We recently held our first Transport forum of 2025. Staffordshire Chambers’ of Commerce is the voice of the local business community and our Transport forum is one of nine themed policy forums which help to develop our lobbying and representation work.
Our Transport forum is tasked with exchanging information on transport, infrastructure, automation and modernisation in transport. We look at road, rail, aviation and sea, with informative updates from guest speakers and valued round table discussion, which feeds into lobbying activity, such as policy campaigns and events.
Last week’s meeting covered the themes of rail and freight. Professional services firm Arup delivered an update on a publication ‘Opportunity through connectivity’. This is a proposal to connect West Midlands and North West by rail, securing economic growth and prosperity. The Mayors of Greater Manchester and the West Midlands commissioned a private sector consortium to review the role of enhanced rail connectivity between both conurbations, by catalysing growth, skills, and jobs across their city-regions, and to explore opportunities for greater private sector involvement in delivering and financing new solutions.
This proposal has recommended the construction of a Midlands-North West Rail Link (MNWRL), being bult in stages and in partnership with private investors. This is very much at the early stages of development but we heard that the drive to improve rail connectivity between the West Midlands and North West could see a benefit for Staffordshire, through improved capacity on the West Coast Mainline (WCML), which carves through our county.
We also received a progress update from Staffordshire County Council (SCC), with the local authority sharing its ambitions for a net-zero transport system by 2050. SCC new Local Transport Plan (LTP) will include a section on the future of freight and logistics in Staffordshire. We are such a well connected county and with an estimated 40% of the UK’s population living within a 2 hour drive of Staffordshire, it’s easy to see why so many companies see the advantage of being based here and that’s particularly the case for a growing freight and logistics sector.
SCC LTP is under currently under development and will be informed by a comprehensive consultation exercise, including a new online tool Let’s Talk Transport.
As part of this consultation exercise, SCC is developing a freight and logistics related questionnaire for businesses, to help inform the freight section of the LTP and understand likely future priorities and asks in relation to freight and logistics in Staffordshire. The consultation will be looking to gather views on topics such as fleet information, use of alternative fuel vehicles, business priorities, modal shift, decarbonisation, integration, parking and innovation. Watch this space for further updates in due course!
That got us talking about the transport priorities which matter most to the business community and this was just a starting point for what we came up with…
Priorities for buses:
Bus Service Improvement Plans (BSIP) have helped to reverse a decline in bus passenger numbers but we would like to see certainty of post BSIP support, with plan support due to end in 2026. BSIP has helped to incentivise bus travel through the offer of affordable bus fares, bus stop enhancements (Real Time Information, CCTV for security etc.) and more of these improvements will be welcomed.
Priorities for rail:
We continue our support for the opening of new rail stations in our area. We’re particularly keen to further develop the case for a new station in Etruria Valley, home to thousands of employees who would have the option to travel to and from work by train.
We want clarity around the future capacity of the West Coast Mainline and call for investment in upgrading the Crewe-Stoke-Derby line, to unlock capacity to improve both passenger and freight services.
We seek commitment that the existing fast weekday rail service frequency between Manchester -Stoke-London is maintained at a minimum of two services per hour.
Priorities for road:
A50/A500 is known as the North Midlands Manufacturing Corridor’, providing east-west connectivity from the M1 to the M6 and a key route through our region. It’s a vital freight artery for some world renowned brands including JCB and Michelin, who need reliability for moving supplies and goods. We continue to call for a strategic corridor wide approach to tackling some of the key congestion hot-spots across the county.
We’d like to get your views on the transport priorities that matter to you and your business. If you have any ideas/suggestions, please get in touch with me here.
