Full Speed Ahead for Electric Trains!

The long awaited upgrade & electrification of the Midland Main Line from Bedford through the East Midlands to Sheffield moved a step closer today as the Government signalled its intention press head with industry-led investment proposals published last autumn.

Council and business leaders from across the East Midlands and South Yorkshire have strongly

welcomed the publication of the ‘High Level Output Statement’ or ‘HLOS’ for 2014-19. The HLOS

confirms the intention to electrify the Midland Main Line between Bedford and Sheffield and to deliver capacity improvements around Derby, Leicester and in between Kettering and Corby.

If fully implemented, the upgrade & electrification package proposed last year would enable more

reliable and greener rail travel and lead to significant journey time savings. Electrification would also allow trains to run on both ‘classic’ lines and the Government’s proposed new HS2 line – widening access to ‘high speed’ rail services across the East Midlands and South Yorkshire.

The publication of the HLOS brings this investment a step closer and follows a vigorous campaign led by East Midlands Councils and South Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive, working closely with Local Enterprise Partnerships along the line and Nicky Morgan MP (Loughborough) - who has spearheaded the campaign in the House of Commons.

Mick Jameson, Chair of the South Yorkshire Integrated Transport Authority, said:

“Upgrade and electrification of the Midland Main Line will boost connectivity and be great news for the travelling public of Sheffield and South Yorkshire. Today’s announcement is welcome, and we will continue to make the case for electrification so that it gets the final go ahead next year”.

Cllr Kay Cutts, Leader of Nottinghamshire County Council and EMC Executive Board Member said:

"We have worked closely with businesses, Local Enterprise Partnership and MPs to build an unanswerable case for this investment, which will be of huge benefit to Nottinghamshire, and I am very pleased that our efforts have started to pay off. We now need to make sure implementation goes ahead quickly – I want to see contractors on the ground as soon as possible.”

Cllr Rory Palmer, Deputy City Mayor of Leicester and EMC Executive Board Member said:

“Today’s announcement is a significant boost for the people and businesses of Leicester, and will

help to raise the profile of the City with potential investors. The Midland Main Line badly needs this investment if it is to maintain the levels of passenger growth and improved reliability we have seen in recent years.”

Cllr Jim Harker OBE, Leader of Northamptonshire County Council and Infrastructure lead for East

Midlands Councils said:

“Upgrade and electrification of the Midland Main Line is crucial for the economic future of towns of

Corby, Kettering and Wellingborough, as well as for the wider East Midlands. The Government’s

announcement represents a clear statement of intent to invest in our future – something that I very much welcome”.

Update on Derby: 26th May 2012

Changing the track layout at Derby would deliver quicker journeys, reduce delays and

improve performance and Government will soon decide whether to fund this scheme. The

latest information from Network Rail is that the business case for this much-needed

investment is so strong it would pay for itself.

Increasing capacity

Derby is a major rail bottleneck. Demand for rail has grown substantially in recent years

and the number of services has increased, but trains from London, Sheffield, Nottingham,

Birmingham, Reading and even Penzance are still forced to use the same piece of track –

something that Network Rail estimates causes around 16,000 minutes of delays every year.

This lack of capacity in the area also leads to longer journey times, with some services from

St Pancras taking nearly 10 minutes longer to get to Sheffield as a result.

The rail industry has proposed to remodel this piece of track alongside a signalling and

track renewal already planned for the area, making it a ‘once in a generation’ opportunity to

make huge cuts in delays, improve performance and deliver quicker journeys – whilst

keeping costs down and minimising disruption for passengers.

Strong business case

The combined renewal and remodeling at Derby is likely to cost between £140m and

£150m. However the remodelling element, which is estimated to cost £70m, will increase

rail capacity, deliver an average journey time saving of between two and three minutes

between London and Sheffield and pay for itself.

