TRANSPORT infrastructure is going to be one of the keys to the recovery after the pandemic and there are good stories to tell locally.
We have seen how this area can be regenerated when Government investment and private enterprise work together – just look at the stunning success of Longbridge.
But now we must move on to other priorities and one of the best projects is the Midlands Rail Hub.
This is an ambitious plan around the Midlands and includes Kings Norton Station. Currently this is part of the Cross City Line and connects Longbridge and Northfield, both in my constituency, with Kings Norton and then into Birmingham and allows for travel to Redditch and Lichfield.
Kings Norton is also part of the Camp Hill Line that connects to New Street but it has been closed to passenger lines since the 1940s.
Now the plans are well underway to open new stations at Kings Heath, Moseley Village and Pineapple Road and then onto Kings Norton with the derelict middle platform back into use.
This will give people in and around Kings Norton more trains into the city and better links to vibrant areas of the City. Thanks have to go to the Government and locally to the Mayor Andy Street who have supported these plans.
It is exciting to think of ‘London style public transport’ coming to Kings Norton where instead of having to check a timetable you can arrive at the station confident of a train coming along every few minutes. This is the future for Kings Norton.
Transport does not just mean trains however. Recently I met with David from Spike Bikes – a great local business in Northfield that works on repairing and servicing bicycles to make them safer and more enjoyable to ride. I put him in touch with the Mayor’s cycling champion to get them working together.
We have a lot to shout about locally. Whether it be the thriving Longbridge developments or the beautiful Lickey Hills, which should now still have free parking after I campaigned to stop plans to charge drivers, and much more.
But one of the best things about the area that I represent is that you can be in the bustling heart of the Second City just as quickly as you can get to the rolling hills of Worcestershire.
And the key to all of that is better transport links which is something I am fighting for.
Gary Sambrook
Northfield MP
