Hereford bus fleet set to benefit from scrapped HS2 funding
£230 million's being put into the county's buses.
Hereford’s buses will benefit from regional funding freed up by the cancellation of the HS2 rail scheme north of Birmingham. But the details remain unclear for now.
The Government said last week it would redirect “vast HS2 savings into unprecedented transport investment across the country”, including £9.7 billion in the Midlands.
Among this spending, £230 million will go on improving the region’s bus services, with “new bus lanes in Herefordshire” among the planned investments.
A Herefordshire Council spokesperson said: “We welcome the announcement of the opportunity for additional funding for bus services and facilities and the possibility for wider transport investment in the region.”
The council is already developing bus priority measures and service improvements for Blue School Street and Newmarket Street, the A438 in central Hereford, as part of a package of measures which needs to be completed by March 2025.
“We have a successful Enhanced Partnership Scheme for Buses with operators and other partners that is constantly seeking new ways to improve journey reliability, reduce congestion and tackle pinch points across the county,” the council’s spokesperson said.
“Once details of the new funding are released the partnership will consider how best to use the funds for the benefit of bus passengers.”
Hereford railway station meanwhile is among 50 stations expected to benefit from £1.75 billion to complete the Midlands Rail Hub project in full, leading to faster and more frequent regional train services.
A further £2.2 billion will go on addressing potholes in the Midlands’ roads.