Midland Main Line

This article describes the railway line in Great Britain, for the railway company see Midland Mainline .

London – Leeds
Gauge :	1435 mm ( standard gauge )
Legend Leeds Wakefield Westgate East Coast Main Line Barnsley Dearne , Doncaster East Coast Main Line to Huddersfield Cudworth from Sheffield by Grimethorpe after Houghton Colliery Darfield Wath North Dearne Valley Line , Wakefield Line and Sheffield – Hull Line Swinton Kilnhurst West Parkgate and Rawmarsh Rotherham Masborough Motorway M1 , Canklow Shed Hallam Line , Penistone Line Meadowhall Wincobank to Tinsley Freight Yard, Treeton Brightside , Woodhouse Mill Attercliffe Road Don Sheffield – Lincoln Line Sheffield Midland Sheffield & Rotherham Railway Porter Brook , Beighton Heeley Millhouses Shed, Killamarsh Millhouses , Eckington Beauchief Dore Hope Valley Line to Manchester Piccadilly Bradway tunnel Dronfield , to Bolsover Unstone , Barrow Hill Sheepbridge , Wittington Ambergate , Chesterfield , Robin Hood Line Derwent Valley Line to Matlock and Peak Rail Alfreton Belper Langley Mill Robin Hood Line Nottingham 126 Derby , Beeston Toton TMD, Attenborough Erewash Valley Line , Attenborough Junction Long Eaton Sinfin , Sinfin Branch Line Ivanhoe Line Crewe-Derby Line , Trent Junction Burton upon Trent Trent Birmingham and Derby Junction Railway and Cross Country Route East Midlands Parkway Coalville Depot, Loughborough Great Central Railway Syston Junction, Old Dalby test track Leicester and Swannington Railway and Birmingham – Peterborough Line Leicester Birmingham – Peterborough Line Market Harborough , Corby Kettering Wellingborough Bedford Marston Vale Line to Bletchley Luton Luton Airport Parkway Dudding Hill Line Gospel Oak – Barking Line Thameslink North London Line North London Line , East Coast Main Line , CTRL Regent's Canal London St. Pancras

The Midland Main Line is a railway line in Great Britain . It connects London with Luton , Bedford , Kettering , Leicester , Derby , Nottingham and Sheffield . Previously, the line extended to Manchester in the north-west and Leeds in the north-east; Trains also continued to run to Glasgow and Edinburgh in Scotland. Since the West Coast Main Line and the East Coast Main Line have become faster after electrification and further expansions, the Midland Main Line has lost its importance.

Route and operation

Midland Mainline train at St. Pancras Station in London

The Midland Main Line runs through the hilly areas of the Midlands , so the average speed is significantly lower compared to other main lines. As on the West Coast Main Line is Virgin Trains since 2003 also tilting trains of the type Pendolino one. Express trains on this route have been offered by Midland Mainline since 2007 (now operated by East Midlands Trains ).

The section between London St Pancras and Bedford is electrified ( overhead line with 25 kV AC ) and also forms the northern part of the Thameslink suburban railway (operated by First Capital Connect ), which runs from Bedford to Brighton . On the section between Derby and Sheffield trains run by Virgin Trains . Local transport in the Leicester / Derby / Sheffield region is offered by East Midlands Trains (formerly Central Trains ).

history

The Midland Main Line was built gradually between the 1830s and 1860s. Three different routes met in Derby . The first was the Birmingham and Derby Junction Railway from Hampton-in-Arden ( Warwickshire ) on the London and Birmingham Railway to Derby, which opened on August 12, 1839. This section is now part of the Cross-Country Route via Birmingham to Bristol .

On July 1, 1840, the North Midland Railway followed , which led from Derby via Chesterfield , Swinton , Rotherham and Normanton (West Yorkshire) to Leeds . There was a branch line from Rotherham to Sheffield . The line passed Sheffield, Barnsley and Wakefield to avoid steep inclines.

On the same day, the Midland Counties Railway , which ran from Derby and Nottingham to Leicester , was extended beyond Leicester to a temporary station north of Rugby . A few months later the Rugby Viaduct was completed and the Midland Counties Railway continued to run to Rugby Station on the London and Birmingham Railway. Compared to the route via Hampton-in-Arden, this connection was around 18 km shorter.

When these three companies merged to form the Midland Railway on May 10, 1844 , the new company did not have its own route to London. For this reason, their trains had to run on the route of the London and Birmingham Railway (from 1846 London and North Western Railway ) from Rugby to London Euston in order to have access to the capital.

In the 1850s, the rugby branch reached its capacity limits. For this reason, the Midland Railway built its own line from Leicester via Bedford to Hitchin on the Great Northern Railway . It bypasses Nottingham and instead runs through Kettering and Wellingborough in east Nottinghamshire . South of Hitchin, the same old problems arose as before with rugby. For this reason, the Midland Railway built an extension of its southern route from Bedford via Luton to London St Pancras .

The last section, which is counted to today's Midland Main Line, was an abbreviation between Chesterfield and Sheffield, which opened in 1870. The Erewash Valley Line , which runs from Chesterfield via Nottingham to Long Eaton and serves as an alternative route, is also considered part of the Midland Main Line . To address fears and opposition from landowners along the line, the Midland Railway was built in some places to bypass large estates and rural settlements. In order to reduce costs, the route was adapted to the topography, which resulted in numerous curves.

In the 1980s, the Midland Main Line between London and Bedford was electrified. The introduction of the High Speed ​​Train made it possible to increase the top speed from 90 mph (145 km / h) to 110 mph (177 km / h). In 2008 the new East Midlands Parkway station opened. Plans to electrify the Midland Main Line from Bedford via Derby and Nottingham to Sheffield and from Kettering to Corby were dropped again in July 2017.

Former branches

In contrast to today, the Midland Main Line used to be significantly longer. Numerous branches have been closed or interrupted, while others no longer have direct trains.

Corby is on an alternative route between Kettering and Loughborough that passed Leicester. This was closed to passenger traffic in 1966, since then Corby has been the largest city in Great Britain with no rail connection. In April 2009 the station was put back into operation and has been served by East Midlands Trains since then, including direct connections to London.

An important branch line was that from Ambergate via Matlock and Buxton in the direction of Manchester . Since the closure of the middle section Matlock – Buxton in 1968 no more direct trains between London and Manchester on the Midland Main Line.

Web links

Commons : Midland Main Line  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

See also

• List of railway lines in Great Britain
• Rail transport in Great Britain

Individual evidence

1. ^ Sheffield, Swansea and Windermere electrification canceled. Railway Gazette, July 20, 2017, accessed July 23, 2017 . 
2. ↑ Northamptonshire Telegraph: Start date for full Corby rail service revealed (April 7, 2009) (accessed June 19, 2012)