Midland Main Line

This article is about the railway line. For the former train operating company, see Midland Mainline.

Midland Main Line
East Midlands Trains HST at Dore.
Overview
Type	Inter City, Commuter rail, Regional rail and Heavy rail
System	National Rail
Status	Operational
Locale	Greater London East of England East Midlands Yorkshire and the Humber
Termini	London St. Pancras International Leeds City
Stations	35 (up to Sheffield)
Operation
Opened	Stages between 1830s-1860s
Owner	Network Rail
Operator(s)	East Midlands Trains CrossCountry First Capital Connect First Transpennine Express Northern Rail GB Railfreight Freightliner
Depot(s)	Cricklewood Derby Etches Park Nottingham Eastcroft Toton Sheffield Station Neville Hill
Rolling stock	Class 43/HST Class 150 Sprinter Class 153 Super Sprinter Class 156 Super Sprinter Class 158 Express Sprinter Class 170 Turbostar Class 220 Voyager Class 221 Super Voyager Class 222 Meridian Class 319 Class 377 Electrostar
Technical
No. of tracks	2–4
Track gauge	Standard gauge 1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in)
Loading gauge	W6-W8
Electrification	25kV 50hz AC (South of Bedford)
Operating speed	110 mph (177 km/h)
Route map Legend Midland Main Line Legend    ( West Coast Main Line ) Carlisle to Glasgow    ( see Settle-Carlisle Line ) Leeds City for detail Wakefield Westgate River Dearne to Huddersfield Cudworth Blackburn Valley Railway from Grimethorpe to Houghton Colliery Darfield Wath North Dearne Valley Line Wakefield Line, Sheffield-Hull Line Swinton Swinton Central Kilnhurst West Kilnhurst Central Thrybergh Junction Parkgate and Rawmarsh Parkgate and Aldwarke Rotherham Road Rotherham Masborough Rotherham Central Rotherham Westgate C F Booth Canklow Shed M1 motorway M1 motorway Hallam and Penistone Lines Meadowhall Wincobank and Meadowhall Tinsley Marshalling Yard Brightside Treeton Sheffield & Rotherham Railway Sheffield Wicker Attercliffe Road Woodhouse Mill River Don Stocksbridge Line Darnall Sheffield Midland Orgreave Colliery Porter Brook Woodhouse Heeley Sheffield-Lincoln Line Millhouses Shed Millhouses Beauchief Beighton Dore and Totley Killamarsh Hope Valley Line Dore Junction Bradway Tunnel Eckington Dronfield to Bolsover Unstone Barrow Hill Sheepbridge Whittington Chesterfield Central Chesterfield Lancashire, Derbyshire Two crossings by the and East Coast Railway Great Central Railway Chesterfield Market Place Manchester, Sheffield Clay Cross and Lincolnshire Railway Clay Cross Tunnel Doe Hill Westhouses and Backwell To Sutton-in-Ashfield Ashover Light Railway Robin Hood Line Stretton Alfreton Pye Bridge Wingfield Ambergate to Pye Bridge Line Midland Railway - Butterley Codnor Park and Ironville Langley Mill Derwent Valley Line Grantham and Lincoln lines Ambergate Nottingham ( Station Street) Belper Milford Tunnel Great Central Railway Duffield Shipley Gate GNR Derbyshire and Bennerley Viaduct Ilkeston Town Beeston Derby Ilkeston Junction and Cossall Crewe to Derby Line Trowell Cross Country Route Stanton Gate Stapleford and Sandiacre Attenborough Spondon Toton TMD Draycott Erewash Valley Line Borrowash Attenborough Junction Sawley Long Eaton Trent Trent Junction Castle Donnington Line Trent Viaducts Red Hill Tunnel East Midlands Parkway Kegworth Hathern Loughborough Great Central Railway North Barrow-upon-Soar Sileby Syston Junction Syston Birmingham to Peterborough Line Humberstone Road Leicester Central Leicester Leicester to Burton Line Great Central Railway Birmingham to Peterborough Line Midland Counties Railway Wigston Magna Great Glen Kibworth East Langton Rugby and Stamford Railway Market Harborough Desborough Glendon and Rushton To Rugby Oakham to Kettering Line To Northampton Kettering To Loddington Kettering to Huntingdon line Isham and Burton Latimer Finedon Wellingborough Neilsons sidings Wellingborough Northampton and P'borough Railway River Nene W'borough to Higham Ferrers R'way Irchester Sharnbrook tunnel (Freight line only) Sharnbrook Oakley Bedford to Northampton Line Bedford Bedford Sidings Bedford St Johns Marston Vale Line Varsity Line Ampthill Tunnel Bedford to Hitchin Line Ampthill Flitwick Harlington Leagrave Branch to Dunstable Luton Luton Bute Street Luton Airport Parkway Luton Hoo Chiltern Green To Welwyn Nicky Line Harpenden St Albans Abbey St Albans (City) St Albans London Road Park Street  Hatfield to St Albans Line   Abbey Line  Napsbury M25 motorway Radlett Elstree & Borehamwood Elstree tunnel M1 motorway Mill Hill Broadway Hendon Welsh Harp Cricklewood Depot and Sidings Dudding Hill Line Cricklewood West Hampstead Thameslink North London Line Finchley Road Hampstead, Lismore Circus Haverstock Hill and Belsize tunnels Gospel Oak to Barking Line Kentish Town Camden Road (Midland) Camden Road tunnel Thameslink cross-London route North London Line North London Line East Coast Main Line High Speed 1 Regent's Canal London St Pancras

