McLoughlin: HS2 will put business on track
It is the first new railway north of London in 120 years. But the £32.7 billion high speed rail line is being bitterly contested by those who fear it will destroy the countryside and not deliver the tens of thousands of jobs it promises.
As a former Cannock Chase miner and councillor who unsuccessfully tried to become an MP for Wolverhampton South East in the 80s, Patrick McLoughlin knows Staffordshire and the Black Country well and is now secretary of state for transport.
But despite HS2's two new West Midlands stations due to be built in Birmingham, he is convinced the wider region will still benefit. It comes after 60 per cent of Express & Star readers who responded to our recent Your Say Survey said they were against the idea of the high speed rail line, which will cut through Staffordshire on its way to Manchester and Leeds.
"Any big scheme like HS2 is bound to be controversial", Mr McLoughlin said. "People are bound to say do we really need it. It's not just about a shorter journey times to London, Leeds and Manchester, it's also about capacity.
"It's about British industry and delivering major infrastructure. Quite often we're attacked for not planning for the long term but I think people will see it's the right decision. It means we can take lorries off the roads and put more freight onto the rail lines.
For drivers concerned about the prospect of soaring costs of running a car, Mr McLoughlin stressed that no existing motorways would be turned into toll roads – although he did not rule out new roads being funded by people paying each time they use them.
The survey also revealed that more than 85 per cent of E&S readers want the M6 Toll to become a free publicly-owned motorway after its recent lowest ever usage figures. Mr McLoughlin said: "I'm disturbed to hear about its lack of usage but it was built by a private company and was always going to be tolled."
For rail users affected by London Midland's shortage of drivers towards the end of last year, that resulted in hundreds of trains being cancelled, Mr McLoughlin said the Department for Transport was still monitoring the company even after its £7m package of compensation comprising extra cheap advanced tickets and free travel for season ticket holders.
"They had serious failings", Mr McLoughlin said. "London Midland provides a very important service. You only have to look at areas like Penkridge and see how many people use the trains from there every day to see how it is relied upon. We are watching them."
