Rail Minister Huw Merriman has been urged to get on with the job of electrifying the Midlands mainline north of Market Harborough.
South Yorkshire MP Dan Jarvis has accused the Government of dragging its feet over promises of finally getting round to speeding up the main railway line linking Leicester with East Midlands Parkway, Nottingham, Sheffield and Leeds.
The Government paused plans to stump up the cash for electrification in 2015, before cancelling them completely in 2017. However the Government’s 2021 Integrated Rail Plan re-committed to electrify the northern part of the line by the early 2030s.
The investment would enable East Midland’s Railway’s new Aurora Class intercity trains to run in electric mode – providing the wires south of Bedford are upgraded from 100mph to 125mph.
The proposals would be part of the government’s flagship HS2 scheme, which would see bullet-style trains run from the East Midlands Parkway to Nottingham, Derby, Chesterfield and Sheffield on the upgraded and electrified Mainline.
Despite the announcement of the integrated rail plan in November 2021, Mr Jarvis, the Labour MP for Barnsley Central, said that the terms of reference had still not been agreed, 14 months on.
Speaking in the House of Commons he said: “Fourteen months on not only has the work not been done, the terms of reference have not even been agreed.
“Ukraine and Romania have just reopened a train line in six months, during a war.”
Huw Merriman MP promised there would be news “very shortly.”
Following his speech, Mr Jarvis added: “The Integrated Rail Plan was a blow to Yorkshire, as the full commitment to our region was canned.
“The high speed rail study is supposed to address this, but over a year on, it has gone nowhere.
“I know Yorkshire leaders are ready and waiting to make the most out of this study. So, my message to the Rail Minister is simple – get on with it!”
