Council Leader makes the case for better connectivity to Cumbria

The Leader of Cumbria County Council, Councillor Stewart Young, has written to the Government to make the case for the new High Speed 2 (HS2) line to deliver good quality direct services to Cumbria.

Phase 1 of HS2 is due to be completed in 2029 which will see HS2 services running on a new line to Birmingham before joining the West Coast Mainline north through Cumbria and into Scotland.

The first timetable for HS2 services is in development and the county council has submitted evidence to Mr Andrew Stephenson, The Minister of State at the Department for Transport highlighting the following key points:

• The national, regional and local importance of main line services reflected in passenger growth in excess of 100% at Carlisle, Penrith and Oxenholme over the past 15 years.
• The importance of the mainline in supporting the connectivity and investment in Carlisle, Penrith and Oxenholme.
• How the three stations play a major role in providing connectivity to an extensive rural area.
• The role the stations play in supporting the visitor economy and in helping people to enjoy Cumbria without use of a car.
• The opportunities Phase 1 of HS2 could bring to Cumbria in supporting the renewal of our town and city centres and wider economy.

The evidence submitted also highlights the importance of maintaining or improving the existing level of stopping services over end-to-end journey time savings that may arise from reduced stops in the county. This demonstrated how reducing services would not just see fewer rail journeys being made, but also limit opportunities for both Cumbria and HS2 itself.

Councillor Stewart Young, Leader of Cumbria County Council said:

“Making sure Cumbria is featured on the High Speed Rail map is central to our region’s future success. Indirect and time-consuming connections put people off using rail services which would naturally increase the dependencies of journeys by car on the already highly constrained and congested highway network. It would also damage economic activity by limiting access to our county. I sincerely hope the Minister considers the evidence put before him and commits to deliver good quality direct services to Cumbria.”