The Midland Main Line is a major railway route in the United Kingdom, part of the British railway system.

The present-day line links London St. Pancras International to Sheffield in northern England via Luton, Bedford, Kettering, Leicester, Derby, Nottingham and Chesterfield.

Historically the line extended further north to Manchester in the north-west and through Leeds in the north-east to Carlisle; trains also ran through to both Glasgow and Edinburgh in Scotland. The more direct East Coast Main Line meant the demise of Midland trains to Leeds and ultimately Scotland due to the Midland's longer journey times. Later, electrification of the West Coast Main Line (WCML) and the Beeching cuts saw Manchester trains withdrawn from the Midland and transferred to the WCML.

Since the closure of the rival Great Central Main Line in the 1960s, the Midland has been the only main-line rail link between London and the East Midlands and South Yorkshire.

January 2009 saw the opening of a brand-new station, East Midlands Parkway between Loughborough and Trent Junction, to act as a parkway station for the major East Midlands cities and serve East Midlands Airport.

Express passenger services on the line are operated by East Midlands Trains. The section between St Pancras and Bedford is electrified and forms the northern half of the Thameslink suburban service (operated by First Capital Connect), which provides a through service from Bedford to Brighton.

The northern part of the route between Derby and Sheffield also forms part of the Cross Country Route and is shared with CrossCountry. The route from Nottingham to Leeds via Barnsley and Sheffield is shared with Northern. TransPennine Express operate through Sheffield. East Midlands Local also operates regional and local services between Nottingham and Leicester / Derby / Sheffield / Manchester.

History

Overview of the Midland Main Line in green. In relation to other north-south main lines

British Rail APT-E built at Derby rail technical centre and extensively tested on the Midland Main Line its first run being on 25 July 1972 from Derby to Duffield

The Midland Main Line was built in stages between the 1830s and the 1870s, originating in three lines which met at the Tri Junct Station in Derby, which became the Midland Railway.

First to arrive was the line built by the Birmingham and Derby Junction Railway (B&DJR) from Hampton-in-Arden, Warwickshire (on the London and Birmingham Railway) to Derby, which opened on 12 August 1839. This section is now known as the Cross-Country Route through Birmingham New Street to Bristol Temple Meads.

This was followed on 1 July 1840 by the North Midland Railway, which ran from Derby to Leeds Hunslet Lane via Chesterfield, Rotherham Masborough (from where the Sheffield and Rotherham Railway ran a branch to Sheffield Wicker), Swinton and Normanton. This avoided Sheffield, Barnsley, and Wakefield in order to reduce gradients.

On the same day the Midland Counties Railway, which ran from Derby and Nottingham to Leicester Campbell Street, was extended from Leicester to a temporary station on the northern outskirts of Rugby. A few months later, the Rugby viaduct was finished and the Midland Counties Railway reached the London and Birmingham Railway's Rugby station. This cut 11 miles (18 km) off the B&DJR route via Hampton-in-Arden.

