The East Midlands Number One Investment Priority

The East Midlands’ Number One Investment Priority

The Electrification (and Upgrade) of Midland Mainline (MMLe)

The electrification of the Midland Mainline has already been described by Network Rail as ‘critical to delivering a reliable and sustainable railway and tackling overcrowding’.

a) The Midland Mainline - Why is it Important?

Carries more than 13 million passengers a year.
Is the slowest of any of the inter-city lines and due to continual under-investment, Midland Mainline trains are rarely able to go at their top speed.
Connects 4 of the largest cities (Derby, Leicester, Nottingham, Sheffield), and one of the fastest growing areas in England, to London and each other.
Passenger numbers have increased by 130% over the last 15 years and a further 30% rise is expected in the next 10 years.

b) Electrification – the Key Points:

MMLe is ready to go! All the design work is done and preliminary works completed – unlike other schemes
The benefits cannot be secured by upgrade alone. The electrification cannot and should not be separated out from the upgrade work (e.g. station/track improvements). It is not one or the other.
Delaying the MMLe will significantly increase costs, e.g. the Crossrail experience - cancelled in 1993 at an estimated £2 billion – now likely to cost £27.5 billion at today’s prices.
Improves reliability and capacity!
The highest benefit-cost ratio of any electrification scheme.
MMLe is the cornerstone for securing support for, and the benefits of, HS2 – by widening access to the high speed network to places not directly served, such as Leicester (so-called classic compatible running).

c) Failure to Electrify the Midland Mainline will have Significant Impact:

The Impact on Rolling Stock

The current fleet of high speed trains (the 125s) are over 40 years old and have to be replaced by 2020!
The Government’s preferred position is to procure new rolling stock through the franchise competition. Without certainty over electrification, it will be very difficult for the private sector to make that investment.

The Impact on the Franchise Competition

The current electrification to Sheffield already falls mid-way within the next franchise period. This will pose challenges for the next operator. But further uncertainty will reduce interest from investors, undermining the whole process.

Impact on Hs2

MML and Hs2 investments are linked – Hs2 needs the electrification of MML.
The East Midlands has developed a strong local consensus in support of Hs2 and the Hub Station at Toton.
The region’s economic growth objectives for Hs2 were clearly outlined in the Emerging Growth Strategy: Fast Track to Growth submitted to DfT.
Local support is dependent upon Hs2 improving transport connectivity and promoting economic growth and skills.
The key to unlocking wider connectivity is the ability to run classic compatible services via the Hs2 network. This 100% relies upon an electrified MML.
Hs2 proposals for serving Sheffield Midland Station via Chesterfield will also require an electrified railway.
Without MML electrification, there could be a serious threat to Hs2 support from across the East Midlands – challenging the delivery of the wider project.

Impact on Midlands Engine

The region’s flagship economic growth partnership, led by Sir John Peace and Secretary of State Sajid Javid, has at its core transport infrastructure investment – of which the electrification of Midland Mainline is a priority investment.
The ambition of a responsive, modern 21st Century economy cannot be secured on the basis on 20th Century rail infrastructure.

Impact on the Economy

The upgrade and electrification of Midland Mainline is an important driver for regional and local economic growth – enabling better journey times, reliability and greater passenger numbers:

- Generating over £450 million of economic benefits to the region per annum.

- Meaning a quicker and more reliable service; cutting the journey time between London and Sheffield by up to 15 minutes; meaning quicker services between London, Leicester, Nottingham and Derby.

- Saving the rail industry £60m per annum in running costs.

- Slashing carbon emissions and air pollution.

- Improving freight access to our rail network whilst reducing conflicts with passenger services.

The East Midlands is the centre of the country’s rail engineering industry and the Derby-based ‘rail cluster’ is the largest in the world.
Local engineering companies were badly affected by the previous pause in this investment – just 18 months ago – and are only just recovering!
Further postponement would mean skills lost, apprenticeships lost, supply chains broken up – the future productive capacity of strategically important sector is threatened by uncertainty of public sector investment.

Impact on People

For too long, passengers have put up with poor rolling stock, reliability and comfort due to historically low investment.
Electric trains offer a quieter, smoother and more reliable passenger experience.
They are cleaner, less polluting – offering clear benefits for improved air quality.

Transport Spending

The Midland Mainline remains the only north-south rail route yet to be electrified.
The East Midlands gets a raw deal when it comes to public spending on transport! National statistics highlight that public spending on transport (2014/15) in the East Midlands was:

- One of the lowest levels of spending per head of any region in the UK at £227; the England average is £295 and the figure for London is £600 and Yorks & Humber £296.

- The third lowest in total at £1.05bn; for London it was £5.12bn, for the North West it was £1.8bn, and Yorks & Humber £1.6bn.

- And on rail - there is wide variation on spending on rail per head; London £353, Yorkshire & Humber £98, West Midlands £68 - but the East Midlands is the lowest funded in the country at just £34 per head of the population (less than ⅓ of England average)!

- This is despite the growth in passenger journeys in the East Midlands being one of the highest in the country 5.7%.