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.

Long-awaited renovation works on the Victorian main building and the ramp up to Platform 1 were in progress in late August.  With the recent emphasis on the new construction at platform level, the older part of the station was getting rather shabby and in need of some TLC.  On 24th August, there was evidence of that happening, with some replacement windows on the covered ramp up from the booking office, where timber had become quite rotten.  Work was also in hand on the sash windows on the upper floor of the main building frontage.   Market Harborough's main building is an absolute architectural gem and deserves to be kept in good repair.