Electrification progress

Users of Market Harborough station will have noticed evidence of electrification really getting under way.  At the time of writing, overhead line masts have been installed just north of the platforms, and through Little Bowden.  Lengthy stretches of the line through Braybrooke and most of the way to Kettering now have at least some evidence of electrification, whether that be the mast support bases, masts themselves and, in many cases, the gantry brackets that will carry the wires.  The power supply substation at Braybrooke is also very much under construction.  
The Government’s Integrated Rail Plan promises electrification of the entire Midland Main Line, right through to Nottingham, Derby and Sheffield.  We now trust that once the electrification has reached Market Harborough, it can swiftly continue towards Leicester.   

It’s coming.  On a sunny 13th January 2022, an EMR Meridian train passes the first electrification masts at Market Harborough station as it arrives with the 15:03 to Nottingham.  Most of the line through to Kettering now has some evidence of electrification equipment by the lineside.
Photo: Steve Jones