Rail Sector Deal recognises need for "local solutions to local challenges"

Published: Friday 12 December 2018

The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy has published its Rail Sector Deal

A Midlands Connect spokesperson said:

The Rail Sector Deal rightly recognises the value brought by local solutions to local challenges, a principle at the heart of the Midlands Connect and Midlands Engine strategies. 

We will continue to work with the UK’s rail experts to ensure our plans future-proof the Midlands’ rail network, are informed by comprehensive data, are appropriately costed, and are deliverable in terms of skills, resource and timescales.

We therefore welcome the deal’s three pilot schemes in the Midlands: a rail data platform to provide a complete picture of the user experience, a programme supporting high potential SMEs in the supply chain, and a skills programme on shared apprenticeships and schools engagement.

We share this deal’s focus on the potential of the railway as a driver of economic growth, and the importance of making the Midlands’ already highly competitive supply chain more focused, efficient and productive through investment in skills and capital.