Midlands Connect has announced that major economic and employment boosts are expected through the delivery of the Midlands Rail Hub programme.
According to workforce analysis, more than 12,750 new roles are anticipated to be created over the course of the project, with the Midlands Rail Hub being the region’s biggest and most ambitious rail improvement scheme. Serving more than 50 stations and seven million people across the Midlands, work is expected to run between 2025 and 2033 with major engineering work being done to make space for additional trains on the network.
Mayor of the West Midlands Richard Parker said:
"Our rail services are hugely overcrowded and in order to get more people on the network we need to provide more trains for them.
"The Midlands Rail Hub will better connect Birmingham and the West Midlands to Bristol, Cardiff, Leicester, Derby and Nottingham with more frequent and reliable services.
"But it’s also creating thousands of jobs and apprenticeships through the design and construction phase and beyond – investing in our transport network means investing in the people of our region."
Of the new job opportunities being created, many will be skilled roles within engineering or project management, whilst 300 apprentices are expected to be recruited and trained over the course of the project. Alongside job creation, a further £240 million can be brought into the economy through the supply chain, as well as a £45 million uplift in social value benefits.
This will come due to improved skills, knowledge and employment.
The Midlands Rail Hub was committed to in full by the government last year, whilst February this year brought the allocation of an additional £123 million for the project to further develop detailed engineering designs.
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