Plug in the Midland Mainline

Since the Government cancelled their plans to electrify the Midland Mainline, the Lakes Line and the Great Western Mainline in July, a campaign asking them to re-think their decision has been gathering support across the country.

A petition launched by two national organisations, 10:10 and the Campaign for Better Transport, has almost 9000 signatures online and many more have been collected on paper at railway stations.  Environmental organisations, MPs and council leaders have written a joint letter to Chris Grayling, the Secretary of State for Transport, asking him not to backtrack on his promise to electrify the railways. They point out that diesel trains contribute to air pollution, which is damaging people’s health. The letter was published in The Times.

On Saturday, we took a giant electrical plug from London to Sheffield in a relay, asking the Government to ‘plug in’ our trains. Members of environmental groups, rail users groups, the Green Party and the Liberal Democrats took part in the relay, supported by Labour MPs visiting stations. The event attracted a lot of attention on social media, where campaigners shared photos and videos with the hashtag #ElectrifyOurTrains. It was also covered by local television news and newspapers.

In Leicester, Peter Soulsby came to meet campaigners at the station and sign the petition. Jon Ashworth, MP for Leicester South, was among the signatories of the letter to Chris Grayling.

Electrifying our trains would reduce air pollution in our cities and help to tackle climate change. It would also make rail travel more comfortable and reliable for passengers. The government always seems to have money for public transport improvements in London but they are abandoning the rest of the country to live with dirty air. Other European countries electrified their railways years ago and we need to do the same here.

Additional information:

1. The Department for Transport’s own report, Britain’s Transport Infrastructure: Rail Electrification (July 2009), makes the case for electrification (p.7): “Electric trains have a number of significant advantages over diesel-powered trains. They have far lower running costs, far lower carbon emissions and offer better environmental performance; they can also increase capacity and reliability, and provide a better passenger experience.”  
2. The following groups support the campaign for rail electrification: Sustrans, Campaign for Better Transport, 10:10, Bedford Green Party, East Midlands Rail Campaign, Northampton Friends of the Earth, Sustainable Harborough, Leicester Friends of the Earth, Leicester Green Party, Healthy Air Leicester and Leicestershire, Derby Friends of the Earth, Derby Lib Dems, Transition Chesterfield, Chesterfield Climate Alliance, Sheffield Climate Alliance, Sheffield Friends of the Earth, Sheffield Green Party, South Lakes Action on Climate Change and Lakes Line Rail Users Group.