A Midland Mainline High Speed Train arrives alongside a Class 170 at St Pancras in 2004

When these three companies merged to form the Midland Railway on 10 May 1844, the Midland did not have its own route to London, and relied upon a junction at Rugby with the London and Birmingham's line (which became part of the London and North Western Railway on 1 January 1846) to London Euston for access to the capital.

By the 1850s the junction at Rugby had become severely congested, and so the Midland Railway constructed a route from Leicester to Hitchin on the Great Northern Railway, via Bedford. The line avoids Northampton, instead going via Kettering and Wellingborough in the east of Northamptonshire. This line met with similar problems at Hitchin as the former alignment had at Rugby, so in 1868 a line was opened from Bedford via Luton to St Pancras.

The final stretch of what is considered to be the modern Midland Main Line was a short cut-off from Chesterfield through Sheffield, which was opened in 1870.

The mid-1870s saw the Midland line extended northwards through the Yorkshire Dales via the Settle-Carlisle Railway, now considered a secondary route and not part of the present-day Midland Main Line.

Before the line closures of the Beeching era, the lines to Buxton and via Millers Dale were considered the main lines from London to Manchester, carrying named expresses such as The Palatine. Express trains to Leeds and Scotland such as the Thames-Clyde Express mainly used the Erewash Valley Line then on to the Settle and Carlisle Line. Expresses to Edinburgh Waverley, such as The Waverley travelled through Corby and Nottingham.

Also part of the line, as defined by Network Rail, are the Erewash Valley Line, the Leicester to Burton upon Trent Line, the Oakham to Kettering Line and sections of the Nottingham to Lincoln Line (as far east as Newark) and the Birmingham to Peterborough Line (between Nuneaton and Oakham).

Partly to appease the concerns and opposition of landowners along the route, in places some of it was built to avoid large estates and rural towns, and to reduce construction costs the railways followed natural contours, resulting in many curves and bends. This has also resulted in the MML passing through some relatively hilly areas, such as Sharnbrook (where there is a 1 in 119 gradient from the south taking the line to 340 feet (100 m) above sea level). This has left a legacy of lower maximum speeds on the line compared with other main lines. The response to a similar situation on the West Coast Main Line has been the adoption of tilting trains, but there has been no proposal for such a solution on the Midland line.

In 1977 the Parliamentary Select Committee on Nationalised Industries recommmended considering electrification of more of Britain's rail network, and by 1979 BR presented a range of options that included electrifying the Midland Main Line from London to Yorkshire by 2000. By 1983 the line had been electrified from Moorgate to Bedford, but proposals to continue electrification to Nottingham and Sheffield have not been implemented.

The introduction of the High Speed Train (HST) in May 1983 following the Leicester area resignalling brought about an increase of the ruling line speed on the fast lines from 90 miles per hour (140 km/h) to 110 miles per hour (180 km/h).

An East Midlands Trains Class 222 Meridian at St Pancras about to depart for Derby

Between 2001 and 2003 the line between Derby and Sheffield was upgraded from 100 miles per hour (160 km/h) to 110 miles per hour (180 km/h) as part of Operation Princess, the Virgin Cross Country route upgrade.

Numerous proposals have been put forward to improve speed and journey times, only later to be dropped. Most recently there are plans for 125 miles per hour (201 km/h) running on extended stretches, improved signalling, increased number of tracks and the revival of proposals to extend electrification from Bedford to Sheffield (see Future section, below).

Accidents

• 1845/1882/1886/1887/1897/1916/1927 Penistone rail accidents
• 26 September 1860 Bull bridge accident; bridge collapse
• 2 September 1861 Kentish Town rail accident; collision
• 24 December 1910 Hawes Junction rail crash; signalman forgot about train
• 2 September 1913 Ais Gill rail accident; collision
• 3 December 1923 Nunnery Colliery
• 13 December 1926 Orgreave Paddy Mail accident
• 22 March 2005 Market Harborough rail accident
• 1 February 2008 Barrow upon Soar rail accident

Barrow upon Soar rail accident

On 1 February 2008, an East Midlands Connect Class 158 158856 working a service from Nottingham railway station to Norwich railway station was involved in an incident at Barrow upon Soar. The train hit a footbridge that was in its path, after a road vehicle had struck and damaged the bridge, causing the bridge to be foul of the running line. Six passengers were on board the service and the driver had to be cut free from his driving cab. The footbridge itself, of Midland Railway heritage, has since been replaced.

