Harborough rail users
Improving the quality of Market Harborough's rail service
The long-awaited blockade of the line through Market Harborough started this morning, 28th May. The line is now closed until Monday 3rd June, when the new platforms are due to open. Day 1 of the blockade has seen the old track through the station lifted and the old platforms largely demolished, with the sleepers for the new down line (northbound) now laid along the new alignment to where it joins the existing line. It is a scene of busy activity, as the picture above shows (old track on the left, new track on the right). The rail replacement bus service, every 15 minutes to both Kettering and Leicester, has operated smoothly. The station car park is free of charge for the duration of the blockade, and passengers are also offered free hot drinks and buns from the Engine Room cafe van in the car park.
A good start to this complex and important project! The Department for Transport has announced that the Midland Main Line is to be electrified to Market Harborough. This is an extension of the scheme currently under way to electrify from Bedford to Kettering and Corby. The decision had been anticipated, as the power supply for that electrification will be from the National Grid high-voltage power line that crosses the railway near Braybrooke, just south of Market Harborough. It makes sense to feed that power back to Kettering using overhead wires rather than an underground conduit, and then to extend it for 'the last mile' into Market Harborough. The decision means that our trains will run electrically all the way between Market Harborough and London. This will make them quieter, cleaner and faster. Until electrification is extended further, however, they will switch to diesel for the section north to Leicester, Nottingham, Derby and Sheffield.
The Market Harborough electrification is due to be completed in December 2023. The decision is warmly welcome, but we need to ensure that Market Harborough retains an inter-city service rather than becoming the terminus for outer-suburban trains. Looking south along the new trackbed from the north end of the new platforms on a rather murky 1st March 2019. The newly installed footbridge awaits its staircases. The main station building can be glimpsed in the middle background. On Friday 1st March, two members of the HRU Committee joined a guided tour of the Market Harborough station construction site. This was for local stakeholders, including Harborough MP Neil O'Brien and representatives of the Harborough Disability Access Group, and was by invitation of Network Rail, their contractors and East Midlands Trains. Dressed head-to-foot in the regulation orange safety gear, we were shown the progress so far with the new platforms, footbridge and track that has so far been laid on the new alignment. Then it was back to the site office for a sandwich lunch and a presentation on the work still to be done, including the plans for completion of the work. This includes completing the bridge, installing waiting rooms and shelters on both platforms and, ultimately, extension of the car park over the land where the current platforms are.
The station will be closed for six days from Tuesday 28th May to Sunday 2nd June inclusive to allow the new layout to be connected into the main line. When it reopens on Monday 3rd June, the new northbound platform will be complete, but the new southbound platform will need further work associated with demolition of the existing platforms. This will mean the existing subway being temporarily closed, though by then the footbridge will be available. Full completion, including 200 extra car park spaces, is due for December 2019. We remain concerned about the lack of any plans for additional toilets on the southbound side, access for the disabled from the booking office to the platforms, and lack of any platform canopies. Proper provision for cycle parking also remains to be resolved. However, we are grateful to Network Rail for arranging the site visit and for engaging in open dialogue about the scheme. A significant milestone in the rebuilding of the station was reached during the early hours of Sunday 24th February, with the installation of the main steelwork for the new footbridge. This, funded under the national Access for All programme, will be equipped with lifts as well as steps, to enable easy transfer between the two new platforms. It provides a very visible landmark in what is a currently major construction site. Also on 24th February, temporary portable toilets were installed in the station forecourt. These replace the existing toilets in the building on Platform 1 while the building work continues. The station is due to be closed for six days, from Tuesday 28th May to Sunday 2nd June inclusive, to allow the new track alignment and platforms to be connected up and brought into use on Monday 3rd June.
Major engineering work usually takes place on a Sunday, with train services replaced where necessary by buses. The improvements to the line including preparations for electrification have meant Sunday closures through Market Harborough and this is likely to continue from time to time over the next few years. However, on recent occasions, the first northbound bus from Market Harborough did not arrive in Leicester until 12:24, missing the first five northbound train departures!
This is both a poor service and a missed business opportunity. Following representations made to East Midlands Trains, they have undertaken to look into improving rail-replacement services between Bedford and stations to Leicester on Sundays in future so as to connect into the first northbound train at 10:20*. We are grateful to EMT for this. * The 1020 from Leicester goes to York, arriving at 12:15 and returning at 17:50 to arrive in Leicester at 19:55. A good opportunity for a day out! |
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