Midland Main Line
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The Midland Main Line is a major railway line in the United Kingdom, part of the British railway system.
The 'Modern' line links London St. Pancras International to Sheffield Midland station in northern England via Luton, Bedford, Kettering, Leicester, Derby and Nottingham.
Historically the line has extended further north to Manchester in the north west, Leeds in the north east and trains through to both Glasgow and Edinburgh in Scotland. Progress and electrification of the east and west coast mainlines has made this route slower in comparison. However the recen investment that has been seen in the two competing lines is set also to be delivered on the Midland in the forthcoming years.
Network Rail engineers started work to build a new station, East Midlands Parkway between Loughborough and Trent Junction, to serve East Midlands Airport in December 2007.
Express passenger services on the line are operated by the East Midlands Trains train operating company. The section between St Pancras and Bedford is electrified and forms the northern half of the Thameslink commuter 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 is shared with CrossCountry train services. East Midlands Trains also operates regional and local services between Nottingham and Leicester / Derby / Sheffield.
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[edit] History
The Midland Main Line was built in stages between the 1830s and the 1860s, as three lines which met at the Tri Junct Station in Derby.
First to arrive was the line built by the Birmingham and Derby Junction Railway from Hampton-in-Arden Warwickshire (on the London and Birmingham Railway) to Derby. This section opened on 12 August, 1839. This is now known as the Cross-Country Route through Birmingham to Bristol.
This was followed on 1 July, 1840 by the North Midland Railway, which ran from Derby to Leeds Hunslet Lane Station via Chesterfield, Swinton, Masborough, near Rotherham (from where the Sheffield and Rotherham Railway ran a branch to Sheffield Wicker Station), 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's Rugby Station. This cut 11 miles off the B&DJR route via Hampton-in-Arden.
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, a medium town south of Leicester, 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 London 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 opened in 1870.
Also part of the line as defined by Network Rail,[1] is the Erewash Valley Line, Leicester to Burton upon Trent Line, Oakham to Kettering Line and sections of the Nottingham to Lincoln Line (as far east as Newark) and 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 of the hillier areas of the British mainland, such as Sharnbrook (where there is a 1 in 119 gradient from the south taking the line to 340 feet above sea level). This has left a legacy of lower maximum speeds on the line compared to the other main lines. The solution to similar problems on the West Coast Main Line has been the adoption of tilting trains, Class 390 Pendolino trains introduced by Virgin in 2003.
By 1982, the line had undergone electrification from Moorgate as far north as Bedford. The introduction of the High Speed Train HST during the 1980s brought about an increase of the ruling linespeed on the fast lines from 90mph to 110mph.
Between 2001 and 2003 the section of the Midland Main Line between Derby and Sheffield was upgraded from 100mph to 110mph as part of Operation Princess, the Virgin Cross Country route upgrade.
Many plans have been drawn up only later to be dropped in a bid to improve speed and journey times, although more recently with investment easier to come by the line looks set to benefit from 125mph running on extended stretches, improved signalling, increased number of tracks and possible electrification further north[citation needed].
[edit] 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;
- Eurostar at St Pancras International;
- London Midland in the Bedford area (replacing Silverlink from 11th November 2007);
- First Transpennine Express in the Sheffield area;
- CrossCountry between Derby and Leeds (replacing Virgin Trains from 11th November 2007);
- Northern Rail between Sheffield and Barnsley.
[edit] Route - in detail
The cities, towns and villages served by the MML are listed below. Those in bold are served by fast InterCity services.
[edit] London to Trent Junction
- London St Pancras
- Camden Road Tunnel
- Kentish Town
- Hampstead Tunnel
- Lismore Circus Tunnel
- Belsize Tunnel
- West Hampstead
- Cricklewood
- Cricklewood Depot sidings
- Hendon
- Mill Hill Broadway
- Elstree Tunnel
- Elstree & Borehamwood
- Radlett
- St Albans City
- Harpenden
- Luton Airport Parkway
- Luton Midland Road
- Leagrave
- Harlington
- Flitwick
- Ampthill Tunnel
- Bedford station junction for Marston Vale Line to Blechley.