Operators

The principal operator is East Midlands Trains, which replaced Midland Mainline on 11 November 2007. Other operators include:

• First Capital Connect between London and Bedford;
• London Midland in the Bedford area;
• First TransPennine Express in the Sheffield area;
• CrossCountry in the Leicester and Nottingham areas and between Derby and Sheffield;
• Northern Rail between Nottingham and Sheffield;

Route definition and description

The growth and decline of a Trent railway junction, where lines from Derby, Nottingham and the Erewash converge

The cities, towns and villages currently served by the MML are listed below. Those in bold are served most of the day by the East Midlands Trains London or other InterCity services. Be aware this section details the original line to Manchester (where it linked to the West Coast Main Line) and Carlisle (via Leeds where it meets with the 'modern' East Coast Main Line).

Network Rail group all lines in the East Midlands and the route north as far as Chesterfield and south to London as route 19. The actual line extends beyond this into routes 10 and 11.

London to Nottingham and Sheffield (Network Rail Route 19)

Town/City	Station	Ordnance Survey grid reference	Branches and loops
London	London St Pancras		High Speed 1 diverges north of St Pancras
Kentish Town, London	Kentish Town
West Hampstead, London	West Hampstead Thameslink
Cricklewood, London	Cricklewood		Dudding Hill Line diverges north of Cricklewood
Hendon, London	Hendon		Dudding Hill Line diverges south of Hendon
Mill Hill, London	Mill Hill Broadway
Borehamwood	Elstree & Borehamwood
Radlett	Radlett
St Albans	St Albans City
Harpenden	Harpenden
Luton	Luton Airport Parkway
Luton	Luton
Leagrave, Luton	Leagrave
Harlington	Harlington
Flitwick	Flitwick
Bedford	Bedford Midland		Marston Vale Line diverges south of Bedford
Wellingborough	Wellingborough Midland Road
Kettering	Kettering		Oakham to Kettering Line diverges north of Kettering at Glendon Jun
**Corby	**Corby		Oakham to Kettering Line
Market Harborough	Market Harborough
Leicester	Leicester London Road		Birmingham to Peterborough Line diverges south of Leicester at Wigston Junction
Syston	Syston		Birmingham to Peterborough Line diverges north of Syston
Sileby	Sileby
Barrow-upon-Soar	Barrow-upon-Soar
Loughborough	Loughborough Midland
Ratcliffe-on-Soar (East Midlands Airport)	East Midlands Parkway		Trent Junction to Clay Cross Junction via Derby (the original line), the Nottingham branch, and the Erewash Valley Line each diverge north of East Midlands Parkway
Via Derby
Long Eaton	Long Eaton
Spondon	Spondon
Derby	Derby Midland		Cross Country Route and Crewe to Derby Line diverges south of Derby
Duffield	Duffield
Belper	Belper
Ambergate Junction	Ambergate (old platforms)		Derwent Valley Line diverges at Ambergate Junction
Via Nottingham
Attenborough	Attenborough
Beeston	Beeston
Nottingham	Nottingham		Northbound trains for the north reverse towards Langley Mill. Other continue onto the Robin Hood Line, Nottingham to Grantham or Lincoln Lines
Via Erewash Valley	(bypassing or calling at Nottingham)
Langley Mill	Langley Mill		Erewash Valley and Trent Nottingham Lines rejoin together south of Langley Mill.
Alfreton	Alfreton
Clay Cross Junction to Leeds
Chesterfield	Chesterfield		Trent Junction to Clay Cross via Derby and Erewash Valley Lines rejoin together south of Chesterfield.
Dronfield	Dronfield		Hope Valley Line diverges north of Dronfield
Sheffield	Sheffield Midland		Hope Valley Line diverges south of Sheffield Sheffield to Lincoln Line diverges north of Sheffield
Sheffield	Meadowhall		Hallam and Penistone Lines diverges at Meadowhall
Via Doncaster
Doncaster	Doncaster		Connects to the East Coast Main Line south of Doncaster
Bypassing Doncaster
Wakefield	Wakefield Westgate		Connects with the East Coast Main Line south of Wakefield Westgate
Leeds	Leeds City		Leeds City Lines

