Midland Main Line eletrification between Sheffield and London paused by Government
The Government has paused the electrification of the Midland Main Line between Sheffield and London, which campaigners have described as “short-sighted and self defeating”.
The route is one of the busiest in the country that is yet to be electrified and has been slated for upgrade work for more than a decade, however it has constantly been beset by delays.
It would make the journey time from Sheffield to London under two hours, by cutting it by around 15 minutes.
The Conservatives pledged to complete the electrification by 2020, but five years later much of the line is still diesel only and Labour has now also mothballed the plans.
When announcing a number of road and rail projects this week, the Government said: “The next phase of electrification of the Midland Main Line has been paused.
“Given the existing trains in use on this stretch of railway and the costs and time needed to electrify the route we are focusing our investment on other schemes over the Spending Review period.
“We will continue to keep the potential for full electrification of the route under review as part of our plans to decarbonise our railways and as funding becomes available in future.”
This is the section between Market Harborough, in Leicestershire, and Sheffield.
Sam Richards, chief executive of pro-growth campaign group Britain Remade, said: "The failure to commit to delivering the electrification of the Midlands Main Line is a prime example of the feast or famine funding British railway infrastructure projects have to endure.
“Scrapping the latest phase is short-sighted and self-defeating. Now passengers will get slower, dirtier trains while costs go up, and a low emission railway slips further out of reach.
“Every year for the last fifty years, Germany has electrified roughly 200 kilometres of railway, while Britain’s piecemeal approach has meant no electrification some years.
“This has made electrifying our railways around three times more expensive than in Germany.
“If the government is serious about building a modern railway, it needs to ditch the stop-start chaos and commit to a rolling programme of electrification - cheaper, smarter, and built to last."