Midlands Connect in Leicester and Leicestershire

About Midlands Connect

Midlands Connect is a partnership of Local Authori�es, Local

Enterprise Partnerships, two airports, the Chambers of Commerce,

Highways England, HS2 Ltd, Network Rail and the Department for

Transport.

Our transport network serves several markets, commuters and freight,

visitors and business, local, regional, and na�onal traffic traverses our

roads and rails. For many years the region has been underfunded in

terms of transport development and we need to act now to ensure that

we don’t become a blockage for not just the region – but the whole of

the UK.

Midlands Connect has developed a Strategy which iden�fies transport

connec�vity improvements across the region to resolve key issues and

maximise long-term economic growth in the Midlands.

Two main objec�ves underpin the Strategy:

1. We are speaking together with ‘One Voice’ to ensure the

Midlands reaches a unified posi�on on strategic transport

investment; and

2. All poten�al investments have been reached by an ‘evidenced

approach’ focused on clearly ar�cula�ng the transport needs,

opportuni�es, and investment priori�es for the region. This

technical analysis enables us to shape our priori�es for

investment over the next 15-20 years.

Leicester and Leicestershire: Home to…

• The largest logis�cs park in Europe, Magna

Park in Lu5erworth, which nestles in the

centre of the Golden Triangle for Logis�cs in

the Midlands

• East Midlands Airport, a key interna�onal

connec�vity gateway and the UK’s second

largest air freight hub

• MIRA Technology Park Enterprise Zone which

hosts leading companies such as Aston Mar�n,

Con�nental and Bosch, is prime to become a

global centre for transport Research and

Development

Our Strategy, published in March 2017, includes our

full programme for investment in transport ini�a�ves

and infrastructure to accelerate economic growth and

to improve the quality of journeys for residents,

visitors, and businesses in the Midlands and beyond.

Na�onal Space Centre, Leicester

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Growth in the Region

The Leicester and Leicestershire LEP area is captured in the Leicester and Coventry Strategic Economic Hub and sits on two

of the corridors Midlands Connect have iden�fied likely to experience ‘intensive growth’. These corridors - developed from

work with regional businesses and the LEPs recognised growth sites - connect our economic hubs, both to each other and

to other hubs outside our region. If we improve transport links in these corridors our investment will be doubled in

business growth and returns.

Throughout the Strategy, we stress the importance of improving East-West Connec�vity; nowhere is this more required

than between Coventry and Leicester; two growing ci�es with very poor rail connec�ons and a road link that is oAen

congested with traffic.

Further to this, Midlands Connect, with the support of Local Authority, LEP and airport partners, as well as the DfT, will

aspire to achieve a step-change in travel speed, reliability, convenience, and cost. Working closely with our partners to

progress the Strategy will ensure the investment in our strategic network runs in tandem with appropriate local

investment, to maximise the benefits.

Key Components of the Midlands Connect

Strategy in Leicester and Leicestershire

Exis�ng Commitments

• Increased rail capacity between Coventry and Nuneaton

• Midland Mainline upgrade and electrifica�on

• M1 (J19-23a) Smart Motorway

HS2

• Developing plans for HS2 Released Capacity

• Integra�on between exis�ng rail and HS2 in the Toton

area

• Ensuring Access to Toton – A42 mul� modal study

Early Priori�es

• Development of enhanced business case for rail between

Leamington and Leicester

• Development of the A46 corridor – ini�al work between

M40 and Syston

• Midlands Rail Hub

• Major Road Network Development

• Midlands Motorway Hub

• Ac�ve role in technology and smart �cke�ng

• Development of the A5 Corridor from A38 to M1

Longer Term Interven�ons

• A46 – further corridor development

• Further support for access to Felixstowe

• Trials for connected passenger and freight autonomous

vehicles

• Improved direct rail connec�ons from East Midlands to

the Thames Valley

Midlands Connect in Leicester and Leicestershire:

Growth and Schemes

Exis�ng Commitments

Commi5ed developments through NUCKLE will

increase rail capacity between Leamington and

Coventry, a key component to improving access

between Leicester and Coventry. We also an�cipate in

this �me an upgrade to the Midland Mainline will take

place including electrifica�on on the route. The M1,

between junc�ons 19 and 23a is currently being

upgraded to Smart Motorway standard.

