Transport deemed more important than devolution

The north and Midlands should have their own smart card modelled on London's Oyster to allow workers to move between cities more quickly, the city growth commission says.

Jim O'Neill, chairman of the commission, said transport was more important than devolution in improving economic fortunes of provincial cities.

"The whole idea of connecting cities through much more sophisticated and affordable and better infrastructure in my judgment will probably do more for those cities than anything to do with devolution per se."

Councils in the regions have long pressed for more control over local rail services, so they can be better integrated with buses and trams and commuter flows.

"In the past it's felt like people in London playing with their train sets," said Geoff Inskip, chief executive of Centro, the transport authority for Birmingham and its six neighbouring councils.

Birmingham and 13 nearby authorities filed a bid this month to manage jointly with Whitehall the renewal of the London Midland franchise in 2017. Franchise negotiations are handled by the Department for Transport.

West Midlands Rail would ensure better local services by tight specification in the franchise and then hope to take over the entire process.

"We've got good connections into Newcastle and Leeds, and also Manchester, but we need to ensure that the local rail network is connected into that," Mr Inskip said.

Research suggests that good local connectivity could double the impact of the High Speed 2 line in the West Midlands, with £4bn added to the local economy from £2bn of local rail improvements.

"We want to align the rail economy to get the biggest bang for our buck from HS2, he said. "Connectivity is the key issue."

A planned HS2 station at Curzon Street in Birmingham and an interchange near the city's airport will free capacity on a network that is one of the most overcrowded in the country.

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In January, the government cut a similar deal with 33 northern councils, establishing Rail North. It is consulting on the timetable and specification for the TransPennine and northern franchises, which will be renewed next year.

Whitehall had forecast a passenger decline but numbers have jumped 47 per cent in a decade. Despite Rail North's involvement, the franchise specification suggests reduced services and higher fares to cut the annual £172m subsidy.

Merseytravel in Liverpool has introduced a Walrus card, while Greater Manchester is piloting its own system. Buses in West Yorkshire have begun installing smart card technology for the region's new smart card.

Jon Collins, chief executive of Nottingham city council, said: "You shouldn't have to apply for money and then have that application second and third guessed in Westminster. Nottingham's first tramline was approved 10 years after we made the case for it and even now that we've shown we can successfully execute the line we are still trying to get the second and third lines approved."

Additional reporting by Aliya Ram

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