CHESHIRE East Council leader Clr Michael Jones joined key players from the region’s railway industry last week to outline the benefits of the proposed HS2 north west hub station.

The north west hub station, which is proposed to be homed in Crewe, is said to improve the chances of a Middlewich Rail Station and Clr Jones says that station can turn Cheshire East into an ‘economic powerhouse.’

The conference, which took place in Crewe on Thursday, December 4, saw more than 100 people attend.

The delegates included Clr Michael Jones, rail enthusiast Pete Waterman, Network Rail’s Rupert Walker and OSL Global’s Mathew Conway, who all spoke of their shared vision for economic growth in the north west through HS2.

Clr Michael Jones said: “The north west HS2 hub station is a tremendous opportunity for our region to thrive and prosper as an economic powerhouse.

“But we need a strong local partnership to ensure we achieve this.

“We want to work with our near neighbours in Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire to ensure our region gets maximum benefit from this historic opportunity.

“HS2 in the north west is all about energising the economies of Cheshire and Staffordshire.

“The north west hub station would provide a cradle for growth which would change the lives of millions of people.”

Rupert Walker, head of high speed rail development at Network Rail, added: “HS2 brings fantastic opportunities for the north west.

“The opportunity of delivering a hub in the north west will enable us to spread the benefits of the new line as widely as possible.

“As part of this, integrating the line with the rest of the transport network is hugely important.

“A new north west hub brings the opportunity to do that really effectively and it builds on the concept of seamless transfer between different modes of travel so people find it easier to use the railway.”