Coppard rails against electrification snub
South Yorkshire’s Mayor said “all we’re asking for is a fair deal” after government put the long-awaited Midland Mainline upgrade on hold.
South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority said that the decision means Sheffield will remain the only major UK city without electrified rail services, relying instead on older, more polluting diesel trains that are slower, less reliable, and worse for the environment.
The news will be especially painful, given that the Department for Transport this week signed off funding for more than 50 road and rail project, including cash for Leeds station’s revamp and the completion of the A66’s dualling.
Buried within the information released trumpeting the investments, the projects ‘under consideration’ section included an update asserting that “the next phase of electrification of the Midland Main Line has been paused.
“Given the existing trains in use on this stretch of railway and the costs and time needed to electrify the route we are focusing our investment on other schemes over the Spending Review period. We will continue to keep the potential for full electrification of the route under review as part of our plans to decarbonise our railways and as funding becomes available in future.”
Responding, South Yorkshire’s Mayor Oliver Coppard said: “There’s frustration in the region. After decades of national underinvestment in our transport network, we’re having to wait longer for vital rail improvements that would create jobs, opportunities and economic growth. It feels like one step forward and two steps back.
“We were told HS2 would come to Sheffield. That was cancelled. Now electrification of Midland Main Line is being paused. All we’re asking for is a fair deal.
“I’ve raised my concerns directly with the government, and I’ll keep doing so. South Yorkshire deserves a modern, reliable, and sustainable transport network – and I won’t stop fighting for it.”
Pausing the project runs counter to the ambitions set out in the White Rose Agreement and Lord Blunkett’s Yorkshire’s Plan for Rail, which calls for faster, cleaner connections between Sheffield, Leeds, Manchester, and London.
The region previously missed out when HS2 to Sheffield was one of the first legs to be cancelled – although the rest of the North would eventually lose out as well.
Mayor Coppard called on the government to think again and reaffirmed his commitment to fighting for South Yorkshire’s transport priorities, including:
- Electrification of the Midland Main Line
- A new station at Rotherham Gateway, which now has development funding committed
- Upgrades at Doncaster
- Faster services from Barnsley to London and between Sheffield, Manchester, and Leeds
- Investment in Supertram expansion.
