Rail electrification delay 'may be costly'
Millions of pounds of investment and new jobs could be held up because of a delay in electrifying the Midland mainline.
Business leaders fear big employers could shelve plans to relocate to Leicester after it was announced high-speed trains to and from London might now be more than a decade away.
Gordon Brown has announced that electrifying the Midlands line has been put back in favour of the much more expensive Great Western route, running from the capital through South Wales.
Network Rail had initially said there was a good chance the Midlands track would be included. A super-fast link with the capital was set to provide a vital boost to £3bn of redevelopment in Leicester, including attracting Government offices and big businesses.
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Improved services are also central to making Leicester railway station the centre of a £150m office and leisure development.
Offices, shops, bars and restaurants, car parking and a new civic square have been earmarked for the area, creating 2,800 jobs.
Electrification would allow trains to travel at up to 200mph, halving the current 75-minute journey time from city to city.
It would have made it quicker to commute from Leicester into London than from parts of the capital itself.
Trains to the capital could soon be below the hour mark anyway, but with electrification would be even faster.
Leicester South MP Sir Peter Soulsby said: "It is a blow. In the next few months we must get assurances that the Midland mainline will be included in the next phase of electrification.
"I will be using my place on the Commons transport committee to get answers from ministers and ensure money is there for more electrification.
"It has a compelling case for improvement because it would pay for itself in terms of the amount of money it would bring into the area. We will continue to fight for this."
Market Harborough, Loughborough and Parkway Station, near East Midlands Airport, were also set to benefit.
The Department for Transport told the Mercury the Great Western line needed upgrading sooner and could not say when the Midland mainline would be reconsidered.
Councillor David Parsons, leader of Leicestershire County Council and chairman of the East Midlands Regional Assembly, said: "It is extremely disappointing and we will not take this lying down.
"We met with Network Rail recently who said there was a good chance this would be included and then we get this announcement. We want to know why.
"This has serious economic implications for Leicestershire and the region. We will be the fastest-growing area in the coming years but they still refuse to electrify our railway line."
David Hughes, chief executive of economic development agency Prospect Leicestershire, said electrification needs to be done within seven years.
"The improvements around the railway station stands alone from this issue, although improving journey times would greatly enhance its attractiveness," he said.
Network Rail pencilled in a provisional timetable for electrifying the Midland mainline in May, and an initial survey showed electrification was viable.
It would cost at least £130m, much less than the £1bn London to Wales route.
Comments
by Duane, Leicester
Friday, July 24 2009, 12:49PM
“Leicester is always left out by the government. All major projects always avoid Leicester. If you look at Leicester, the inner ring road is in urgent need of attention, the train line is a bottleneck due to Beeching and don't get me started prices.
Leicester is once again forgotten. It is like we pay our taxes so other cities prosper. I bet not many MP's involved in the decision live in or around Leicester. Bet most live on the other electrified route. What a complete joke.”
by Lesta, Westcotes (formally Lace Market)
Friday, July 24 2009, 12:18PM
“You can do Leicester to London in 67 minutes. Isn't that enough ? I know that getting that below one hour would be a great marketing ploy but you wouldn't need the expense of electrification to achieve that target. As Dougal has pointed out the "up to 200mph" is a nonsense unless a new high-speed line is built specifially for the purpose.”
by Dougal, Leicester
Friday, July 24 2009, 12:05PM
“When will the Mercury get its facts right? Electrification of the Midland Main Line would not have allowed trains to run at 200mph, only a brand new High Speed line would allow those speeds and currently that is planned to avoid Leicester completely! Now if the Great Central line was still open, that would be another matter.”
by pam, oadby
Friday, July 24 2009, 11:51AM
“so brown elected to choose the labour stronghold of wales over the tory dominated e.mids at an ADDITIONAL cost of £870million! one nation politics??”
by Fraser, Derby
Friday, July 24 2009, 11:32AM
“We used to have a very good railway service to/from London.
Maybe if it's to be such a good thing, we need to tell Stagecoach to get their finger out and give us a far better, and more affordable, train service first. I cant see the point paying millions for electric trains when the basic service has deteriorated so badly already.
High fares, abysmal service IS NOT how I want my money spending, thanks. Keep your money and electrification, look at the East Coast and the national express fiasco.”
by infrared, Wigston
Friday, July 24 2009, 11:16AM
“The regular posters on here are mostly a cynical bunch are they not?! I would have thought the benefits of electrification and the subsequent development around the station would obviously bring far wider benefits than just the immediate service industry jobs around the station itself. Many more people working in a range of jobs around the capital might be attracted to move to the area with the subsequent benefits all round and the chance to locate a business locally rather than in the capital, with lower costs and yet still be in easy touch with the capital. I could think of many more benefits...”
by John Stitch, Leicester Town
Friday, July 24 2009, 10:46AM
“"Improved services are also central to making Leicester railway station the centre of a £150m office and leisure development. Offices, shops, bars and a civic square have been earmarked for the area, creating 2,800 jobs"
But what kind of jobs ? If the exercise of luring people up to Leicester is just to make the place a suburb of London, and to thereby simply shift people en masse from one population centre to another, then the only jobs that will be created are McJobs in the service industry to cater for all those extra people ! What's the bloody point ?
Is this the sum total of our aspirations in society now - to build more and more of everything, fill it with more people and make sure there's always a chicken take-away nearby ?”
by A2U, leics
Friday, July 24 2009, 10:43AM
“Just a cotton picken moment there.. Who mentioned we neeed Electrification??
Poor old Stephenson would be turning in his grave if the railways were made faster.. or, heaven forbid, someone would actually think about running a line from Leicester to Burton... Think about the horses..and the farrier... and shoemakers.. cobblers I hear you say...........”
by The unknown part of the country, Part of England which no-ones cares about
Friday, July 24 2009, 9:29AM
“As per normal the East Midlands miss out.”