The platforms at Market Harborough station are being substantially reconstructed during four weekends from 21-22 June to 12-13 July, with other work during weekdays where this does not affect train operations. 
It has been discovered that the infill material between the front and back walls has failed, leading to some unevenness and surface cracking.  It is being dug out and replaced.  As the platforms are only six years old, we understand this work is being undertaken by the contractors at no cost to the railway.  Luckily, the line is already closed at weekends until the end of July for track engineering work at Wigston, so advantage of that has been taken for the platform work. The station has been a very busy work-site, with many people and vehicles engaged and large tonnages of material both removed and delivered.
Replacement buses have been running every 20 minutes between Kettering, Market Harborough and Leicester during this work, though they would have been running anyway because of the other engineering work closing the line through Wigston.
The work is being done one section of the platforms at a time.  The contractors are clearly under pressure to complete each respective section and hand it back intact in time for the first train on Monday mornings.

The removal of the temporary toilet cabin back in September 2022 gave the opportunity for an improved layout of the station forecourt.  This finally happened on 7th – 8th April 2023, when new white and yellow lines were marked out.  Gone is the mini-roundabout, but reinstated is the ‘teardrop’ turning loop for taxis at the front of the main building.  Five short-stay parking spaces have been laid out on the east side of the forecourt, backing onto the railway embankment, along with a more clearly defined walking route between the cycle hub and the approach footpath.  We in Harborough Rail Users have been pressing for increased short-stay parking for some time, so it is good to see this happen.  It has been suggested that the casual cycle parking in the black plastic ‘pods’ outside the cycle hub building are to be removed, to release another space for parking.  We are concerned about this and have made representations for such provision to be provided.  Cycle parking for occasional users is essential; the alternative is that people will just chain their bikes to anything fixed and could thereby create nuisance or even hazard.  Subject to that, however, the revised forecourt is much better than the previous rather messy arrangements.

​The long-awaited new waiting room and toilets on Platform 1 at Market Harborough finally opened, without ceremony, on Friday 22nd July.  There have been various delays in the construction process, but the new building looks very smart and adds a splash of colour to our rather monochrome station.  Along with the new building are modifications to the top end of the ramp from the booking office to the platform, to bring it into compliance with the relevant regulations.  The area left by the demolition of the previous 1970s building has also been tidied up, with a degree of landscaping.  We wonder, however, just how much weather protection will really be provided by the small canopy erected over the entrance to the Victorian ramp.

​We now await the plans for the forecourt once the temporary toilet cabin has been removed.  There is a severe need for more short-stay car parking in this admittedly rather limited space.

Network Rail will soon be starting work on the new toilet block and waiting room at Market Harborough station.  This is long awaited, and further information can be found here:
https://www.networkrailmediacentre.co.uk/news/better-facilities-at-market-harborough-station-this-may

During the rebuilding of the station in summer 2019, the old Harborough Rail Users noticeboard disappeared.  It was on the approach wall to the subway and was an important means of communicating the activities of HRU to the users of the station.  Repeated enquiries never identified what happened to it!  However, EMR agreed to provide a replacement, and this was installed on 21st September 2021, next to the position of the old one.  We are grateful to EMR for providing this.