectly poised to take advantage of this growth and enjoy the economic and environmental benefits.
“Growth in rail freight is great news for our region and highlights the importance of re-opening the Walsall-Stourbridge railway line for freight,” he said.
Centro, through the emerging rail strategy and freight strategy, the Black Country LEP and the West Midlands Regional Rail Forum have all highlighted the re-opening of the line as a key priority to support the regional economy and provide additional capacity for rail freight growth.
The line would encourage new or existing companies to build new freight terminals, at potential locations such as Bescot, bringing jobs and investment into the Black Country.
The Walsall - Stourbridge freight line would form a key link in a strategic UK freight network and provide a realistic alternative to the M5 – M6 / M42 corridors, helping to reduce congestion on core roads through the region.
Mr Inskip said the importance of freight was a key factor in regional support for high speed rail (HS2).
“HS2 will be a passenger line, but it will release significant capacity on our existing lines for an increase in passenger and freight services. The West Coast Main Line carries more than 50% of all rail freight in the country. More capacity is required to manage the ongoing growth forecast in rail freight.”
Centro is also working on plans to use stretches of the line for so-called Tram-Trains - specially designed passenger vehicles capable of running on both heavy and light rail tracks. This could link Stourbridge with Wednesbury with the option of Tram-Trains connecting with the existing Metro line.
The reopening would also provide the opportunity to divert rail freight services away from central Birmingham releasing capacity for new passenger services on routes such as the Camp Hill line in south Birmingham and the Tamworth line through Castle Bromwich.
He said the environmental benefits of transferring freight from road to rail were often overlooked with road congestion costing the West Midlands economy £2.2bn per year.
“It makes a compelling argument for more rail freight and our region has to seize this opportunity,” Mr Inskip added.
