Posted 11th June 2013 | 6 Comments
Major rail links at heart of airport proposals
MAJOR railway plans are included in a submission from Birmingham Airport in response to a government consultation.
The airport wants to build a second runway to boost long-haul capacity, and its proposals include People Mover links to the future HS2 station and also a reopened Stonebridge Railway.
A plan to restore this long-closed line as the 'Whitacre Link' from a junction near Coleshill Parkway to a second connection between Birmingham International and Hampton-in-Arden, was unveiled last week. The HS2/Stonebridge Railway stations would be less than 2km from the existing and proposed airport terminals.
Birmingham Airport chief executive Paul Kehoe explained: “Next April our extended runway will open to enable long-haul flight connectivity, which in the short term can also take pressure off the airports in the South East.”
Earlier plans had envisaged a second runway to the west, but Mr Kehoe added: “With HS2 coming, we have to look east for a second runway. This would give us the opportunity to handle up to 70 million passengers a year – more than Heathrow now.
“Our long-term plan is node-based, bringing together air, road and both classic and High Speed rail, to provide competitive facilities for the next generation.”
He said that the annual passenger total at UK airports is projected to increase from 220 million now to 450 million within 50 years, and added: “We cannot continue to funnel one third of them through Heathrow."
Mark Garnier, Conservative MP for Wyre Forest and chairman of the All Party Parliamentary Group for the West Midlands, said Birmingham airport “needs to be thought of as a hub airport for North West Europe, not for the central UK".
* Whitacre Link gains support – Railnews Blog.
Reader Comments:
Views expressed in submitted comments are that of the author, and not necessarily shared by Railnews.
Tim Price, Bestwood Village
My statement regarding Toton being in the middle of nowhere is not based on HS2's proposals, but on good local knowledge accumulated over many years, and residing reasonably close.
It's fact that the proposed site sits in the middle of a triangle formed by Derby, Nottingham and East Midlands Airport, necessitating a commute from all three points. Use of the Nottingham - Matlock service to connect will impact heavily on journey times on this route as, unless major trackwork takes place to provide additional spurs, a reversal will be necessary at the new station. Capacity will also be an issue as the current service is also heavily loaded between Nottingham and Derby. Journey times will also be increased on the Liverpool - Norwich route due to the services being diverted via Toton as opposed to the current route via Trowell and Radford.
The Tram connection from Nottingham will be a lengthy and tedious "Stop-Start" journey. It takes over 30 minutes from Hucknall into Nottingham and i can't see journey times from Toton being any faster or more comfortable.
My point is, that as the route passes under East Midlands Airport, it makes far more sense for the Station to be there, at one of the "triangle points", with better scope for connecting Nottingham and Derby, and connecting the Airport directly with the rail network, a big reason why it loses out to other Airports. This would benefit businesses and people in the East Midlands much more than a Station in the middle of nowhere, with commute times to and from nullifying the benefits of HS2.
Chris Neville-Smith, Durham, England
Just to add to the quesiton of the location of the East Midlands station, the possibility of a stop at the airport was considered, but rejected very early on. It didn't even make it to the longlist. The reason cited was construction impacts and costs. I admit I'm not sure what the problem is with costs at that particular location, but I'd have thought the bigger issue was connectivity. It's great for airport connections, okay for road access, but hopeless for connections to other rail services.
There is one other reason though. A similar option of an interchange with the East Midlands Parkway station go as far at the last six options on the shortlist. This was primarily rejected because of opposition from the local councils over development in a green belt area, whilst Toton did a similar job (local rail connectivity) without the green belt issues.
As I'ev said before, the important clarification about Toton is that it is dependent on decent local connectivity being provided. In the event Network Rail suddenly turns round and says it can't be done, the choice of Toton as a location will almost certainly be reconsidered.
Caspar Lucas, Stourbridge
Tim Price - genuine question: is your statement that Toton (which is right between Derby and Nottingham) is 'in the middle of nowhere' based on researching the detail of the HS2 proposals?
The HS2 plans foresee an interchange station at Toton with four high speed platforms and four 'classic rail' platforms (source: drawing HS2-ARP-LR0-DR-RT-55121),
It is proposed that the 'classic' platforms at Toton will be served by Matlock-Nottingham, Liverpool-Nottingham/Norwich, Derby-St Pancras and local Derby-Nottingham train services (source: "Updated economic case for HS2 (August 2012): Explanation of the service patterns", Appendix A).
(It has been separately planned for the Nottingham tram system to be extended to Toton.)
HS2 Ltd have assessed multiple options for stations in the East Midlands, including Toton, East Midlands Airport/Parkway, central Derby, central Nottingham, central Leicester and many other locations; the proposal for Toton is based on this analysis (source: "Options for phase two of the high speed rail network" pp176-195).
Tim Price, Bestwood Village
East Midlands Airport is also an underused asset and a lot of this is, I believe due to it's restricted accessibility.
If HS2 is going to be routed underneath, then i believe it makes sense to have the East Midlands station there, rather than in the middle of nowhere at Toton. As long as spurs are provided to connect to the Midland Main Line in both directions and a frequent service provided to both Nottingham and Derby then it would make East Midlands Airport a more attractive departure point for passengers as well as a more logical location for the station. This can only be good for commuters, flyers and businesses, as well as minimising the need for airport expansion elsewhere.
Leslie burge, leicester
This could also lead to new services from leicester serving the new station and then onto Coventry and Leamington.
Melvyn Windebank, Canvey Island, Essex
News like this builds the case for HS2 in that if Birmingham Airport is expanded then services to USA could begin there and thus release capacity for longer distance flights from Heathrow to destinations like China and Far East .
The news of a closed line being reopened simply builds on the local network and encourages more people onto rail!