- Bedford Midland
- (First Capital Connect services and electrification end here)
- Sharnbrook Tunnel (slow line only)
- Wellingborough Midland Road
- Kettering
- Kettering North Junction: formerly services to Corby and Melton Mowbray along the Oakham to Kettering Line.
- Market Harborough
- Wigston South Junction for Birmingham to Leicester Line
- Knighton Junction for Leicester and Swannington Railway
- Knighton Tunnel
- Leicester London Road
- Syston
- Syston Junction for Leicester to Peterborough Line
- Sileby
- Barrow-upon-Soar
- Loughborough South Junction for non Network Rail line to Ruddington
- Loughborough Midland
- (East Midlands Parkway - under construction)
- Red Hill Tunnel
- At Trent South Junction, the line splits into three, with lines to Derby, Nottingham and Erewash Valley
[edit] Trent Junction to Clay Cross Junction via Derby
- Sheet Stores Junction
- Long Eaton
- Spondon
- London Road Junction for Derby to Birmingham line
- Derby
- Duffield
- Milford Tunnel
- Belper
- Toadmoor Tunnel
- Wingfield Tunnel
[edit] Ambergate Junction to Manchester
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.
- Amber Gate
- Watstandwell
- Whatstandwell Tunnel
- Lea Wood Tunnel
- Cromford
- Willersley Tunnel
- Matlock Bath
- High Tor No.1 Tunnel
- High Tor No.1A Tunnel
- High Tor No.2 Tunnel
- Holt Lane Tunnel
- Matlock
- Darley
- Rowsley
- Bakewell
- Hassop
- Longstone
- Monsal Dale
- Millers Dale
- (Blackwell Mill)
- (Buxton)
- Peak Forest
- Chapel-en-le-Frith
- Chinley
- Bugsworth
- New Mills
- Strines
- Marple
- Romiley
- Bredbury
- Brinnington
- Reddish North
- Ryder Brow
- Belle Vue
- Stockport (Teviot Dale)
- Manchester Central
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.
[edit] Trent Junction to Clay Cross Junction via Erewash Valley Line
- Trent East Junction
- Totan Centre
- Trowell Junction
- Langley Mill
- Alfreton Tunnel
- Alfreton
[edit] Trent Junction to Nottingham
- Trowell Junction
- Attenborough
- Beeston
- Nottingham
- trains often reverse to join the Erewash Valley Line at Trowell Junction
[edit] Clay Cross Junction to Leeds
[edit] Leeds to Carlisle and the West Riding Extension
This is no longer considered part of the Midland Main Line: see Settle-Carlisle Railway.
World War I prevented the Midland Railway from finishing its direct route (avoiding reversal at Leeds) to join the Settle and Carlisle. The first part of the Midlands 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 continues to exist - 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 Midlands proposed extension.
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 town. Midland trains to Scotland continued onwards from Carlisle 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 allong the Airedale Line.
- here is Apperley Junction for the Wharfedale line.
- here is the triangular junction for the branch line serving Shipley and Bradford.
- Shipley
- Saltaire
- Bingley
- Crossflatts
- Keighley
- Here is the Worth Valley Branch junction to Oxenhope.
- Steeton & Silsden
- Cononley
- Skipton.
- 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 divides: a triangular junction for the two lines:
- Morecambe,
- Heysham Harbour, including a station for Middleton Road Heysham.
- here is Settle Junction for the line to Carlisle.
- 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:
[edit] Carlisle to Edinburgh (the waverley route)
This is no longer considered part of the Midland Main Line. See Waverley Line.
