Top firm says HS2 will bring in skilled workers to Staffordshire
Highly-skilled workers will be attracted to work in Staffordshire as a result of the HS2 high-speed rail line, one of the county's biggest employers has said.
The trains will call at Stafford railway station at least once an hour under plans for the £42.6 billion scheme, which will cut through swathes of Staffordshire countryside.
Hybrid trains starting their journey in Liverpool that are able to run on both the West Coast Mainline and the HS2 route will call at Stafford before joining the high-speed line at Lichfield.
Power and engineering giant Alstom, which employs 2,000 workers in Stafford, is looking to bid for a slice of £8bn HS2 contracts to build the high-speed trains for the project.
It comes after the firm released a new image of what the 'bullet' train could look like if the firm was successful in winning HS2 contracts. The company today said that being linked to HS2 would make Stafford more attractive for top engineers from the north and the south.
Spokesman Jonathan Smith said: "We have a massive presence in Stafford and with the town being linked up to HS2 it makes the town a lot more attractive to highly skilled engineers and potential employees because it is then less than an hour away from the bright lights of London or Manchester.
"We think it would encourage people and businesses to come to the town and Staffordshire.
"By Birmingham and the Midlands being half an hour away from London there will be more job creation away from the capital which will be very welcome. It also makes the rest of the country more attractive.
"But we don't think HS2 is the be all and end all. What we need to see is regional train networks, trams and other public transport join up with HS2 and provide a complete door-to-door service. It will not only create jobs but it will make travel between our cities easier.
"It's not a case of the benefit will just be where the stations are – it should be a case that it benefits a much wider area with better links from HS2 to other towns and cities."
The firm hopes to win work to build up to 80 of the trains which could spark a jobs surge.
