The East Midlands Chamber has issued a collective call after the Chancellor announced that the 'Restoring Your Railway' fund was to come to an end.
A statement said that the range of proposed rail improvements for the East Midlands must not be overlooked by the government and referenced its Manifesto for Growth for 2024 which outlines a series of 'asks' of the newly installed Labour Government to significantly upgrade the transport infrastructure in the East Midlands:
These include to commit to the full electrification of the Midland Main Line, to reinstate direct rail services between Leicester and Coventry, put £18m of funding into improving the Nottingham to Lincoln line and to prioritise schemes within the Midlands Rail Hub scheme following the HS2 East cancellation.
Director of Policy and Insight Richard Blackmore said: “It is essential that pulling the Restoring Your Railway scheme doesn’t cast any doubt over implementing the asks we’ve clearly outlined in our Manifesto for Growth. While the Chancellor has talked of balancing the books, it’s critical that the East Midlands is not a victim of cutbacks.
“We need full electrification of the Midland Main Line, which carries nearly 4 million passengers. Our region is more densely populated than the West or East Coast main lines, yet they already have full electrification. Improving rail connections in the region needs addressing - we need to reintroduce direct trains running between Leicester and Coventry, where only 3% of trips between the cities are made by rail, despite being so close to each other. £18 million of funding is needed to upgrade the Nottingham to Lincoln route too, where only 10% of travel is by rail.
“I hope the government will consult with us on any rail projects they look at, ensuring the East Midlands is front and centre of development plans.”
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