Huge push for Midland Mainline rail electrification to create 4,000 jobs

The new EMR bi-mode trains which have the ability to run using overhead electric lines or under diesel power where overhead lines are not in place
-Credit: (Image: EMR)


A huge drive to bring electrification to the Midland Mainline railway north through the East Midlands has been launched by regional leaders, MPs and the biggest business organisation in the area. They are urging the Government to push ahead and electrify more sections of the Midland Mainline through to Derby, Nottingham, Leicester, Chesterfield and Sheffield. At present, trains have to switch to diesel power when they travel north past South Wigston in Leicestershire.

Midland Mainline is the main rail link between the East Midlands region, South Yorkshire and London, carrying more than nine million passengers a year and bringing annual economic benefits of £450 million. And it is estimated that more than 4,000 skilled jobs could be created if electrification goes further north than at present.

Electrification itself will not make trains faster but it will have environmental and efficiency benefits. Andrew Pritchard, director of policy and infrastructure at Transport for East Midlands (TfEM) said: "It will help in reducing carbon emissions, improving air quality, reducing operating costs and improving reliability. There is also better braking and acceleration which can help deliver journey time improvements over the longer term."

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Industry experts say the most cost-effective way to deliver on those plans will be to let the firms and workers who have been building electrification infrastructure further south know that more work is on the way to keep the specialist workforces together.

Ahead of next week's October 30 Budget, TfEM has revealed analysis showing that alongside the transport and environmental benefits, electrification of the line up to Sheffield could create 4,300 new jobs, including skilled occupations, and more than 100 apprenticeships.

The analysis also shows that over the remaining course of the project, electrification of the Midland Mainline could generate an additional £61 million in economic value from jobs created in the East Midlands, and nearly £18m in social value benefit.

Late last year, in a cost-cutting exercise, the then Conservative government axed the eastern leg of HS2, having already scrapped previously many of the promised changes to the line, which would have improved services to London from the East Midlands, in 2021. Prior to that electrification had been proposed and approved, then paused by the government in 2015, then restarted later the same year, then cancelled in 2017, then revived in 2021.

Sir Peter Soulsby, chair of TfEM, said: "After the cancellation of the eastern leg of HS2, it’s vital that the East Midlands’ existing rail infrastructure is improved and upgraded to support rising passenger demand and the need for economic growth.

“One of the critical components of getting electrification done cost-effectively is to ensure we’ve got a workforce that has the skills and capacity to deliver. I’m urging government to signal progress on the next phase beyond South Wigston so that we can keep the existing workforce together and develop the skills we’ll need for future sections to be electrified."

East Midlands Mayor Claire Ward echoed Sir Peter's sentiments and added: "The jobs that electrification will create are vital to the region achieving its growth ambitions. The electrification of the Midland Mainline is a vital step in unlocking the full economic potential of our region.

"This is a chance for the government to power up our economy, attract new businesses, and ensure a greener, more efficient transport network for generations to come."

MPs and businesses are also supporting TfEM’s call for government to provide certainty. Derby North MP Catherine Atkinson said: “For generations, Derby has been a rail industry leader and is the proud home of Great British Railways.

"Investment in our regional rail infrastructure will solidify that legacy for future generations to come and support our economic growth whilst also retaining the rich skills we already have in the city’s workforce right now.

“This is an opportunity to signal a bright future for the rail sector, both at home and internationally, which is essential in protecting our supply chains, nurturing innovation and keeping recruitment and retention of this highly skilled workforce on track."

One of the businesses involved in Midland Mainline electrification is Derby-based Overhead Line Engineering (OLE), headquartered at Pride Park. Keith Orgill, owner-director of the business, said “OLE is one of very few East Midlands businesses capable of carrying out electrification design. We employ 15 engineers and we have successfully delivered electrification of the Midland Main Line up to South Wigston.

"The delay to the procurement of the next stage of the electrification programme has created a hiatus in design work. This has already had an impact on design companies based in the East Midlands and the longer confirmation is delayed the harder it will be to keep the specialist workforce together.

“Should it be lost, it will be really difficult to re-establish this capability in the region. However, if Government commits now, we can recruit, train, prepare and deliver cost-effectively."

James Naish is MP for Rushcliffe, which includes East Midlands Parkway on the Midland Mainline. He said: "After the cancellation of HS2, it is important that connectivity to the region isn’t forgotten and with electrification of the Midland Mainline, the East Midlands Parkway station will finally act as a proper gateway to the area.

"We know that there’s the prospect of high-quality jobs nearby on the Ratcliffe-on-Soar power station site, as well as fantastic and growing businesses and universities within a short journey, so I’m really pleased that we’re speaking as one on the importance of this project.”

East Midlands Chamber of Commerce – the biggest chamber of commerce in the country - has identified transport infrastructure as one of its key asks of government in the upcoming Budget. Richard Blackmore, the chamber’s director of policy and insight, said: “Full electrification of the Midland Mainline is long overdue. We represent more than 4,000 businesses across the region, and they tell us regularly about the challenges they face from inadequate rail and road links.

"Rail engineering is also an important part of the regional economy and an investment in improved connectivity is going to pay back directly in skilled jobs, greater productivity and increased growth. Government needs to commit to give the industry the certainty it requires to deliver."

A warning that a lack of rail investment could become a barrier to growth has come from Tom Newman-Taylor, chief executive of East Midlands Freeport, who has also joined calls for greater investment in the region’s transport infrastructure. Within freeports, trade is facilitated by reducing the direct and administrative costs of trading goods with the rest of the world.

Goods entering a freeport zone are not subject to typical import procedures. The goods can be processed and re-exported from the zone without being considered to have entered the host country. Import duties and procedures are only borne at the moment that goods enter into the domestic economy.

The East Midlands Freeport is centred on East Midlands Airport as the point of entry, with two additional key sites, at the Ratcliffe on Soar power station site in Rushcliffe, Nottinghamshire and at the East Midlands intermodal park site in South Derbyshire near to the Toyota island on the A50.

Mr Newman-Taylor said: "East Midlands Freeport is the biggest growth opportunity in the region, with the potential to create 28,000 jobs and deliver an additional £9bn in economic output.

“The Midland Mainline runs directly alongside our Ratcliffe-on-Soar Power Station investment site, with a station at East Midlands Parkway. If we are to unlock the region’s full potential, then we need to see investment in both upgraded rail and road infrastructure.

“Without this, transport could become a major barrier to growth and prevent us from realising these ambitious opportunities."