The Derby scheme is just one part of a package of investment being promoted for the

Midland Main Line by the rail industry, MPs, council leaders and businesses across the

East Midlands and South Yorkshire. Other elements include track remodelling around

Leicester, a number of line speed improvements, longer trains, and the electrification of the

line from Bedford to Sheffield via Wellingborough, Kettering, Corby, Leicester, Derby,

Nottingham and Chesterfield. Alongside committed investment, these measures will:  

− Cut rail industry costs by up to £60m per year

− Reduce journey times between London and Sheffield by up to 14 minutes

− Slash carbon emissions by up to 13,000 tonnes a year

− Create hundreds of jobs during construction

− Add £450 million of wider economic benefits

− Improve freight access by providing W10 gauge clearance throughout the route

− Widen access to HS2 from areas not directly served by new stations

Midland Main Line investment key to local economic growth

Key council leaders and chairs of the newly formed ‘local enterprise partnerships’  (LEPs) have united to support proposals to upgrade and electrify the Midland Main Line in a joint letter to Chancellor George Osborne and Business Secretary Vince Cable.

The letter has been signed by a group of 12 council leaders and LEP chairs from across the East Midlands and South Yorkshire:

·         Cllr David Parsons CBE (Leader of Leicestershire County Council),

·         Cllr Rory Palmer (Deputy Mayor of Leicester),

·         Andrew Bacon (Chair, Leicester & Leicestershire LEP)

·         Cllr Jon Collins (Leader of Nottingham City Council),

·         Cllr Andrew Lewer (Leader of Derbyshire County Council),

·         Cllr Philip Hickson (Leader of Derby City Council),

·         Cllr Kay Cutts (Leader of Nottinghamshire County Council)

·         Colin Walton (Chair of D2N2 LEP)

·         Cllr Jim Harker (Leader of Northamptonshire County Council)

·         Paul Southworth (Chair, Northamptonshire Enterprise Partnership)

·         Cllr Julie Dore (Leader of Sheffield City Council)

·         James Newman (Chair of Sheffield City Region LEP)

The council leaders and LEP chairs are calling on the Government to include rail industry proposals to upgrade and electrify the midland main line in the next 5 year investment plan (2014-19), to be announced in July 2012. 

The letter follows a well attended ‘adjournment debate’ on the Midland Main Line led by Nicky Morgan MP (Loughborough), which took place in the House of Commons on the 16 April 2012.

The joint letter can be found here.

Adjournment Debate

Members of EMC's Executive Board have written to the Minister of State for Transport, Theresa Villiers MP, to express their strong support for the proposals to upgrade and electrify the Midland Main Line set out in the 'Initial Industry Plan' (IIP) and to ask that the proposed investments are specified in the Government's High Level Outputs Statement (HLOS) due in July 2012. The letter is available here.

With support from EMC and SYPTE, Nicky Morgan MP led an Adjournment Debate on the upgrade and electrification on the 16 April 2012 in the House of Commons. The debate was very positive and well attended, with welcome recognition of the work of East Midlands Councils.  The Minister of State for Transport was left in no doubt about the strength of the case for the investment and the level of cross party support.

The Debate can be seen on the BBC Democracy Live website. A written record is also available here. The debate also made the front page of the Derby Evening Telegraph, which was presented to Prime Minister David Cameron during his visit to Derby .

The Case for Upgrading and Electrifying the Midland Main Line

Upgrading and electrifying the Midland Main Line is imperative for economic growth. It

would reduce travelling times between key cities, meet business demand for rail freight,

improve performance, reduce costs and carbon emissions, and deliver £450m in wider

economic benefits. Local councils, businesses and Local Enterprise Partnerships from

across the East Midlands and South Yorkshire are united in their support for this crucial

investment.

Key benefits

• Cut rail industry costs by up to £60m per year
• Reduce journey times between London and Sheffield by up to 14 minutes
• Slash carbon emissions by up to 13,000 tonnes a year
• Create hundreds of jobs during construction
• Add £450 million of wider economic benefits
• Improve freight access by providing W10 gauge clearance throughout the route
• Widen access to HS2 from areas not directly served by new stations

ARUP's full report and technical note make the case for investment. The campaign is supported by Nicky Morgan MP for Loughborough who co-ordinated a letter from East Midlands and South Yorkshire MPs to Transport Minister Theresa Villiers, in support of proposals to upgrade and electrify the Midland Main Line.