Harborough rail users
Improving the quality of Market Harborough's rail service
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. Freshly marked out: the new taxi rank arrangement at the front of the station on 7th April 2023.
Photo: Steve Jones Newly decorated ‘feature wall’ in the main waiting room on Platform 1. Photo: Steve Jones An informal meeting was held in Market Harborough on 24th March between Laura Etheridge, EMR Stakeholder Manager, George Selby, EMR Lead Business Development Manager (on secondment to Stakeholder Engagement Team), and Steve Jones, Chair of Harborough Rail Users and Secretary of Railfuture East Midlands, and Phil Thomas, Chair of Railfuture East Midlands. The aim was a general catch-up on current topics for EMR, including those of particular relevance to Market Harborough.
Among many matters discussed were:
Via our local MP, Harborough Rail Users have called upon the Government to act to bring an end to the current plague of strikes on the railways. The various disputes have been going on for months and, apart from an apparent glimmer of hope in early November, and a couple of specific settlements, they show no sign of ending anytime soon. There are no winners, and the disruption causes serious difficulty to the public – who have no say in any of this. It is time to sort this mess out! Harborough Rail Users therefore sent the following open letter to Harborough MP Neil O’Brien on 11th December 2022: Dear Mr O’Brien, We are concerned about the train service currently being provided at Market Harborough. In addition to the national disputes involving the RMT, ASLEF and TSSA unions, East Midlands Railway are involved in disputes with the Unite union. This means that services through Harborough are being disrupted on additional days to the national strikes. It is making the service unacceptable both to regular and occasional users. The Government keeps stressing how much money was poured into the railways to allow key workers to get to work during the pandemic. What are those key workers - and others - supposed to do now? We have heard the views of the Government, the Rail Delivery Group and the trade unions over and over again. They do not need repeating. This issue is affecting thousands of your constituents. It is now time to get back to the negotiating table and make a settlement. Yours sincerely, Harborough Rail Users We sent this also to the local press, with some additional comments, and it was the front-page lead in the Harborough Mail on 22nd December. It is important to stress that Harborough Rail Users are politically neutral and impartial. We are not taking sides, nor are we apportioning blame. We also recognise that EMR have made considerable efforts to provide a train service at Market Harborough, whereas many places have had no trains at all on strike days. Of course, the railways are by no means the only sector currently affected by strikes. However, it is time to sort this mess out! On 26th November, LMS Pacific 46233 Duchess of Sutherland came through Market Harborough on a special from Ealing Broadway to York and back. Hauling a long train of maroon-liveried and Pullman coaches, she made a fine sight – despite being piloted by a diesel locomotive. The return run came through at 20:35. By this time, darkness shrouded the train as it stormed though the station, taking a run at the gradient up Desborough bank. The clouds of white steam reflected the glow of the engine’s fire, giving the illusion of flames leaping and dancing above the cab. Rather atmospheric! Tragically, a strike by ASLEF meant that EMR were running no services at all that day (apart from the 00:39 to Derby, which was really the previous evening’s train.) This special was therefore the only passenger train through Market Harborough on 26th November. In turn, this meant that all passenger trains though our station that day were the steam hauled*; the first time this has happened since 1957! * Let’s give it the benefit of the doubt and ignore the supporting diesel locomotive! LMS Pacific 46233 Duchess of Sutherland hustles a long train through Market Harborough a few minutes late at 09:17 on a special from Ealing Broadway to York on Saturday 26th November.
Picture: Steve Jones The Government’s Office of Rail and Road (ORR) publishes annual data on rail passenger numbers. Albeit some time after the end of the reporting year, the ORR published figures for the year April 2021 – March 2022 on 24th November 2022. These are calculated as ‘entries and exits’ using data from ticket sales; in other words, journeys starting or ending at each station. For Market Harborough, these totalled 531,140 in 2021-22, up 252% on the much-depleted figure of 150,866 the previous year resulting from the pandemic. This represents a good degree of recovery post-Covid, though is still well down on the pre-Covid peak of 898,058 in 2019-20. Passengers changing trains at each station are also counted, though for Market Harborough this does not apply and the official figure was 0. Kettering, on the other hand, being the interchange point between EMR Intercity and Connect services, had 99,783 such passengers in the year. Busy moment at Market Harborough. Passengers board the 15:32 to Nottingham on 28th April 2022, while the slightly late 15:29 to St Pancras calls at the adjacent platform. On the left, the new waiting room and toilets building is taking shape; this opened on 22nd July.
Picture: Steve Jones |
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