Faster speed train service is in demand

The West Midlands will not cope with soaring demand for train services without high speed rail, the region's transport bosses have said.

Geoff Inskip, chief executive of transport authority Centro, will tell a parliamentary inquiry that 22.8 million passenger journeys were made in the West Midlands in 2000 to 2001, and almost doubled journeys in the last decade.

Centro will now give evidence to the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for High Speed Rail at Westminster on April 18.

The APPG inquiry has been set up to examine rail capacity needs and whether or not it needs the £32 billion line, which will cut through the countryside and pass close to Lichfield.

Mr Inskip said that the HS2 line would bring 22,000 jobs and generate £1.5bn for the West Midlands economy while freeing up capacity on the existing network.

In his report to the parliamentary group Mr Inskip said: "We have already lost stations in Staffordshire in 2003 due to capacity constraints.

"There is pressure on local services in the Coventry area. If we do not create significant additional capacity to cope with the growth on our railways we will have to make stark choices about which stations are closed and services cut." Looking ahead to the inquiry, Mr Inskip added: "We've seen tremendous growth in rail in the West Midlands.

"But what is often overlooked is the important fact that HS2 releases capacity for more train services on our existing lines allowing us to provide better local and regional rail in our region.

"It might not grab the headlines but it's vital because this means we can get more people to work, reduce congestion and overcrowding and take freight off our roads."