Department for Transport

Transport Minister in Birmingham to hear local views and in Coleshill to open new £9m railway station
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date 18 Sep 2007 12:13
source Department for Transport
type Press release

People in Coleshill are to benefit from a new railway station and bus interchange which was today officially opened by Transport Minister Rosie Winterton. Coleshill Parkway, which has been built with £4.1m of Government funding, provides Coleshill with a fast rail link to Birmingham and Leicester and will help boost local businesses and jobs.

Coleshill Parkway has been constructed with an interchange facility which will allow passengers arriving by bus, cycle, foot or car to make an easy transfer to their train journey. The station development also includes priority disabled parking, cycle facilities, a ticket office and a pedestrian footbridge.

Ms Winterton opened the new facility as part of a visit to the Birmingham area on which she heard local opinions on the Government's plans to further improve local travel.

The West Midlands area is set to benefit from new local authority powers to help improve public transport and cut congestion which are contained in the draft Local Transport Bill. The Bill, published in draft form in May, forms part of the Government's draft legislative programme for the next Parliamentary session.

Rosie Winterton said:

"Coleshill Parkway is great example of how the Government's investment in transport is delivering real improvements on the ground. Better local transport is crucial to cutting congestion and boosting the local economy.

"The draft Local Transport Bill will be key to further improvements as it sets out proposals to restructure how transport is delivered at a local level. Councils and local transport providers have a vital role to play in this and that is why it is essential we listen to local views."

Notes to Editors

1. Coleshill Parkway is served by two trains per hour on the Birmingham to Leicester line. Journey time to Birmingham is 18 minutes and Leicester 40 minutes.

2. The DfT has provided £4.1m from out of a total scheme cost of £9m for Coleshill Parkway. The remaining funding came from Warwickshire County Council, North Warwickshire District Council and John Laing plc through a public /private sector partnership.

3. While in the Birmingham area Rosie Winterton met with local councillors, business representatives and representatives of transport operators to discuss all aspects of local transport, including their recent responses to the Local Transport Bill consultation.

4. The draft Local Transport Bill, which was published in May 2007, aims to help improve public transport across the country and cut congestion. It sets out proposals to restructure how local transport is delivered within communities, which means the travelling public could benefit from local authorities taking local action to meet local transport needs. The DfT is now considering the responses to the consultation, and will make further announcements in due course.

5. If approved by Parliament the draft Bill would:
* give local authorities the right mix of powers to improve the quality of local bus services,
* empower local authorities in our major urban areas to review and propose their own arrangements for local transport governance to support coherent and effective transport planning and delivery,
* update existing powers so that where local areas wish to develop proposals for local road pricing schemes, they have the freedom and flexibility to do so in a way that best meets local needs.
For instance local authorities could:
* introduce 'quality contracts' schemes which could specify bus networks, timetables and fares in their local areas and to let contracts to bus operators to run those services,
* propose reforms to the existing responsibilities of Passenger Transport Authorities and district councils in major conurbations outside London to enable a more coherent integrated approach,
* propose new Passenger Transport Authorities in areas where they do not currently exist, and changes to the boundaries of existing Authorities where it makes sense to do so.

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Department for Transport Website: http://www.dft.gov.uk

Railhub Archive ::: 2007-09-18 DfT-001