Chamber rails against Government over Midland Mainline electrification

The director of policy at the East Midlands Chamber of Commerce has slammed the Transport Secretary Chris Grayling for cancelling the electrification of the Midland Main Line.

Grayling told the Transport Select Committee this week that he stopped modernisation of the line because he didn’t think shaving “a minute off journey times between Sheffield and London” was worth the £1bn investment – a move which has angered Chris Hobson at the Chamber.

Last July, the Department for Transport announced plans for new bi-mode trains for passengers travelling from Nottingham railway station – effectively scrapping plans to electrify the lines.

The government said passengers travelling from Nottingham will get faster and more comfortable journeys on trains which are powered by a combination of electric and diesel.

Modern bi-mode trains will be used on Midland Main Line, with Long distance journey times from Nottingham also be reduced by up to 20 minutes in the peak.

The government says this will mean that “disruptive” electrification works will no longer be needed.

Hobson said: “It isn’t just about saving time on the journey. The very next announcement to come out of his department last summer was that he had created a £255m fund that local authorities could access for feasibility studies into cleaner air initiatives such as banning diesel cars and vans from town and city centres or establishing so-called ‘toxin tax’ zones, similar to London’s congestion tax.

“Electrification of Midland Main Line is more about ensuring the East Midlands has a railway system fit for the 21st Century, that it will have cleaner, faster, more reliable and more efficient trains, that the air in our towns and cities will be cleaner and that it will be fully integrated with HS2 when it arrives in the region in 2033.”

Hobson said the Government’s own figures have revealed that the East Midlands receives less infrastructure investment per capita than the rest of the country. The Chamber is campaigning to have this increased to the average 100% per capita by 2020.

He added: “As a region we are succeeding despite the Government’s lack of investment, not because of it, and it needs to change.

“Mr Grayling should put electrification of Midland Main Line back on the agenda immediately and show that the Department for Transport is capable of cohesive thinking across all its policies.”