Midland Main Line
The Midland Main Line is a railway line in Britain. It connects London to Luton, Bedford, Kettering, Leicester, Derby, Nottingham and Sheffield. Previously, the line was made to Manchester in the northwest and Leeds in the north- east; Trains ran even further to Glasgow and Edinburgh in Scotland. Since the West Coast Main Line and the East Coast Main Line by electrification and other extensions have become faster, the Midland Mainline has lost meaning.
Range and operating
The Midland Main Line runs through the hilly areas of the Midlands, so that the average speed in comparison to other major routes is significantly lower. As on the West Coast Main Line is Virgin Trains since 2003 also tilting trains Pendolino one. Fast trains on this route offered by the Company Midland Main Line since 2007 (now operated by East Midlands Trains).
The section between London St Pancras and Bedford is electrified ( overhead line 25 kV AC) and represents the northern part of the Thameslink suburban railway (operating by First Capital Connect), which runs from Bedford to Brighton. On the section between Derby and Sheffield trains of the company Virgin Trains. Local transport in the region Leicester / Derby / Sheffield is (formerly Central Trains ) offered by East Midlands Trains.
History
The Midland Main Line was built gradually between the 1830s and 1860s. Three different routes came together in Derby. The first was the Birmingham and Derby Junction Railway of Hampton-in - Arden ( Warwickshire ) on the London and Birmingham Railway to Derby, which was opened on 12 August 1839. This section is now part of the cross-country route via Birmingham to Bristol.
On July 1, 1840 was followed by the North Midland Railway, which led from the Kentucky Derby to Chesterfield, Swinton, Rotherham and Normanton (West Yorkshire ) to Leeds. There was a branch lines from Rotherham to Sheffield. The line led past Sheffield, Barnsley and Wakefield, to avoid steep inclines.
On the same day the Midland Counties Railway, which ran from Derby and Nottingham to Leicester was extended over Leicester addition to a temporary station north of Rugby. A few months later the Rugby viaduct was completed and the Midland Counties Railway wrong for the station 's Rugby London and Birmingham Railway. Compared to the route of Hampton -in- Arden, this compound was approximately 18 km shorter.
As these three companies merged on May 10, 1844 for the Midland Railway, the new company did not have its own route to London. For this reason, her features had on the route of the London and Birmingham Railway ( 1846 London and North Western Railway ) operate from Rugby to London Euston, to have access to capital.
In the 1850s, the branch in Rugby reached its capacity limits. For this reason, the Midland Railway built its own stretch of Leicester on Bedford to Hitchin on the Great Northern Railway. She travels around Nottingham and instead runs through Kettering and Wellingborough in the east of Nottinghamshire. South of Hitchin arose again the old problems as before in rugby. The Midland Railway built for this reason an extension of their southern section of Bedford via Luton to London St Pancras.
The last section, which is counted to the current Midland Mainline was a shortcut between Chesterfield and Sheffield, which opened in 1870. Also as part of the Midland Main Line, the Erewash Valley Line is considered, which runs from Chesterfield via Nottingham to Long Eaton and serves as an alternate route.
To reflect the fears and opposition of the landowners along the line statement, the Midland Railway was built in some places so that it bypasses large estates and rural settlements. To reduce costs, fit you to the route to the topography, which had numerous curves result.
In the 1980s, electricity was the Midland Main Line between London and Bedford. The introduction of High Speed Train then allowed to increase the top speed of 90 mph (145 km / h) to 110 mph (177 km / h). 2008, the new East Midlands Parkway railway station was opened. The plan is the electrification of the Midland Main Line from Bedford to Sheffield via Derby and Nottingham, as well as from Kettering to Corby.
Former Zweigstrecken
Unlike today, the Midland Main Line was formerly much longer. Numerous branch lines were shut down or interrupted, on the other there is no direct trains.
Corby is on a diverted route between Kettering and Loughborough, which led past Leicester. This was closed in 1966 for passenger, since Corby was the largest town in Britain without a railway connection. In April 2009 the station was put into operation and has since been operated by East Midlands Trains, among other things, with direct links to London.
A significant branch line was that about Matlock and Buxton in from Ambergate from the direction of Manchester. Since the closure of the central portion Matlock - Buxton in 1968, there are no direct trains between London and Manchester circulate more about the Midland Main Line.