Published: Friday 12 September 2025
New report shows how Midlands Rail Hub could help with productivity puzzle
A new report by Midlands Connect released today shows that towns and cities along the Midlands Rail Hub route, could see a boost of £14 billion every single year by closing the productivity gap with the rest of England.
Our analysis has shown that productivity is up to 21% lower along Midlands Rail Hub route. Increasing transport investment in the Midlands has the potential to reduce journey times between major urban and industrial centres, bringing firms and workers closer together and making it cheaper and easier to communicate, compete and trade.
If the following cities are about to raise their productivity to the UK average the economic benefit, per year is:
- Birmingham currently 16% worse than average → £6.6bn per year
- Nottingham currently 19% worse than average → £2.8bn per year
- Leicester currently 15% worse than average → £1.8bn per year
- Derby currently 9% worse than average → £0.9bn per year
- Hereford currently 21% worse than average → £0.3bn per year
- Gloucester currently 21% worse than average → £1.0bn per year
- Cheltenham currently 6% worse than average → £0.3bn per year
- Worcester currently 9% worse than average → £0.4bn per year
Midlands Rail Hub proposes building two ‘chords’ as well as 10+ engineering interventions throughout the region – allowing us to offer up to 20 million extra seats for passengers and up to 300 extra trains every day, through the Midlands and beyond. The West Chord consists of improvements between Bordesley and Moor Street, allowing access to Birmingham Moor Street from the South-West and Wales, and making sure services are improved on the Hereford and Worcester corridors.
The East Chord also creates an access to Birmingham Moor Street from the East Midlands.
The project will also support more than 20,000 New homes built each year at places like Worcestershire Parkway and Ashchurch for Tewkesbury. The project will also create 300+ apprenticeships and 13,000 jobs created as part of the supply chain.
Commenting on the reports release Midlands Connect’s CEO Maria Machancoses said:
“The government investment to improve the Midlands and beyond connectivity through the Midlands Rail Hub is an investment in unlocking its people, its productivity and its economy. The plans and the potential are in place, now we need to make it happen.”
West Midlands Mayor Richard Parker said:
“The West Midlands is the heart of the national rail network, yet years of underinvestment has led to bottlenecks in our system. Trains are overcrowded and routes are underserved. This is stifling transport links and growth for the region and for the whole of the UK.
“The Midlands Rail Hub is the investment the region, and the UK, needs. It will open up routes across the Midlands and beyond, giving passengers more reliable and frequent services with shorter journey times.
“It will improve links to key locations such as Swindon, Cardiff, Leicester, Derby and Nottingham while connecting more of our local communities to the rail network. This is our vision for the future – one where residents have a faster, greener and more reliable way to access jobs, education and healthcare while contributing to the economic growth we so badly need.”
MP for Birmingham Northfield Laurence Turner said:
“Rail investment is a spur to economic prosperity. The UK as a whole needs the Midlands to succeed.
“I know from my own constituency that a good rail connection can make the difference when a company decides to invest. Works like the Kings Norton upgrade will dramatically improve the links within and between Birmingham, Worcestershire, Staffordshire and beyond.
“Our region has for too long been the ‘squeezed Midlands’ with low levels of rail spending, lower wages, and fewer jobs. The Government’s commitment to Midlands Rail Hub signals an important change. We now need to get on with making it happen.”