Midland Main Line Electrification

Derby City Council Leader, Paul Bayliss, has given his reaction to today's announcement over the electrification of Midland Main Line.

This map shows the three rail routes which will be electrified in the Midlands as part of the investment.

The Midland Mainline route between London St Pancras and Bedford can already run electric trains, and the new investment will mean older diesel engines will be replaced with electric services to Kettering, Corby, Leicester, Nottingham and Derby before heading north to Sheffield.

Lines from Nuneaton South through Coventry to Leamington Spa and onto Oxford will also be electrified, as will the route from Walsall through Cannock to Rugeley.

Prime Minister David Cameron and Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg spoke on a joint visit to Birmingham where they announced a £9.4bn investment in the electrification of Britain’s railways.

People in the Midlands respond to today's news that the government will electrify the Midland Main Line.

David Horne, Managing Director of East Midlands Trains today welcomed the announcement by the Government to fund the electrification of the Midland Main Line and upgrade key sections of the route. It is hoped the investment will:

• Cut journey times and provide more capacity for future growth
• Deliver wider economic benefits

The Department for Transport have released further details regarding the proposed £9 billion rail investment.

• Electrification of the Cannock Line between Walsall and Rugeley - hoped to deliver faster local journeys into Birmingham
• Electrification of the Nuneaton-Oxford route - aiming to create high capacity electric freight route from Southampton
• Extra 3,900 daily peak-time commutes into Birmingham

On his visit to Leicester Railway Station today, Business Secretary Vince Cable said the Derby train-maker Bombardier is in an excellent position to bid for contracts.

A £9.4bn package of investment across the rail network has been announced today by the Government.

Plans include the electrification of the Midland Mainline in what was hailed by Prime Minister David Cameron as the "biggest modernisation of our railways since the Victorian era".

The National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT) have reacted to the Government's rail investment announcement.

RMT General Secretary Bob Crow said an investment in rail today is what's needed not a 'political promise of jam' tomorrow.

Prime Minister David Cameron has announced the £9.4bn package of investment across the rail network, including the electrification of the Midland Mainline.

He hailed it as the "biggest modernisation of our railways since the Victorian era".