- Carlisle
- Riccarton Junction
- Hawick
- Newtown St. Boswells
- Melrose
- Tweedbank
- Galashiels
- Stow
- Gorebridge
- Newtongrange
- Eskbank
- Shawfair
- Chord to East Coast Main Line
- Newcraighall
- Brunstane
- Junction with East Coast Main Line
- Edinburgh Waverley
[edit] 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
- 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
- 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
- Long Eaton (Original Midland Counties Railway station not the present one)
- Stapleford and Sandiacre
- Stanton Gate
- Trowell
- Ilkeston and Cossal
- Shipley Gate
- Codnor Park and Ironville
- Pye Bridge
- Westhouses and Blackwell
- Doe Hill
- Chesterfield to Leeds
- Staveley
- Eckington
- Killamarsh
- Beighton
- Woodhouse Mill
- Treeton
- Sheepbridge
- Unstone
- Beauchief
- Millhouses
- Heeley
- Attercliffe Road
- Brightside
- Holmes
- Rotherham Masborough
- Parkgate and Rawmarsh
- Kilnhurst
- Swinton West (reopened Swinton)
The following on the original North Midland Railway line
- Wath
- Darfield
- Royston and Notton
- Oakenshaw (originally for Wakefield)
- Normanton
- Methley
- Woodlesford
[edit] Future
Traffic levels on the Midland Main Line are rising faster than national average, with continued increases predicted. The now defunct Strategic Rail Authority produced a Route Utilisation Strategy for the Midland Main Line in 2005 to propose ways of meeting this demand; Network Rail plan to start work on a new study in 2008.
[edit] London St Pancras
St Pancras railway station [2] in London opened as the new home of Eurostar International services in November 2007. Leicester will be the first major city outside of London with single-change links to the continent.
In December 2007 First Capital Connect services between Bedford and Brighton will also stop at the new Thameslink box under St Pancras when Kings Cross Thameslink closes.
Kent high speed domestic services will utilise St Pancras from 2009.
[edit] Network Rail's Plans
Network Rail's route 19 in recent years has seen many direct long distance trains removed to other more modern lines which has inevitably affected communities along the route. The Midland Main line has for many years been thought of as a 'Cinderella' line and, with the increasing capacity constraints on other lines, it is inevitable that this route will be upgraded in the not-too-distant future. Plans for the line include:
- Re-signalling of the entire route is expected to be complete by 2016 when all signalling will be controlled by the new East Midlands Signalling centre currently being built at Derby.
- Straightening the line at Market Harborough.
- Additional relief lines around Leicester.
- Rebuilding stations at Nottingham, Derby, Loughborough, Wellingborough and Luton.
- Re-newing major junctions at Trent and Clay Cross.
- Additional relief lines around Corby.
- New bi-directional line between Kettering and Wellingborough.
- Upgraded signalling on approaches to junctions allowing trains to travel at higher speeds.
- Thameslink Programme.
[edit] Route Utilisation Strategy
[edit] Thameslink Programme
[edit] 2007 Business Plan
Network Rail's 2007 business plan for the Midland Main Line [5] talks for the first time in recent years of line speed increases - bringing journey times to Sheffield to under two hours, meaning that journey times would become more competitive to other north-south routes. Highlights include:
- Kettering south - Harowden Junction (Wellingborough) third bi-directional slow line
- Syston - Trent south linespeed increases
- Syston Junction - Wigston Junction slow line
- Erewash Valley line resignalling
- Trent Junction resignalling
- Bedford & Nottingham stations remodelling
- Flashing yellow signal aspects added at key junctions - Radlett, Harpendon and Leagrave
- Chesterfield new Platform
[edit] Freight utilisation Strategy
Network Rail have recently released their freight utilisation strategy [6], and if a cross country freight route was to be taken forward, the railway through Leicester, from Syston to Wigston Junctions, would be enhanced with additional slow lines and platforms at Leicester.
