A huge infrastructure project, which will improve rail services across the Midlands and provide more than 3,500 safeguarded jobs. The construction will create 2,880 jobs, with a further 720 new jobs being created to run the rail services. The Midlands Engine Rail programme will vastly increase the capacity of the region's railways as well as providing a faster and more frequent rail service.
The development is composed of seven schemes and it will deliver 736 extra passenger services a day to more than 60 stations across the UK, adding 30 million seats on the railway each year. Including the flagship Midland Rail Hub providing Birmingham Airport Connectivity which is a scheme to improve the railway connectivity between Coventry and Birmingham International stations.
Sir John Peace the Midlands Connect chairman said "What's really positive about Midlands Engine Rail is that as well as boosting train travel, by creating 30 million extra passenger seats every year, it will also create and safeguard thousands of jobs. This series of projects will create a construction and engineering boom that will support critical sectors of the economy and protect skilled jobs."
He added: "We are awaiting the release of the Integrated Rail Plan to understand Government's rail priorities in the Midlands, but our research is clear: this investment in our region would be worth every single penny."
Andy Street, the Mayor of the West Midlands, said "The transport benefits from the Midlands Engine Rail proposals, particularly the Midlands Rail Hub, have always been clear – more train journeys, a better-connected region, and reduced carbon emissions. But now for the first time we're also able to see the impact these proposals will have on jobs in the region".
