NEWS
Friday 21st February 2020
@redbricknews
05
Prime Minister Visits Birmingham to Celebrate HS2 Go-Ahead Adam Toms News Reporter
The Prime Minister Boris Johnson visited the site of Birmingham’s Curzon Street Station to celebrate his formal approval of HS2, stating that the project will be ‘truly fantastic’ for the whole country. Birmingham will act as the heart of the multi billion pound rail development thought to be operating in Birmingham by 2028/29. Boris Johnson gave HS2 the green light on 11th February as the government made its final decision after a report was leaked regarding a potential doubling of the project’s budget. The report suggests that 2011 costing predictions of £50 billion
may yet double to £106 billion. Days before his statement to the commons, the PM had suggested his advocacy of the scheme by stating that one must ‘keep digging’ the hole which HS2 has created. The high speed rail network will reduce journey times from Leeds, Manchester, and Birmingham to London and vice versa. The PM hopes it will also create jobs, assist the fight against climate change, increase overall rail capacity – particularly needed in the north – and help with his aim of ‘level[ing] up’ neglected regions in the midlands and the north. West Midlands mayor Andy Street is a keen advocate of this policy and, along with many Birmingham MPs, has publicly
implored Johnson to approve the One woman told Redbrick that rail scheme. she was ‘really excited’ due to the Since the approval he has possibility of Birmingham reiterated how he thinks being able to rival media the scheme is worth cities like London and every penny, citing Salford. the channel tunnel Whereas, a and motorway homeless man said networks when he thought the emphasising how project was ‘disThe estimated cost our ancestors also gusting, we’ve got of HS2 after underwent costly enough trains in revisions of the 2011 B i r m i n g h a m . ’ infrastructure figures projects. Money should be He also stated spent on ‘places for that what people in the homeless.’ Birmingham will get Moreover, another man ,‘very quickly actually, is jobs replied ‘No’ when asked if the from this.’ project is worth the money and Although, public thoughts suggested money should also go given to Redbrick outside to ‘smaller places i.e. Swindon’ Birmingham New Street Station rather than ‘bigger cities.’ were more varied. Dominic Cummings, the PM’s
£50-106bn
chief advisor, concurs and believes that HS2 only benefits already affluent cities with ‘left behind’ towns feeling aggrieved. The Tories need to consolidate their hold over voters there before the next election. Cummings called HS2 a ‘disaster zone’ days before Johnson formally approved the project and HS2’s green light has been seen as a blow to Cummings’ formidable reputation. After the PM's announcement on the future of HS2, the Chancellor Sajid Javid resigned after he rejected No. 10's request for him to sack his advisory team in No. 11. Javid was then replaced by Johnson with Rishi Sunak former Chief Secretary to the Treasury during Javid's time as Chancellor.
West Midlands Mayor Issues Warning to WMR Over Franchise Future Charlie Young News Reporter
Andy Street, the Conservative mayor of the West Midlands combined authority, has issued warnings to West Midland Trains that it must continue to improve its rail operations, or risk losing its franchise after an ultimatum given in December claiming rail commuters have had a ‘torrid time.’ The government has since appealed for the train operator to invest £20m in improving rail services in the West Midlands. In December Mr. Street issued WMT an ultimatum that should it not dramatically improve the performance of its rail operations significantly, he would implore the government to strip the franchise of its contract. This was in reference to long-standing complaints by commuters of the state
Wikipedia Commons
of rail services in the West Midlands, with cancellations, delays and overcrowded trains a mainstay, with one survey showing 65% of passengers reporting disrupted services between October and December. The Mayor has hailed improvements made in January, with cancellations down from 1351 in December to 203 in January and 34% of passengers reporting disruption according to the same survey carried out at the behest of Mr. Street. His letter to the Transport Secretary, Grant Shapps MP, also praised the decision by WTM to hire 46 new drivers and 40 new guards, in addition to other measures which have helped alleviate the situation. However, he maintains ‘very serious concerns’ and has made clear that although these improvements have held off the threats made by this ultimatum, this progress must
be kept up. Street used his involvement in the improvements to call for the government to honour the Conservative election pledge to devolve rail powers, claiming he has demonstrated the ‘clear effectiveness of a mayor holding a rail firm to account.’ The government in turn bid WTM and its parent company, Abellio, to invest up to £20m improving services, with the money to be spent on improving timetables, increased driver and guard recruitment and reductions in some fares such as off-peak and season ticket renewals. This comes in the wake of the recent move from the government to strip Northern Rail of its contract and renationalise the franchise. Politicians had called for an end to the Northern Rail franchise due to its poor service delivery.
Mayor Proposes Brum Metro Network Adam Toms News Reporter
Andy Street, Mayor of the West Midlands, has announced a huge infrastructure overhaul to serve Birmingham and the West Midlands as part of his election campaign. The underground lines, inspired by the London Underground, form part of a wider 150 mile long revitalisation of the West Midlands network which also includes 21 new railway stations and 380 new stops. New Birmingham stations will be built in Ballsall Heath, Dudley Road and Tettenhall. Moreover, stations will be reopened including the old Aldridge, Pelsall, and Brownhill stations.
The re-opening of old lines is already being considered at the planning stage, including the Camp Hill line and the Walsall to Wolverhampton line. ITV News report that one of the lines will most likely be renamed after the first Chancellor of the University of Birmingham, Joseph Chamberlain. It is thought that this £15 billion project will take 20 years to complete with annual costs amounting to £750 million. Street has claimed that this extra financial burden will be made manageable due to extra investment in the Midlands – which along with the North is considered to be an area underfunded by past administrations promised by Boris Johnson’s government.
Future income from ticket sales from the announced Metro, contributions from housing and commercial developers and loans will also be utilised to cope with the cost. Andy Street has stated: ‘For too long we have been left behind by London and Manchester, and other cities around the world.’ ‘We are a world-class city region and we deserve a worldclass Metro and rail network.’ This announcement has formed a major part of Street’s attempts at re-election as he aims to establish a Johnsonian reputation for ‘levelling up’ the West Midlands with hefty infrastructure. This may prove problematic. As complications surrounding HS2 have shown, plans for large
scale infrastructure projects are always subject to a proliferation of costs and missed construction deadlines.
“We are a worldclass city and we deserve a worldclass Metro and rail network” In response to this point, Gary Phelps, campaign communicator for Andy Street, told Redbrick: ‘As this plan sets out an ambitious vision for the next 20 years, it is not possible to predict what challenges may be presented as they
become reality. However, Andy is determined to ensure that all of the schemes involved would be fully costed and delivered on budget, following on a funding model that is already successfully delivering a major Metro extension to the centre of Dudley.’ However, the cost cannot be ignored and may be a source of discomfort for Labour’s mayoralcandidate, Liam Byrne. His manifesto promises to combat inequality in a ‘tale of two cities’ with skyscrapers built above people sleeping rough - ‘Cranes are in our skies. But our homeless neighbours are sleeping in the doorways underneath’. The West Midlands mayoral election is set to take place on Thursday 7th May 2020.