Tunnels

Tunnel	Stations Between
Camden Road Tunnel	St Pancras and Kentish Town
Hampstead Tunnel	Kentish Town and West Hampstead
Lismore Circus Tunnel	Kentish Town and West Hampstead
Belsize Tunnel	Kentish Town and West Hampstead
Elstree Tunnel	Mill Hill Broadway and Elstree & Borehamwood
Ampthill Tunnel	Flitwick and Bedford
Sharnbrook Tunnel (Freight Line only)	Bedford and Wellingborough
Knighton Tunnel	Market Harborough and Leicester
Red Hill Tunnel	East Midlands Parkway and Long Eaton / Trent Junction
Milford Tunnel	Duffield and Belper
Toadmoor Tunnel	Belper and Chesterfield
Wingfield Tunnel	Belper and Chesterfield
Alfreton Tunnel	Langley Mill and Alfreton
Clay Cross Tunnel	Belper and Clay Cross
Broomhouse Tunnel (Opened out to cutting 1969)	Sheepbridge and Unstone
Bradway Tunnel	Dronfield and Dore

Ambergate Junction to Manchester

For marketing and franchising, this is no longer considered part of the Midland Main Line: see Manchester, Buxton, Matlock and Midlands Junction Railway

The line was once the Midland Railway's route from London St Pancras to Manchester, branching at Ambergate Junction along the Manchester, Buxton, Matlock and Midlands Junction Railway, now known as the Derwent Valley Line. In days gone by, it featured named expresses such as The Palatine. Much later in the twentieth century, it carried the Midland Pullman.

Town/City	Station	Ordnance Survey grid reference
Ambergate	Ambergate
Whatstandwell	Whatstandwell
Cromford	Cromford
Matlock Bath	Matlock Bath
Matlock	Matlock
Closed Section Stations
Darley Dale	Darley Dale
Rowsley	Rowsley
Bakewell	Bakewell
Hassop	Hassop
Great Longstone	Great Longstone for Ashford
Monsal Dale	Monsal Dale
Millers Dale	Millers Dale
Blackwell Mill	Blackwell Mill
Buxton	Buxton
Peak Forest	Peak Forest
Chapel-en-le-Frith	Chapel-en-le-Frith Central
Now part of the Hope Valley Line or other lines
Chinley	Chinley
Bugsworth	Buxworth (Now Closed)
New Mills	New Mills Central
Strines	Strines
Marple	Marple
Romiley	Romiley
Bredbury	Bredbury
Brinnington	Brinnington
Reddish	Reddish North
Gorton	Ryder Brow
Belle Vue/Gorton	Belle Vue
Stockport	Stockport (Teviot Dale)
Manchester	Manchester Central (Now Closed)

The complex network of road and rail around Ambergate Junction, formerly where Manchester expresses left the mainline

This line was closed in the 1960s between Matlock and Buxton, severing an important link between Manchester and the East Midlands, which has never been satisfactorily replaced by any mode of transport. A section of the route remains in the hands of the Peak Rail preservation group, operating between Matlock and Rowsley to the north.

Leeds to Carlisle

For marketing and franchising, this is no longer considered part of the Midland Main Line: see Settle-Carlisle Railway.

A geographical representation of the aborted Midland Main Line diversion through the West Riding, which would have put Bradford on a through line and provided a direct connection to Scotland. (Existing lines shown in black and the diversion in red).

Map showing the proposed Midland line into Bradford

World War I prevented the Midland Railway from finishing its direct route through the West Riding to join the Settle and Carlisle (which would have cut six miles from the journey and avoided the need for reversal at Leeds).

The first part of the Midland's West Riding extension from the main line at Royston (Yorks.) to Dewsbury was opened before the war. However, the second part of the extension was not completed. This involved a viaduct at Dewsbury over the River Calder, a tunnel under Dewsbury Moor and a new approach railway into Bradford from the south at a lower level than the existing railway (a good part of which was to be in tunnel) leading into Bradford Midland (or Bradford Forster Square) station.

The 500-yard gap between the stations at Bradford still exists. Closing it today would also need to take into account the different levels between the two Bradford stations, a task made easier in the days of electric rather than steam traction, allowing for steeper gradients than possible at the time of the Midland's proposed extension.

Two impressive viaducts remain on the completed part of the line between Royston Junction and Dewsbury as a testament to the Midland's ambition to complete a third direct Anglo-Scottish route. The line served two goods stations and provided a route for occasional express passenger trains before its eventual closure in 1968.

