Quote from Maria Machancoses, Chief Executive of Midlands Connect:

It is welcome and encouraging to see a renewed focus on improving rail connectivity, capacity and resilience between Birmingham and Manchester. Improving capacity and resilience on this corridor has long been recognised as a critical missing link in strengthening connectivity between the West Midlands and the North West.

As plans develop, experience across major rail programmes shows how important it is to provide clarity, certainty and a credible pathway to delivery — ensuring new proposals complement existing investment, including HS2 Phase One and the Midlands Rail Hub.

Midlands Rail Hub is vital to improving east-west connections within the Midlands. Fully utilising this will be essential to ensuring benefits are felt beyond the core Birmingham–Manchester axis announced today. It is also important that this renewed focus does not overlook the need for faster and more frequent services between the Midlands, Yorkshire and the North East – which we will continue to advocate for.

Moving forward, meaningful engagement with local partners will be crucial. Councils in Staffordshire and Cheshire, as well as cities such as Stoke-on-Trent, sit at the heart of this corridor and must be involved early to ensure emerging plans reflect local needs and support regional growth.

With the right collaboration between Government, Mayors and local authorities, this long-term ambition can be shaped into a coherent, deliverable programme that strengthens connectivity across the Midlands and the North.