HS2

The implementa�on of HS2 will unlock addi�onal

capacity with the proposed interchange at Toton

located close to the region. By 2030, it is an�cipated

that growth in ‘highly sensi�ve’ HS2 sectors will be

captured across the Midlands. As such, it is impera�ve

that such areas are well connected to HS2 and the

Midlands Mainline in the Toton area to maximise the

economic benefits. Released capacity on the exis�ng

network will also will also impact on this region.

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Midlands Connect in Leicester and Leicestershire:

Schemes, Hubs and Corridors

Early Priori�es

The Rail Hub will enable an addi�onal 10 trains an hour across the Midlands, our immediate work will look at where

these services should serve. Money from the DfT has already been ring-fenced to develop this work.

Going forward, Midlands Connect will iden�fy a preferred op�on for a direct rail service between Coventry and

Leicester to build and accommodate growth on this corridor. To achieve extra services to the Thames Valley addi�onal

track capacity between Kenilworth and Coventry is required.

The Motorway Hub work will look at the resilience of our network and our dependence upon the M42/M5/M6 box. The

work will look at the best way to use this network and how to strengthen alterna�ve routes. The A46 route which

stretches from Lincolnshire to Gloucestershire is a road which up �ll now has been ignored in its role as a strategic

corridor. By looking at the route in its en�rety, there are tremendous opportuni�es to remove traffic from the already

congested motorway networks. The link between the M40 and Syston will be looked at as a priority. Alongside this

further work will be undertaken in the development of a business case to upgrade the A5 from the A38 to the M1.

Longer Term Interven�ons

We have iden�fied longer-term investment priori�es for the LEP region in view of constraints on what can be taken

forward within the industry and, for some, the poten�al scale, complexity, and cost of the interven�ons. Further work

will be undertaken to have direct rail services from the East Midlands to the Thames Valley, as well as improved access

through our region to Felixstowe.

As part of the long term proposals we look to double service frequency and enhance journey �mes between

Birmingham and Leicester, from two trains per hour to four and to just 40 minutes.

Midlands Connect Strategic Economic Hubs and Corridors

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Midlands Connect in Leicester and Leicestershire:

Going Forward

The Suppor�ng Evidence

The Midlands Region is worth over £220 billion to the UK economy and is home to several na�onal strengths; including

advanced manufacturing, food technology and freight. Leicestershire is known for its logis�cs firms with Magna Park in

Lu5erworth, providing an addi�onal 11,000 jobs. The LEP is also well-posi�oned in the educa�on sector, hos�ng the

second largest science park in the country, not to men�on the MIRA Technology Park Enterprise Zone, which is an�cipated

to become a global centre for transport research and development. As such, it is a good loca�on for investment.

The Strategy is supported by a significant technical evidence base which is available on the website

www.midlandsconnect.uk. We have worked with Highways England, HS2 Ltd and Network Rail to ensure that our

�mescales work in line with theirs and that the we act together to ensure that the Midlands is in a prime posi�on to boost

economic growth.

Next Steps

Midlands Connect has been

awarded £17 million to

con�nue our work from

2017 – 2020. This is a huge

vote of confidence for

Midlands Connect from the

Government, and will allow

us to pursue development

of the interven�ons

iden�fied within the

Strategy. Further details on

this plan will be made

available later in 2017.

Right: Forward Planning

with Highways England,

HS2 Ltd and Network Rail

Contact Details

For any further informa�on about Midlands Connect please contact the team on mcadmin@midlandsconnect.uk or

0121 214 7023

Key contacts within the Leicester and Leicestershire LEP area include;

Phil Crossland (Leicestershire County Council)

Garry Sco; (Leicester City Council)

Andrew Pritchard (East Midlands Council)

A full suite of documents is

available on our website:

www.midlandsconnect.uk

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