The failure to complete this section ended the Midland's hopes of being a serious competitor on routes to Scotland and finally put beyond all doubt that Leeds, not Bradford, would be the West Riding's principal city. Midland trains to Scotland therefore continued to call at Leeds before travelling along the Aire Valley to the Settle and Carlisle. From Carlisle they then travelled onwards via either the Glasgow and South Western or Waverley route. In days gone by the line enjoyed named expresses such as the Thames-Clyde Express and The Waverley.

• Leeds along the Airedale Line
  • Here is Apperley Junction for the Wharfedale line
• Shipley: here is the triangular junction for the branch line serving Bradford Forster Square
• Saltaire
• Bingley
• Crossflatts
• Keighley
  • Here is the Worth Valley Branch junction to Oxenhope.
• Steeton & Silsden
• Cononley
• Skipton
  • Here is Settle Junction for the line to Morecambe
    • Giggleswick
    • Clapham
      • Here was the junction for Ingleton and an end-on junction via Sedbergh to Low Gill on the London and North Western Railway (LNW) West Coast Main Line
    • Bentham
    • Lancaster Green Ayre
      • At this point the line divided: a triangular junction for the two lines:
        • Morecambe
        • Heysham Port, including a station for Middleton Road Heysham
• Settle
• Horton-in-Ribblesdale
• Ribblehead
• Dent
• Garsdale
  • At Hawes station, on the branch to the east of the main line, there was an end-on junction with the North Eastern Railway (NER) line across the Pennines to Northallerton
• Kirkby Stephen
• Appleby
• Langwathby
• Armathwaite
• Cumwhinton
• Carlisle

Former stations

As with most railway lines in Britain, the route used to serve far more stations than it currently does (and consequently passes close to settlements that it no longer serves). Places that the current mainline used to serve include

• London to Leicester
• Camden Road

Looking south along the Midland Main Line at St. Albans.

• Haverstock Hill
• Finchley Road
• Welsh Harp
• Napsbury
• Chiltern Green
• Ampthill
• Oakley
• Sharnbrook
• Irchester
• Finedon
• Isham and Burton Latimer
• Rushton
• Desborough
• East Langton
• Kibworth
• Great Glen
• Wigston Magna

A Midland Mainline High Speed Train emerging from Milford Tunnel.

• Leicester to Trent Junction
• Leicester Humberstone Road
• Cossington Gate
• Hathern
• Kegworth
• Trent
• Derwent Valley
• Breaston (later Sawley - see Long Eaton)
• Draycott
• Borrowash
• Derby Nottingham Road
• Wingfield
• Stretton
• Clay Cross
• Erewash Valley

The Erewash Valley Line, part of the Midland Main Line. Seen here at Stapleford.

• Long Eaton (Original Midland Counties Railway station not the present one)
• Stapleford and Sandiacre
• Stanton Gate
• Trowell
• Ilkeston Junction and Cossall
• Shipley Gate
• Codnor Park and Ironville
• Pye Bridge
• Westhouses and Blackwell
• Doe Hill
• Chesterfield to Leeds
• Staveley
• Eckington
• Killamarsh
• Beighton

British Rail High Speed Train near Chesterfield

• Woodhouse Mill
• Treeton
• Sheepbridge
• Unstone
• Beauchief
• Millhouses
• Heeley
• Attercliffe Road
• Brightside
• Holmes
• Rotherham Masborough
• Parkgate and Rawmarsh
• Kilnhurst
• Swinton West (reopened Swinton)

Leeds railway station, a former key reversal point on the Midland Main Line on the route north

The following on the original North Midland Railway line

• Wath
• Darfield
• Royston and Notton
• Oakenshaw (originally for Wakefield)
• Normanton
• Methley
• Woodlesford

Future

Traffic levels on the Midland Main Line are rising faster than the national average, with continued increases predicted. The now-defunct Strategic Rail Authority produced a Route Utilisation Strategy for the Midland Main Line in 2006 to propose ways of meeting this demand; Network Rail started a new study in February 2008 and this was published in February 2010.

