West Midlands Rail investment Strategy 2022-2050

[Snow1964]

Updated strategy following consultation has been released
82 pages with maps (so impractical to quote it)

https://wmre.org.uk/media/aryjxnga/wmre-investment-strategy-and-summary-final.pdf

Following extensive consultation with the rail industry, local businesses and the people of the region, we have now launched our updated West Midlands Rail Investment Strategy.
Since we published the original strategy in 2018, the landscape of the industry has shifted and it has faced plenty of challenges. The new strategy details our revised 30-year plan for rail in the region and sets out our key

Our priorities​

Support the recovery from Covid-19​

Contribute to net zero​

Deliver Midlands Rail Hub​

Maximise the benefits of HS2 for the West Midlands​

Develop high growth corridors reducing social deprivation and levelling up​

Maximise access to the rail network​

Supporting the movement of goods by rail​

Consider radical change in the long term​

 

[172007]

Progress on the Midland Rail Hub at Moor Street as Network Rail seeks a while host of parents for the £1.4b project.

It's behind a pay wall and I have already used up my free views and always unsure how to copy these things into the forum.

There was a dedicated thread that's locked for the Midland Rail Hub bit this seems am ideal thread too.

Network Rail seeks civils and construction partners in £1.4bn Midlands Rail Hub Alliance | New Civil Engineer

A prior information notice (PIN) released by the rail infrastructure operator says there is a £1.05bn opportunity is for non-signalling disciplines, which

www.newcivilengineer.com

The scope is new platforms, new viaducts and chords, new freight loops, remodelling and re-signaling which I think includes Snow Hill too amongst other things.

 

[Nunners]

Network Rail seeks civils and construction partners in £1.4bn Midlands Rail Hub Alliance​

23 NOV, 2023 BY ROB HAKIMIAN

Network Rail has alerted suppliers that it will be looking for construction and engineering partners to join its £1.4bn Midlands Rail Hub Alliance.
A prior information notice (PIN) released by the rail infrastructure operator says there is a £1.05bn opportunity is for non-signalling disciplines, which includes construction, civil engineering and geotechnical engineering services.
The Midlands Rail Hub is a £1.5bn plan to upgrade a series of rail lines and stations around Birmingham and nearby towns and cities. Sub-national transport body Midlands Connect launched its outline business case for the plan last December, in which it says it will make space for 100 additional trains on the network every day and improve connections in the Midlands and beyond to places including Bromsgrove, Nuneaton, Worcester, Hereford, Great Malvern, Bristol, Gloucester, Cardiff, Cheltenham and Leicester.
The work will involve a series of infrastructure upgrades and interventions, which is where Network Rail’s Midlands Rail Hub Alliance comes into play.
The Alliance will include Network Rail as client, non-signalling partners and a signalling partner.
The PIN says that the scope of work for the Alliance includes, but is not limited to:

• Design and build of new platforms and sidings
• Design and build of two new chords at Birmingham Moor Street
• Widening of an existing viaduct
• Power supply upgrades
• New freight loops
• New overhead line equipment
• Various signalling works including the re-modelling of existing layouts

Network Rail is looking to invite firms interested in being a non-signalling partner to sign up for further procurement updates and take part in a market briefing session in January.
“Interested economic operators” can join the distribution list by completing this form.

Overview of the Midlands Rail Hub
Network Rail believes the multidisciplinary infrastructure interventions will be split across three section described as West, Central and East. The scope is currently divided into eight interventions that will be split across these three sections, although this number is subject to further funding decisions and design developments.
Network Rail’s PIN goes on to say: “The West and Central interventions (excluding Worcester-Hereford) are in the process of securing RNEP Decision to Design Funding and are intended to form the core scope of this procurement event.
“East interventions form part of a separate Outline Business Case (OBC) which is in an earlier stage of design development and it is envisaged that this will be considered as uncommitted Alliance scope, which may be instructed to the Alliance, subject to future funding decisions.

“It is also envisaged that the West intervention of Worcester-Hereford will be uncommitted scope as this is not intended to be included in the first tranche of funding for MRH and is dependent upon as yet uncommitted renewals in the Worcester area.”
Network Rail estimates that the total expenditure on the Alliance will be £1.3bn to £1.4bn. This includes: £1bn for the West and Central and £400M for the uncommitted East section. £1.05bn will be for non-signalling disciplines and £350M for signalling.
These figures are indicative only.
Network Rail said: “It will be a matter for economic operators as to the form in which they may wish to participate in Network Rail’s forthcoming procurement event whether as a single entity or group of economic operators seeking to deliver all required Alliance disciplines except for the signalling scope.”
It expects to publish the contract notice in mid-February.

 

[172007]

Thanks for adding the narrative.

Seems interesting that a £1.4b project attracts so little attention on the forum tbh.

 

[The Planner]

Thanks for adding the narrative.

Seems interesting that a £1.4b project attracts so little attention on the forum tbh.

There is an element of spin there though. Note that the East is not committed. Camp Hills are happening and they force the Kings Norton works or you can't get the 6tph Cross City back. Water Orton is just putting in what was taken out of the resignaling a decade ago. Nuneaton to Leicester needs loops so the freight can be overtaken and the fact Croft resignaling was pretty much like for like. All good, but not really new.

