Birmingham Airport favoured over New Street for high speed rail link
Birmingham International Airport’s case to be the home of a new high speed rail station has received a major boost.
Sir David Rowlands, chairman of the High Speed Two study group suggested to the Birmingham Post that the £34billion High Speed Two route should pass through a parkway station at Birmingham International Airport with a slower spur connecting to New Street Station.
He said it was “pretty unlikely” that New Street could handle the increased traffic brought by a high speed link.
Work on the New Street Gateway refurbishment project, which will improve the appearance of the station, started on Tuesday. Sir David insisted that his report to the government, which will be concluded in December, will still include at least one or two options for the high speed link to pass through a city centre hub.
Ultimately, the final decision will be made by the government.
Sir David said: “The greatest likelihood is that the city centre would be served by a spur line which will in turn be served by the high speed route.
“If there is going to be something at Birmingham International that will be on the high speed line itself.
“It seems less likely, to be very honest, that any high speed line would run through the centre of Birmingham - rather it would be served by a spur off the high speed line.
“That is primarily to do with the engineering challenge. “I think people in Birmingham would understand how difficult it would be to run a line right the way through the city and out the other side.”
In Wednesday’s Post, Birmingham International Airport Chief Executive Paul Kehoe called for the hub to be built at or very close to BIA, the NEC and the existing station.
Mr Kehoe said the transport interchange would “plug into” businesses in the M42 corridor, which is the only significant location in the West Midlands where economic output is above the national average.
He added: “Without the hub, there is a risk of long-term economic decline across one of the most successful parts of the Midlands.”
