North West industrial park launches campaign for investment in local rail infrastructure

A North West industrial park has today launched a campaign to lobby the UK government for investment in the improvement of local rail infrastructure.

Deeside Industrial Park, a manufacturing and distribution business hub, wants investment in the electrification and upgrade of service on the Wrexham to Bidston, Merseyside rail route, investment it says will boost employment, generate cross-border business growth and improve UK economic prosperity.

They are also seeking an upgrade to the Hawarden Bridge station in the next transport budget allocation in 2019.

Chairman of Deeside Industrial Park Business Forum, Askar Sheibani, who is also CEO of IT and telecoms repair company Comtek, will spearhead the initiative on behalf of the local community, with support from businesses and local authorities.

Sheibani said: “The Wrexham to Bidston rail route has been woefully neglected.

“Although an upgrade has been discussed for many years, the success of Enterprise Zones in Wales, such as Deeside, have increased demand for the rail network and proposals for improvements can no longer be ignored.

“Allocation of the transport budget needs to be considered now, if Deeside is to have any hope of turning plans into a reality. To ensure this, we’re looking to enlist the support of businesses and the local community in a bid to put pressure on the Government to step up.”

The campaign to improve the Wrexham to Bidston rail infrastructure has been prompted by the poor train service currently being offered on this route, which has been branded infrequent and slow, often due to breakages on the line.

The poor service has diminished aspirations to commute to the areas the train line serves and has become an obstacle for businesses operating in the region.

Deeside, for example, has become one of the most successful Enterprise Zones, but the lack of basic rail infrastructure is deterring new businesses from locating to the area, which is limiting the Zone’s growth trajectory.

For Deeside in particular, the campaign will call for an upgrade to the existing Hawarden Bridge station and for it to be renamed the ‘Deeside Enterprise Zone station’.

Given the time until the budget is allocated, extra interim services should also be implemented – trains should run at least every half an hour, compared with the current service which only stops three times in the morning and twice in the evening.

The launch of the campaign follows a meeting organised by Sheibani at Comtek in August 2013, chaired by Secretary of State for Wales, David Jones MP, where initial plans for the rail improvement were discussed.

With cross-border and cross-party support, there were representatives from Liverpool, Wirral, Cheshire, Denbighshire, Wrexham and Flintshire areas, as well as senior members of the Deeside Industrial Park Business Forum, including president Lord Barry Jones, Ian Lucas MP, and decision makers from the local councils.

Sheibani plans to take the proposal to the table at today’s Deeside Industrial Park Forum meeting.

Should the appeal be successful and the route receive the required Government investment, modernisation to the rail network will provide a seamless commute between Enterprise Zones and key employment sites, therefore improving cross-border communications, which will ultimately drive business success.

Deeside’s campaign offers an alternative to the UK Government’s more controversial HS2 plans, the high-speed rail link which aims to build superfast railway links from London to Birmingham, Leeds and Manchester by 2033.

Costs for this project are spiralling, with some think tanks predicting a total sum of as much as £80bn – funds that could transform more localised rail infrastructures.

“The high-speed rail link is draining the localities of potential investment,” continued Sheibani.

“Modernisation of smaller rail infrastructure projects, like the Wrexham to Bidston line, are not only more achievable but will make a real difference to the local community.

“Moreover, as these local investments make an impact; employment across the UK will rise, localities will become more economically stable and UK prosperity as a whole will soar.”

Lord Barry Jones, president of the Deeside Industrial Park, is working with Shebani to push the campaign to the top of the agenda for North Wales and he offers the following comment.

“The Deeside Industrial Park has gone from strength to strength, showing that a relatively small amount of investment can have a huge impact on, not only the local area, but the local people too.

“With more businesses and more jobs comes a more prosperous community, but this growth will be stunted if transport links continue to fall below par.

“An unreliable service where only five trains a day stop at the local Hawarden Bridge rail station is unacceptable, and if the Government doesn’t act on behalf of these critically under-serviced areas soon, the achievements of areas like Deeside may all have been in vain.”

The Wrexham to Bidston rail upgrade has also received local parliamentary support from Alyn and Deeside MP, Mark Tami, who said: “The Wrexham to Bidston rail infrastructure improvement would transform business and social connections for the local Deeside area and its community.

“The area is poorly served by the existing rail network and an upgrade would make cross-border business transactions easier, as well as encouraging enterprises and potential employees to locate to the area.

“I strongly support the campaign, which will bring significant economic benefit to Deeside and other areas that the rail route touches.”

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