 

[NoRoute]

The West Midlands rail strategies always leave me scratching my head about who is devising these because they never seem to include the kind of projects or focus you might intuitively expect.

Birmingham Airport is the Midland's major business airport, but the rail connectivity is pretty poor for anywhere not on the WCML, requiring travelling into New Street and then back out again to the airport, with all of the time delay and inconvenience of changing services, particularly with the added hassle of luggage.

Why route the Leicester service direct to Birmingham, when routing via Coventry and Birmingham International would make it much more usable. Better yet, if it started in Nottingham, you could have Nottingham, Loughborough, Leicester, Coventry all with a direct service to each other, Birmingham Airport and the NEC. That would be really useful, potentially even transformational.

It'll also be interesting to see what happens with HS2 Interchange at Birmingham International because the congestion on the road network around there is typically so bad, you can lose any time saving while sat in traffic simply getting there. Surprising there isn't more planned to improve the rail connectivity so people can indeed interchange there.

 

[JonathanH]

Why route the Leicester service direct to Birmingham, when routing via Coventry and Birmingham International would make it much more usable. Better yet, if it started in Nottingham, you could have Nottingham, Loughborough, Leicester, Coventry all with a direct service to each other, Birmingham Airport and the NEC. That would be really useful, potentially even transformational.

It goes direct to Birmingham because a) that is where most people want to go, b) there isn't a convenient track layout at Nuneaton for the crossing move, and c) there isn't a lot of spare capacity on the Coventry to Birmingham line.

What would it be transformational for? How long would it take to get to Birmingham International going via Bedworth and Coventry, rather than changing to New Street? A matter of minutes quicker?

Looking back at a 1996 timetable, departure from Nuneaton was 22 minutes after departure from Coventry, and 30 minutes after departure from Birmingham. There are now more stations on the line via Bedworth. Additional curves at Nuneaton and Coventry would mean new platforms had to be built to serve those places.

 

[The Planner]

The West Midlands rail strategies always leave me scratching my head about who is devising these because they never seem to include the kind of projects or focus you might intuitively expect.

Birmingham Airport is the Midland's major business airport, but the rail connectivity is pretty poor for anywhere not on the WCML, requiring travelling into New Street and then back out again to the airport, with all of the time delay and inconvenience of changing services, particularly with the added hassle of luggage.

Why route the Leicester service direct to Birmingham, when routing via Coventry and Birmingham International would make it much more usable. Better yet, if it started in Nottingham, you could have Nottingham, Loughborough, Leicester, Coventry all with a direct service to each other, Birmingham Airport and the NEC. That would be really useful, potentially even transformational.

It'll also be interesting to see what happens with HS2 Interchange at Birmingham International because the congestion on the road network around there is typically so bad, you can lose any time saving while sat in traffic simply getting there. Surprising there isn't more planned to improve the rail connectivity so people can indeed interchange there.

Changing at New St doesnt cost anything in infrastructure. Nuneaton needs a dive under with no real way of serving the station, Coventry will need a reversal. If you were holding the purse strings, what would you do?

 

[NoRoute]

Changing at New St doesnt cost anything in infrastructure. Nuneaton needs a dive under with no real way of serving the station, Coventry will need a reversal. If you were holding the purse strings, what would you do?

The WM strategy stretches out 20 years to 2040, so I'd ask:
1. Is Birmingham Airport and air travel still likely to be an important source/sink of passengers in 20 years time? Yes.
2. Are Coventry and Leicester going anywhere, will they still be significant regional cities in 2040 and sources/sinks of passengers? Probably
3. Are the railways expected to be relevant / useful for public transport between these cities in 2040? Probably, possibly more so than today.

Given the painfully slow processes of UK railways and UK governance, I'd get a dive under on the plan and start floating the idea of some regional express service to improve EM-WM connectivity, to ensure that in 20 years time it might just have happened.

 

[The Planner]

The WM strategy stretches out 20 years to 2040, so I'd ask:
1. Is Birmingham Airport and air travel still likely to be an important source/sink of passengers in 20 years time? Yes.
2. Are Coventry and Leicester going anywhere, will they still be significant regional cities in 2040 and sources/sinks of passengers? Probably
3. Are the railways expected to be relevant / useful for public transport between these cities in 2040? Probably, possibly more so than today.

Given the painfully slow processes of UK railways and UK governance, I'd get a dive under on the plan and start floating the idea of some regional express service to improve EM-WM connectivity, to ensure that in 20 years time it might just have happened.

Plans for one have been mooted, but are no more than plans. Considering the NUCKLE scheme has fallen flat and has never got towards its aims, I wouldnt hold out much hope. The best you can hope for will be the partial redoubling of Leamington Cov which would allow the Reading Newcastle to go via Coventry and give Birmignham Airport a direct link to Derby and the NE. Nottingham would just have to be a change.

 

[Ashleyb1990]

With HS2 phase 2 halted, is anyone aware of any revisions to the Rail Investment Strategy? Parts of this are now unachievable, although I was intrigued by the amount they plan to invest in.