Rishi Sunak has been told to get his act together and set a date for electrifying the Midland Mainline following his decision to ditch plans for HS2 in the north.
Midlands Mainline commuters were told back in 2017 that the Government was scrapping £1.1 billion plans to electrify the whole of the line from London St Pancras to Sheffield.
Instead electrification stopped at Kettering which meant the need for ‘bi-mode’ trains – running on electricity on the southern part of the route before switching to dirty diesel engines.
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East Midlands Councils, which represents the interests of councils in the region, said 80 per cent of the environmental benefits of travelling by train rather of car can be lost due to the emissions from locomotives using diesel power. Diesel trains are also noisier, and impact air quality along the line and in stations.
Politicians and business leaders have continued pushing the Government to reverse the decision, saying the East Midlands had been short-changed. The Government’s 2021 Integrated Rail Plan even put full electrification to Nottingham and Sheffield back on the table.
East Midlands Councils said it was time for Government to come good on that promise to support the 3.75 million passenger journeys each year between Chesterfield, Derby, Leicester and London.
Leicester Mayor Sir Peter Soulsby, who also chairs Transport for the East Midlands, said: “In the wake of the decision to cancel HS2, our message to the Government is simple and unequivocal – name the date for Midland Mainline electrification, sign the project off and switch on the East Midlands rail network.
“If we’re not proceeding with high-speed rail then we must upgrade our existing infrastructure as a matter of urgency.
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“Midland Mainline will be able to offer a better service for more people on upgraded trains if the final stretch into the East Midlands is at last electrified.
“We need to change Westminster’s attitude towards transport investment in the East Midlands. We receive too little, it takes too long, and the huge potential of our businesses and communities is not being fulfilled. This has to change if we’re to power up our future.”
East Midlands Councils has set out the case for electrification in a report called ‘The Future is Electric’ which suggests:
- Midland Mainline adds £450 million a year to the economy
- Passenger numbers on the line have more than doubled since the 1990s
- Midland Mainline’s catchment area is more densely populated than either West Coast or East Coast mainlines which are fully electrified
- Fully electric trains are cheaper, faster and more reliable while Midland Mainline’s diesel operations emit 48,000 tonnes of CO2 a year
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The push to speed up electrification of the Midland Mainline is being supported by East Midlands Chamber of Commerce.
Policy director Chris Hobson said: “We cannot cancel our way to economic growth and we want to see government end years of uncertainty by committing to electrify the last leg of the Midland Mainline now.
“In the space of the last seven years, this project has been paused, cancelled and then revived. It needs to be delivered.
“We already have teams of engineers working to electrify the line as far as South Wigston in Leicestershire.
“At a time when government is concerned about funding, it would make absolute sense to electrify the next stage as soon as this work is completed so that we avoid the costs and delays involved in having to remobilise a specialist workforce.
“The decision to cancel HS2 has been a bitter blow for a region that has both rail engineering expertise and huge potential for expansion. Given the growth challenges our economy faces, we cannot afford to wait any longer for an investment that is long overdue – Midland Mainline electrification must happen now.”