Electrification of Midland Mainline 'paused' by Network Rail

In the previous parliament, a £500m plan to electrify the Midland Mainline from London to Sheffield was announced

The halting of a £500m project to electrify the Midland Mainline is potentially "very damaging" to the economy, experts said.

In 2013 a five-year plan was announced to electrify the route from London to Sheffield through the East Midlands.

The government has now said it can be improved in other ways while the electrification project "is paused".

Experts said the decision will widen the north-south divide and damage the regional economy.

The Secretary of State for Transport Patrick McLoughlin announced other changes - including "speed improvement works" - which he said would provide better services in the short term.

"Work on electrification will be paused. I want it to be done and done well. It will be part of our future plans for the route," he said.

Malcolm Prentice, chief executive of engineering firm Garrandale Group, said the delay will widen the north-south divide and is at odds with a recent visit to Derby by the chancellor, George Osborne.

He described the region as Britain's "engine for growth".

Mr Prentice said: "Why are we taking away electrification when we want a greener environment [by] removing the diesel engines?"

Nottingham City Council leader Jon Collins said promised investment could be lost.

The Midland Mainline is electrified from London to Bedford but no further north

"The investment in electrification was a centrepiece of investment in infrastructure and it will be very damaging to the East Midlands economy," he said.

'Broken promise'

Clive Betts, MP for Sheffield South East, said successive secretaries of state had made personal promises about the line.

"Prior to the general election, David Cameron and Patrick McLoughlin were promising people and businesses all the way along the Midland Mainline that electrification would result in significant improvements... in the lifetime of this parliament.

"It is clear today they already knew that was a promise they were going to break."