Birmingham is being branded “about Zone 5” on London’s commute map. We test the claim against HS2’s real timings, the £400m Knowledge Quarter investment, and who benefits on jobs, pay and housing.
00:00Call it ambition or branding, the pitch is simple. If the London train drops under an hour, Birmingham starts to behave like a deep commuter city.
00:11That Zone 5 line, first reported by the Financial Times, is now part of the sales job to investors.
00:18Heinz and Woodburn say £400 million is going into the Birmingham Knowledge Quarter, a tax advantage site beside Curzon Street.
00:26Government and the combined authority describe it as a catalyst for high value jobs and labs, with thousands more roles projected across the wider zone.
00:35Travel is the test. HS2 Limited still publishes 49 minutes between Curzon Street and central London once full running is in place.
00:44Until Euston opens, the first stop is Old Oak Common, with onward connections adding time.
00:49Timelines have slipped before, so viewers should treat any sub-50 number as conditional on station readiness and service frequency.
00:57Faster trains cut some commutes and can lift pay by widening the job market.
01:02They can also pressure rents and prices near stations. The council's finances and service cuts sharpen that question.
01:09Who actually benefits first and who pays for the uplift while we wait for full London access to arrive?
01:16Investors talk phase-by-phase build out at the Knowledge Quarter.
01:20The ask from business is certainty, dates, utilities, planning and transport that turns brochures into leases.
01:27The ask from residents is balance, growth that brings skilled work without pricing out the streets around the new line.
01:34The promise is big, the proof will be when the first trains actually run and when the benefits reach the people who live here.
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