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SECOND TO NONE CITY NEEDS MORE THAN NEW STREET

14-02-2008

The regeneration of New Street Station, far from being the end of the line, should mark the route ahead for transport developments in the West Midlands argues John Tyrrell.

Getting the a revamp of New Street Station is a great achievement so I don't want to sound ungrateful on behalf of fellow citizens of Birmingham or any other users of the facility across a considerably wider region. (People in Shropshire and Wales, for example depend on it as a gateway to London and elsewhere.

As a Londoner, however, I would like to suggest we look at Birmingham and the region as the Heart of the Nation rather than the "Second City" or second anything.

That means our expectations should not be capped to the spending of millions when it is announced that a cross city line in London will run to billions without anyone turning a hair!

The Birmingham Mail yesterday rightly stated that while the plans will ease congestion for people (that's great), pity about the trains.

Two tracks between Coventry and Wolverhampton accommodate high-speed inter-city rail links, local passenger services and freight. Is that sustainable for development?

I stood on the platform at a similar station in Brussels with trains entering from tunnels at either end. The difference was that the tunnels were straight and trains were coming and going non-stop.

It is not something allowed in UK since the speed of trains entering stations is restricted for safety reasons.

To get a half decent transport system in the Midland Region we need to set out sights much higher at an integrated system. Locally it helps people access a greater range of jobs, but it's just as important for travellers across the UK.

A hold up around New Street can have a knock-on effect as far away as Scotland and the South Coast (it actually happens!)

Let's start looking at ourselves as an integral part of a nation rather than an outpost of the capital. This has had huge amounts spent on links such as the Eurostar link with Europe.

That stopped short in London instead of coming to Birmingham, Manchester and Glasgow. (Why should we allow this to go without comment?)

Then there was the Jubilee Line to service the famous Dome (less said the better), and untold sums to fund transport for the Olympics. And there's more....

Meanwhile even our modest tram seems to have hit the buffers.

John Tyrrell blogs at http://johntyrrell.co.uk/