Midland Mainline: Work due to start on electrification

Grant Shapps says he hopes the project will lead to a transformation of rail links

Work to lay the foundation for the planned electrification of the Midland Mainline is due to get under way this week, the government has said.

The upgrade of the route between Kettering, in Northamptonshire, and Market Harborough, in Leicestershire, is due to start on Christmas Eve.

The government said the project would allow for potential electrification of the route to Sheffield and Nottingham.

The plans were previously paused by the government in 2015.

'Better connections'

The government said electrification would allow for quieter trains, greater decarbonisation, better connectivity and more local services across the region.

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps, on a visit to the Leicester hub of Network Rail contractors SPL, said the project marked the beginning of "a transformation of rail journeys for the Midlands and the North".

"We will slash journey times and build better connections between towns, cities and everywhere in between," he said.

"Under our plans, people won't have to wait two decades for better services."

Analysis

By Tony Roe, BBC East Midlands political editor

Electrification of the whole of the Midland Mainline has been a priority for business leaders and politicians from all sides for years.

The work about to begin between Kettering and Market Harborough has been hailed as a welcome early Christmas present, but it's worth remembering that the work on that stretch of the line has been on the cards for a while.

It was approved back in February 2019 a long time before the publication of the recent rail plan.

That's perhaps why the East Midlands Chamber calls it a first small step, and they'll be pushing for a revisited timetable, which will see electrification delivered ahead of the current 2030 target.

Maria Machancoses, chief executive of government-funded transport group Midlands Connect, said: "Extending the Midland Mainline electrification is an early Christmas present to the region and is the first step towards giving the East Midlands the transport infrastructure it deserves."

Paul McKeown, investment director for Network Rail's Eastern Region, said his teams would be working throughout Christmas to install the equipment to carry the electric wires.

Silviya Barrett, head of policy and research at the Campaign for Better Transport, said: "Electrifying more of the railway is key to helping make one of our greenest forms of transport even greener."

The plans for Market Harborough, originally announced in 2019, were included as part of the government's Integrated Rail Plan, which was published in November.

The plan also included the axing of the eastern leg of HS2 in favour of a link that terminates at East Midlands Parkway, in Nottinghamshire.