[edit] Train Operating Company Plans
[edit] East Midlands Trains
The newly awarded franchise to Stagecoach [7] includes a number of improvements to rolling stock and infrastructure linked timetabling improvements:
- Reduced journey times between Sheffield/Leicester and London
- Provision of an additional HST set
- Additional services between London and the Midlands
- £5 million to be spent on station improvements in addition to that already committed by Network Rail
- £26.5 million fund for rolling stock improvements
[edit] First Capital Connect
| Main line railways in Great Britain: | |
|---|---|
| High-speed main lines: | High Speed 1 |
| 'Classic' main lines: | Cross Country Route East Coast Main Line Great Eastern Main Line Great Western Main Line Midland Main Line South Wales Main Line West Coast Main Line |
Railway lines in Central England: | |
|---|---|
| InterCity lines: | Cross-Country Route · Midland Main Line · West Coast Main Line |
| Main lines: | Birmingham-Peterborough via Leicester Line · Birmingham-Worcester via Bromsgrove Line · Birmingham-Worcester via Kidderminster Line · Cherwell Valley Line · Chiltern Main Line · London-Aylesbury Line · Rugby-Birmingham-Stafford Line · Trent Valley Line · Welsh Marches Line · Wolverhampton-Shrewsbury Line |
| Commuter lines: | Birmingham-Walsall-Rugeley "Chase" Line · Birmingham-Stratford Line · Coventry-Nuneaton Line · Cross-City Line · Erewash Valley Line · Leicester-Loughborough "Ivanhoe" Line · Northampton Loop Line · Robin Hood Line · Stourbridge Junction-Stourbridge Town Line · Walsall-Wolverhampton Line |
| Rural lines: | Cotswold Line · Crewe-Derby Line · Derwent Valley Line · Leamington-Stratford Line · Marston Vale Line · Nottingham to Grantham Line · Nottingham-Lincoln Line · Oxford-Bicester Line · Princes Risborough-Aylesbury Line · Shrewsbury-Chester Line |
| Freight and disused lines: | Birmingham Snow Hill-Wolverhampton Low Level Line · Bumble Hole Line · Cheddington to Aylesbury Line · Darlaston Loop · Great Central Main Line · Harborne Branch Line · Oakham to Kettering Line · Oxford-Worcester-Wolverhampton Line · South Staffordshire Line · Sutton Park Line · Varsity Line · Wombourne Branch Line · Wolverhampton and Walsall Railway |
| Heritage: | Battlefield Line · Great Central Railway · Midland Railway Centre · Rutland Railway · Severn Valley Railway |
Railway lines in Northern England: | |
|---|---|
| InterCity lines: | Cross-Country Route • East Coast Main Line • Midland Main Line • West Coast Main Line |
| Main lines: | Chester-Manchester Line • Hope Valley Line • Liverpool-Manchester Lines • Manchester-Preston Line • Settle-Carlisle Railway |
| Commuter lines: | Airedale Line • Blackburn-Bolton Line • Blackpool Branch Lines • Caldervale Line • Dearne Valley Line • East Lancashire Line • Glossop Line • Hallam Line • Harrogate Line • Huddersfield Line • Kirkby Branch Line • Leeds-Bradford composite line • Liverpool-Wigan Line • Manchester-Southport Line • Mid-Cheshire Line • Morecambe Branch Line • Northern Line • Oldham Loop Line • Northallerton-Eaglescliffe Line • Ormskirk Branch Line · Pontefract Line • Sheffield-Hull Line • Sheffield-Lincoln Line • Stockport-Stalybridge Line • Styal Line • Wakefield Line • Wharfedale Line • Wirral Line • York & Selby Lines • York-Scarborough Line |
| Rural lines: | Barton Line • Borderlands Line • Buxton Line • Cumbrian Coast Line • Doncaster-Lincoln Line • Durham Coast Line • Esk Valley Line • Furness Line • Hull-York Line • Newcastle and Carlisle Railway • Windermere Branch Line • Penistone Line • Ribble Valley Line • Tees Valley Line • Yorkshire Coast Line |
[edit] References
- ^ Route 19 Midland Main Line and East Midlands http://www.networkrail.co.uk/browse%20documents/StrategicBusinessPlan/R19%20-%20MML.pdf
- ^ "London St Pancras International Station".
- ^ "Thamslink Programme > News".
- ^ "Thameslink Programme > Network Rail".
- ^ "Buisness Plan 2007 > Route 19 > Midland Main Line & East Midlands".
- ^ "Route Utilisation Strategy > Freight".
- ^ "East Midlands Trains > Our Plans".
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