Secretary of State for Transport in high speed visit

Clive Memmott, Chief Executive of Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce; The Rt Hon Patrick McLoughlin, Secretary of State for Transport; Phil Cusack, President of Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce and Regional Director at AECOM

The Secretary of State for Transport, the Rt Hon Patrick McLoughlin MP, visited Manchester Chamber of Commerce this week (Tuesday 29 October) amidst a media frenzy generated by the latest details of the strategic case in support of HS2.

He met with Chamber members whose businesses are connected to the rail industry to discuss the progress on HS2 to date and the proposals to devolve the planning of the northern railways to the transport authorities in the North of England.

Mr McLoughlin welcomed the support that the Chamber has shown for HS2 and stated how impressed he was that Manchester had already made clear plans for the development of Piccadilly Station incorporating the HS2 station. It was noted that the confidence arising from longer term planning of key projects allows for the private sector to invest more easily and plan for skills requirements.

Clive Memmott, the Chamber’s Chief Executive, asked what more could be done to get the positive messages about HS2 across to the wider public, particularly as it was becoming increasingly politicised. Mr McLoughlin shared that he was keen to see the project delivered faster and at a lower cost than the new business case stated. These messages, showing solid commitment to the delivery of HS2 alongside the details of the new business case showing a benefit cost ratio of £2.30 for every pound spent, should help to win over those who remain unconvinced.

Members raised a number of related issues including the capacity problems being experienced on trains – Northern Rail quoted an increase of passenger numbers from 54 million in 2004 to 95 million in 2013, and the problems of reliability and resilience of the West Coast mainline due to capacity restraints.

The issue of freight was discussed as there had been a 60% increase in rail freight over the past 15 years and there was currently a shortage of freight paths. The point was made that freight cannot go via the internet.

The meeting briefly touched on the proposal by Rail in the North to devolve decision making on rail to the Northern Authorities but the Transport Secretary said that he was keen to see the revised franchising process working properly before he undertook significant devolution.

In summing up, Mr McLoughlin thanked everyone for their input and finished by saying: “I want the regions to do what London can do.” He also mentioned his meeting at the Chamber in his interview on Newsnight later in the day.

To watch the interview, visit: http://www.bbc.co.uk/i/b03gg7nw/?t=1m19s 

The attendees at the meeting were: Tim Bentley and Terence Watson (Alstom); Chris Nutton (First Transpennine Express); Barry Graham (Northern Rail); Chris Fawdry (Lucchini); Paul Young (British International Freight Association); Robert Fickling (Mott MacDonald); Chris Walton (Virgin Trains); Geoffrey Piper (NW Business Leadership Team); Phil Cusack (Aecom); Clive Memmott and Emma Antrobus (Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce).

Ahead of the vote on HS2 in the House of Commons tomorrow, the Chamber has written to Prime Minister David Cameron, Ed Miliband, leader of the Labour Party, and Shadow Chancellor Ed Balls to re-iterate our support for the project. The letter to David Cameron was written in conjunction with nine other Northern Chambers of Commerce, which together represent 20,000 members. To read the letter, click here. To read the letter to Ed Miliband and Ed Balls, click here.