MOU signed as councils look for East Coast improvements
COUNCIL representatives from across the route of the East Coast Mainline (ECML) have met to discuss their priorities for the line.
The meeting followed an announcement by the Department of Transport that the ECML franchising process would not be put on hold.
The line, which runs through Yorkshire, is presently operated by Directly Operated Railways, which has taken over the running of the re-nationalised line from National Express.
The meeting in York was aimed at enabling councils along the route to take a collaborative approach to lobbying Government for greater involvement in making infrastructure improvements and to have a greater say in who runs the line.
ECML councils represented at the meeting came from as far south as Stevenage and as far north as East Lothian, Scotland, alongside Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, Newark & Sherwood, North Yorkshire, Doncaster, Durham, Darlington, Northumberland, Peterborough, York and Lincolnshire council’s and Leeds, York and North Yorkshire Chamber of Commerce and West Yorkshire ITA.
The group agreed to form a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to work together to push forward their collective position on the ECML improvements and plan to submit a united document on the franchise to the DfT to seek further fuller involvement in the franchise process.
They have also committed to identify further opportunities for greater collaboration on economic growth, taking advantage of the line to tackle labour and housing supply, business to business support, inward investment opportunities and the wider tourism offer up and down the line.
Chairing the meeting, Coun James Alexander, leader of York Council, said: “The link between this city’s economic success and the ECML cannot be underestimated. The investment programme for infrastructure proposed, as set out in Governments ‘Railways Act 2005 Statement’ and ‘Illustrative Options’, must be implemented in full – particularly the £240m works to improve its capacity and implement a reduction in journey times on this line.
“For the first time, local authorities have come together to lobby for the future of the ECML, to collaborate on what is an immediate priority for all of us. Should the expected franchising go ahead, we will be ready to put forward our case for improvements collectively and ensure that our cities are served by the best possible services to promote our individual economic growth.”
