On Air Now
The Capital Weekender with Meg McHugh 10pm - 1am
Reaction To The News The Midlands Mainline Electrification Will Be Paused
25 June 2015, 18:06 | Updated: 30 March 2016, 13:50
The government's announced it's stopping plans to upgrade train lines across the country - including the Midlands Mainline.
Network Rail had a £38 billion, five-year investment programme in place on our railways. But £2 billion of the plans have been put on hold by the Government.
Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin responded by announcing that the plan was being "reset'' because it was "costing more and taking longer''.
He told MPs that electrification work was being "paused'' on the Midland mainline.
The East Midlands Chamber of Commerce say they are very 'disappointed'. Chris Hobson from the organisation has spoken to Capital about his concerns about it being put on hold:
listen to ‘Chris Hobson from East Midlands Chamber of Commerce reacts to the news the Midlands Mainline electrification is on hold’ on audioBoom
David Sidebottom from Transport Focus who represent passengers says they are worried commuters will feel they aren't getting any benefit from rising ticket prices:
David Sidebottom from Transport Focus who represent passengers says they are worried commuters will feel they aren't getting any benefit from rising ticket prices:
listen to ‘David Sidebottom from Transport Focus tells Capital passengers want a clear message that the Midlands Mainline electrification will happen.’ on audioBoom
David Cameron's official spokeswoman said that the Prime Minister shared Mr McLoughlin's concerns about the speed and cost of the projects, saying: "Frankly, Network Rail's performance hasn't been good enough. Many of the problems that have been identified should have been foreseen by Network Rail. That's why the Transport Secretary has been setting out a number of steps to get this programme back on track.
"I think the Prime Minister is clear that there are some huge problems here that Network Rail needs to get a grip of and in the coming months that is what we will be working on achieving.''
David Cameron's official spokeswoman said that the Prime Minister shared Mr McLoughlin's concerns about the speed and cost of the projects, saying: "Frankly, Network Rail's performance hasn't been good enough. Many of the problems that have been identified should have been foreseen by Network Rail. That's why the Transport Secretary has been setting out a number of steps to get this programme back on track.
"I think the Prime Minister is clear that there are some huge problems here that Network Rail needs to get a grip of and in the coming months that is what we will be working on achieving.''
