Upgrades to transpennine line and Midland mainline to be restarted with revised timetable after being shelved in June

Two promised rail upgrades in northern England and the Midlands that were shelved by the government in June, breaking election pledges, are to be restarted, it has been announced.

The electrification of the transpennine line and Midland mainline, which had been described as vital elements of a £38bn upgrade to the rail network for the north, were cancelled from Network Rail’s five-year plan in June.

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The transport secretary, Patrick McLoughlin, blamed Network Rail, but it became apparent that his department had been warned a year before the election that the works were in doubt.

The shelving of the schemes was an embarrassment for the chancellor, George Osborne, in particular, who had promised major transport enhancements as part of a new “northern powerhouse”.

The “unpausing” – with a revised timetable and specification to be announced in Leeds on Wednesday – is carefully timed ahead of the Conservative conference in Manchester next week.

The fact that ministers have pre-empted the report they commissioned doesn’t inspire confidence Lilian Greenwood, shadow transport secretary

McLoughlin said: “As a one nation government we are making sure every part of Britain benefits from a growing economy. Connecting up the great cities of the north is at the heart of our plan to build a northern powerhouse. This government will see the job through and build a better, faster and more reliable railway for passengers in the north and Midlands.”

Only a small part of the Midland mainline electrification – as far north as Corby - will be completed this decade, in the scope of Network Rail’s existing five-year plan. The full electrification of the line will take until 2023. Transpennine electrification is scheduled to finish in 2022, allowing six trains an hour and cutting journey times by 15 minutes.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Patrick McLoughlin said his government would ‘see the job through’. Photograph: David Sillitoe/The Guardian

The move comes before Network Rail chairman Sir Peter Hendy has completed his review into what upgrades Network Rail will be able to carry out this decade, raising further questions about the government’s role in dealing with the infrastructure operator.



Lilian Greenwood, the shadow transport secretary, said: “It’s welcome that they’ve changed course, after the outcry from passengers and Labour’s Don’t Pull the Plug campaign. But it’s disappointing that the project will be delivered years late. We warned ministers for months that the projects were at risk; they cynically waited until after the election. There’s been this damaging hiatus which will see works take longer and potentially cost more.

She added: “The fact that ministers have pre-empted the report they commissioned doesn’t inspire confidence. Passengers won’t tolerate any further delay.”

Hendy said: “The temporary pause in the programme has given us the space to develop a better plan for passengers. People can expect more services and faster journeys. We face some difficult challenges, and there is more work still to do, but the secretary of state’s decision means we can now move forward with our plans to electrify TransPennine and Midland mainline.”

Electrification of the Midland mainline, from Bedford to Sheffield, and the transpennine route between Manchester and Leeds that connects major cities across the north, were put on hold after Network Rail’s costs spiralled on another major upgrade, the Great Western mainline. The schemes promised faster, cleaner and more reliable services for the north.

McLoughlin conceded in June that the investment promised in his party’s £38.5bn five-year rail plan – and reiterated in the election manifesto – would not be completed.

Stephen Joseph, chief executive of the Campaign for Better Transport, said: “Passengers and communities in the north and Midlands will be pleased if the government can now deliver the electrification and upgrades for the transpennine and Midland lines, but we will need to see details before we believe it. Given that we are still waiting for the various reviews of Network Rail to report, it’s hard to see how these big projects can be delivered in isolation from fixing the rest of the railway.”

Hendy, whose full review is expected in the autumn, became Network Rail’s chairman after Richard Parry-Jones stepped down in June. Two further reviews will examine why the rail investment plans went wrong, as well as the future financing and structures of Network Rail.