Businessmen lobby for regional high-speed rail link
Business leaders in the East Midlands are lobbying the new transport secretary in a bid to bring high-speed rail travel to the region.
The region's economy could benefit by £4bn and travel time to London could be cut by 45 minutes.
The government is backing a high-speed rail network as part of its drive for reduced carbon emissions.
Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire Chamber of Commerce say it is essential that the link runs through the region.
The chamber has written to the new Transport Secretary Philip Hammond asking him not to ignore the region when the route for the high-speed rail link is decided.
It says 97% of local firms believe the region could benefit from the high-speed link.
The rail link would have trains travelling at speeds of 250 mph from London to Birmingham.
No timetable for the rail link has been released.