New Midlands rail link would benefit universities, report says

Universities have backed £100m proposals to restore direct rail links between Nottingham, Leicester and Coventry, according to new research.

A report says academics believe better rail links between the cities will boost collaboration between campuses.

Regional transport body Midlands Connect has compiled the report as it seeks government funding for the scheme.

The government said connectivity would be improved reallocated HS2 funding.

Midlands Connect said it sought the views of senior staff and students from Coventry, Warwick, Loughborough, Leicester and Nottingham Trent universities.

The universities believe better rail links would aid student and staff recruitment, the report said.

Direct Leicester to Coventry services last ran in 2004 and currently, passengers travelling between Leicester and Coventry would have to get off one train at Nuneaton station, change platforms and board another.

Analysis of journeys has shown 3% of trips between the cities are made by rail, compared to 30% of trips between Coventry and Birmingham.

Midlands Connect said its new research showed 85% of the students surveyed struggled to get to or from university because of delayed trains or missed train connections.

Nearly 78% believed a stronger local rail network in the Midlands would have made their university a more appealing option, while 72% would be more likely to travel by rail more if local services were more frequent, faster, and involved less changes.

William Wells, the University of Leicester's senior director of commercial, innovation strategy and marketing, said: "The poor quality of west-east transport links is having a negative impact on the labour market.

"Even in professional and senior researcher roles, it is unreasonable to expect to be able to recruit from the West Midlands - unless you are prepared to move house.

"Leicester and Coventry are the two largest cities in Europe that are not directly connected by a rail service.

"We've got an economic geography that just doesn't function effectively because of our, basically, broken transport links."

Will Rossiter, associate professor at Nottingham Trent University's business school, said he backed Midlands Connect's plan, adding: "Without a doubt, it would facilitate the kind of cross-university collaborations that are increasingly essential if you're going to attract public funding for research.

"Connectivity does make a difference to the quality of the student experience.

"We tend to operate on quite large catchment areas, particularly for academic staff because of the need to fill roles that are very specialised. I would argue for universities, intra and interregional transport connectivity is more important than the average employer.

"While transport connections are important for students, it is also critical in supporting research collaboration across different institutions."

Sir Peter Soulsby, Leicester's mayor, previously said: "I can't think of two UK cities other than Coventry and Leicester that are as close, yet so appallingly connected by rail.

"At the moment it can take up to an hour and 20 minutes to travel less than 25 miles, and passengers have to change trains halfway - it's simply not good enough."

A Department for Transport spokesperson added: "Our plan to improve local transport with reallocated HS2 funding means we can now fund the £1.75bn Midlands Rail Hub in full, which will improve rail connectivity across the Midlands.

"On top of this, the new East Midlands Combined Authority will benefit from £1.5bn so they can make devolved decisions on local transport which best serve their community."

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