West Midlands Interchange progresses despite objections

The West Midlands Interchange, a designated Strategic Rail Freight Interchange attached to a vast logistics park, is currently in the preliminary construction phase. That, however, has left a window for objectors, including a local member of parliament, to voice their concerns. Nevertheless, the project has cleared four years of planning scrutiny and is underway. The 1-billion-pound (1.17 billion euros) project, which will take a decade to complete, will be one of the biggest in the UK.

The local member of parliament has been quoted as calling the scheme idiotic. However, West Midlands Interchange has already seen ground broken. Main contractors Winvic were appointed last year, and a rail freight operator was put in place earlier this year. The development has been criticised for the scale of the project. However, the argument in favour has often cited a significant shortage of modern warehousing in the UK – notably in the “Golden Triangle”, the area in the heart of England, where the logistics industry is heavily concentrated.

Objections have been voiced elsewhere

“West Midlands Interchange (WMI) represents a rare opportunity to expand the very small network of existing Strategic Rail Freight Interchanges (SRFI), significantly enhancing access to the rail network for local business.,” says a statement from Four Ashes Limited, the company formed to promote the project. “Expansion of SRFI capacity aligns with the objectives of business and Government to provide additional transport options and capacity for the movement of goods across the supply chain.”

Gavin Williamson MP. Image: © Gavinwilliamson.org

However, the huge logistics park, eventually covering 300 hectares, is not without its detractors. All such developments attract a degree of criticism, and WMI is no exception. Gavin Williamson MP, who represents the constituency within which the terminal will lie, has called the scheme “idiotic”. He has been campaigning for four years to stop the development. However, with his political party now in opposition, his influence in parliament is diminished. The strength of feeling might be compared to the vociferous campaign in St Albans, where local opposition has been organised against the similarly large development at Radlett.

Objections may be trumped by capacity issues

RailFreight.com has seen reports that propose for the rail terminal to be commenced once a third of the project has found tenants. That would suggest that the first of three phases would be completed first. However, a government source says that the plans are not finalised, and that could change. “Detailed proposals are still evolving,” said the Department for Transport. “The West Midlands Interchange is likely to include an intermodal freight terminal accommodating up to ten trains per day of up to 775m long and including container storage and HGV parking. Around 800,000 sqm of rail-served warehousing and ancillary service buildings, and may include an element of manufacturing and processing.”

Traffic on the West Coast Main Line. Image: © Network Rail

The rail element may progress faster. The developers have already appointed UK multimodal logistics operators Maritime Transport as the rail freight managers on the project. Maritime has extensive experience in the sector and is involved in several modern logistics parks, notably the East Midlands Gateway, which was recently expanded. One factor that may be an issue is the connection to the West Coast Main Line. The project was conceived while the HS2 high-speed rail project was still planned to provide a bypass for the very busiest section of the WCML. Those projected ten daily trains from WMI will now have to feed onto the existing line, which will not be relieved by the HS2 project. If anything were to scupper the rail element of the logistics development, it may not be objectors. It may be the somewhat more intractable issue of capacity on the line.

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