The partial opening of the East Midlands Hub Station in Toton, several years before HS2 arrives in 2033, is part of a package of priorities the Department for Transport has agreed to work on with Midlands Connect and East Midlands Councils to maximise the economic benefits of HS2.
Other priorities agreed included;
- Partially opening the East Midlands Hub station at Toton in the 2020s, at least for Network Rail services, to support and stimulate the development of the planned Innovation Campus nearby, which has the potential to create 10,000 new jobs
- Early delivery of road infrastructure around the Hub to support the early phases of the Innovation Campus
- Relocating the Network Rail/DB Cargo depot in Toton to another site within the East Midlands to facilitate the development of the Innovation Campus
Lobbying will continue with regards to a north facing connection on to HS2 to speed up journey times to the north from areas including Leicester that currently experience poor connectivity.