Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said the government is “wasting no time” redesigning rail services in the Midlands and the north.
Work on electrifying the Midland Mainline between Kettering, Northamptonshire and Market Harborough, Leicestershire will begin on Thursday, the cabinet minister said.
This is part of a larger upgrade to the Sheffield and Nottingham route.
The project is part of the government’s £ 96 billion Integrated Railway Plan (IRP) for the Midlands and North.
The IRP was heavily criticized when it was released in November for including the scrapping of the eastern section of HS2 between the East Midlands and Leeds and the failure to use new routes for the entire Northern Powerhouse Rail (NPR) project.
However, the government insisted that this will result in similar improvements over previous plans, and they will be delivered faster and at a better price for taxpayers’ money.
Visiting Network Rail company SPL in Leicester to see wiring bridges being built for the Midland Mainline, Shapps said it was “exciting to get things done now instead of waiting decades”.
He told the PA news agency: “We don’t have to wait, we carry on.
“We will have more reliable services, we will have more capacity and modern trains will deliver to people on the routes much earlier than it would have happened.
“Immediately spade in the ground. We don’t waste time. We start before Christmas. “
Transport Secretary Grant Shapps (left) on a visit to the Leicester hub of Network Rail company SPL (Jacob King / PA)
Mr. Shapps added, “I think I think a lot of the people who made comments last month when they saw the Integrated Railroad Plan should admit today that you can be sure that we are getting on with it.”
Work will also be carried out during the holidays to expedite electrification and re-signaling of the railroad between Manchester Victoria and Stalybridge, Greater Manchester.
This is part of the Transpennine route upgrade that is included with NPR.
The Labor Party’s shadow transport minister, Louise Haigh, accused the government of “cynical broken promises”.
She said, “People are not considered stupid. They promised electrification of the Midland Mainline a decade ago. You promised Leeds HS2. They promised Northern Powerhouse Rail. You just can’t trust them to deliver. “