Electric Spine

A high-capacity passenger and freight corridor would run from the south coast through Basingstoke and Reading to Oxford, where it would split.

As of April 2015, electrification and track upgrade of the Bletchley to Bedford section was planned,[13] but greater work on the East West Rail than that scheduled for CP5 would be needed to achieve the Electric Spine.

[14] The electrification of the MML northward from its limit at Bedford to Derby was originally scheduled for completion by 2019,[11] but the work was "paused" in June 2015 despite significant progress having already been made.

On 30 September 2015, the Department for Transport announced the resumption of the work with revised completion dates of 2019 for Corby and Kettering and 2023 for the line further north to Leicester, Nottingham and Sheffield.

[21][22][23] In addition, the Integrated Rail Plan for the North and Midlands published by the DfT on 18 November 2021 shows electrification of the entire line to Sheffield.

[11] Of the western branch of the spine from Oxford, only the Coventry to Leamington Line (9 miles)[26] was initially prioritized for the 2014–2019 period of works.

[9] Overall, the line north from Oxford to Nuneaton is scheduled for "single option development" (the stage before detailed design) within CP6, and no completion date is given.

[26] The South West Main Line, which runs 34 miles[26] from Basingstoke to Southampton and its port, is currently third rail 750V DC electrified, and will eventually be converted to 25 kV AC overhead wires.

This test-section of re-electrification will assess the feasibility of the wider conversion of the third-rail electric network to overhead wires.