Network Rail's plans

The Midland Main line has for many years been thought of as a 'Cinderella' line but, with the increasing capacity constraints on other lines, the route looks set to benefit from investment and enhancement. Plans for the line include:

• Re-signalling of the entire route, expected to be complete by 2016 when all signalling will be controlled by the East Midlands signalling centre in Derby.
• Rebuilding Bedford, Leicester and Nottingham stations, which would also involve an enhanced approach layout during re-signalling works.
• Accessibility enhancements at Loughborough, Luton, Harpenden, Long Eaton, Wellingborough and Elstree & Borehamwood by 2015.
• Upgraded approach signalling (flashing yellow aspects) added at key junctions - Radlett, Harpenden and Leagrave allowing trains to traverse them at higher speeds.
• Lengthening of platforms at Wellingborough, Kettering, Market Harborough, Loughborough, Long Eaton and Beeston stations as well as work related to the Thameslink Programme (see below).
• Realignment (slewing) of the line to allow faster speeds through Market Harborough station.
• Electrification.
• Speeds of up to 125 mph between Elstree & Borehamwood and Ratcliffe Junction on the fast lines (December 2013 onwards) at a cost of £69.4m leading to an 8-minute reduction in London - Sheffield journey times and a 6-minute reduction in London - Nottingham journey times (London St Pancras - Sheffield LSI) on services operated by Class 222 DMUs.

First Capital Connect, a rapidly expanding company which will benefit greatly from the Thameslink works

2007 Business plan

Network Rail's 2007 business plan for the Midland Main Line mentioned line speed increases for the first time in recent years - bringing journey times to Sheffield to under two hours, making them more commensurable with those of other north-south routes over equivalent distances. Highlights include:

• Kettering south - Harowden junction (Wellingborough) third bi-directional slow line (2009)
• Syston - Trent south slow line linespeed increases (2009)
• Erewash Valley line resignalling
• Removal of Clay Cross junction (2008) replaced by a new high-speed junction south of Chesterfield (May 2008)
• Trent junction resignalling (April 2009 - January 2010)
• Proposals for Bedford and Nottingham stations remodelling

2009 Business plan

The focus of Network Rail's 2009 business plan for the Midland Main Line was on improving infrastructure to allow more and longer trains to operate in the future as more houses are built in Northamptonshire. Highlights include:

• Peterborough - Nuneaton gauge-clearance work for the cross-country freight route (2010)
• Improve Corby signalling to allow a better timetable (2010)
• Improvements to Etches Park depot in Derby (2010)
• New footbridge and lifts at Wellingborough station (2010)
• Redevelopment of Luton station (2011)
• Improved line speed between Nottingham and Sheffield (2012)

2010 Route plan

Network Rail's 2010 route plan for the Midland Main Line stressed improving infrastructure to allow more and longer trains to operate in the future as more houses are built in Northamptonshire. Highlights include:

• Work related to line speed increases, removing foot crossings and replacing with footbridges
• Various capacity enhancements for freight
• Upgrade of the Leicester - Burton freight route for potential passenger use (2012)

Route Utilisation Strategies

Freight utilisation strategy

Network Rail published a Route Utilisation Strategy for freight in 2007; over the coming years a cross-country freight route will be developed enhancing the Birmingham to Peterborough Line, increasing capacity through Leicester, and remodelling Syston and Wigston junctions.

Thameslink Programme

• Thameslink Programme

Draft Route Utilisation Strategy

Proposed on the Midland Main Line

Extra services from north Northamptonshire to Derby/Nottingham options:

• One extra semi-fast train per hour between Bedford and Derby which would call at Wellingborough and Kettering, with other station calls possible
• Extra call at Bedford, Wellingborough or Kettering for Sheffield semi-fast trains.

Extra freight capacity between Corby and Bedford options:

• New passing loops on slow lines
• 4-tracking between Bedford to Kettering North Junction and double-tracking on the Oakham to Kettering Line

Extra capacity on InterCity services options:

• New Inter City Express Programme trains (up to 11 carriages)

Other included:

• Faster line speeds
• Faster junction speeds
• Electrification
• Longer loop lengths
• Longer platform lengths
• More capacity for rolling-stock depots and stabling
• Larger loading gauge (up to W12)

Also proposed on the Midland Main Line

• An Open access service from Oakham to London St Pancras.
• New stations: at Clay Cross, Irchester (Rushden Parkway), Ilkeston (Ilkeston Parkway), Brent Cross, (Brent Cross Thameslink) Ampthill. and Wixams.

See also

• Great Central Main Line - Former competing main line