D2N2 Chair welcomes Government commitment to deliver the Eastern Leg of the new High Speed Rail Network (HS2), including a new Hub Station at Toton, which will serve the East Midlands.
HS2 is the Government’s proposal for a new, high speed railway which will link the North of England to the South and is broken down into two stages. Stage one will link London’s Euston Station to Birmingham and the West Midlands and stage two will provide links to Manchester on the Western Leg, and to Leeds, via the East Midlands on the Eastern Leg.
Government commitment for delivery of the Eastern Leg was confirmed today by the Secretary of State for Transport, The Rt. Hon. Patrick McLoughlin MP. This commitment includes a Hub Station at Toton in Nottinghamshire. This is made in addition to the £1.25million commitment made by Chancellor George Osborne in last week’s Comprehensive Spending Review, to support the development of a HS2 Growth Strategy for the East Midlands.
The above announcement comes at the same time as the publication of a report setting out key design principles and concepts for the new Toton Hub station – commissioned the HS2 Programme Board and supported and funded by D2N2.
D2N2 – the Local Enterprise Partnership covering Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire – believes firmly in HS2 as a catalyst for growth in its area, as well as improving connectivity to the West Midlands, the Northern Powerhouse and London. It is predicted that over the projects’ lifetime, HS2 will add £10billion to the D2N2 economy and will create 10,000 construction, rail and engineering jobs as well as significantly cutting major journey times between cities.
D2N2 LEP Chair Peter Richardson said:
“The Government’s commitment to HS2 is great news. Rail investment is a real engine for growth for the East Midlands, both in terms of the jobs it creates in our world class engineering sector and the improved connectivity it delivers between our towns and cities and the rest of the country.”
Cllr Jon Collins, Chair of the East Midlands HS2 Strategic Board added:
“The HS2 Hub Station at Toton will be a major boost to our local economies, and the quicker we can build it the better. We are working with partners across East Midlands to develop comprehensive plans to link the Hub Station with surrounding communities and with economic development opportunities that will create jobs for local people.”
Cllr Anne Western, Vice Chair of the East Midlands HS2 Strategic Board added:
“The Government’s decision to allocate £1.25 million to support the development of an HS2 Growth Strategy for the East Midlands is a clear vote of confidence in the work we have done so far.”
For more information about HS2, click here
For more information about the new HS2 Hub station at Toton, click here
