UK Transport Secretary, Patrick McLoughlin, has urged West Midlands councils to draw up ambitious plans for continuing to improve the region’s transport network.
McLoughlin was speaking following the publication last year of proposals by councils in the north of England for £15 billion in transport improvements, including a 125mph rail link across the Pennines and improved access to Manchester Airport.
The plans, in a paper titled One North, were drawn up jointly by Manchester, Liverpool, Leeds, Newcastle and Sheffield and have been accepted in principle by Chancellor George Osborne.
Giving evidence to the Commons Transport Committee, McLoughlin said the Government would consider similar proposals from other parts of the country but stressed the importance of local councils working together. And he highlighted the West Midlands as a region which was well organised.
“There are ways in which local authorities combining are making stronger cases for rail investment in their own areas,” McLoughlin said.
Photo: Netowork Rail
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