The project is part of the Government’s £96bn Integrated Rail Plan (IRP) for the Midlands and the North and will see work undertaken to electrify lines between Kettering in Northamptonshire and Market Harborough in Leicestershire.
When the details were published last month, MPs in the north of England expressed anger at the scrapping of the eastern leg of HS2 between the Midlands and Leeds.
The Government insisted its new plan will result in similar improvements to previous plans, and that they will be delivered quicker and with better value for taxpayers’ money.
The DfT said the IRP will cut journey times from Chesterfield to London to 76 minutes, Derby to London to 58 minutes and Nottingham to London to 57 minutes. Passengers will also see services and capacity nearly doubled with more seats per train and more frequent services.
Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said: “Last month, I promised we would get on with delivering the Integrated Rail Plan by...