Shopping on line can be easy, simple and save you lots of money. It can also take a lot of your time, frustrate you, and result in unwanted purchases. Now the same can be said for regular high street shopping, but with the vast opportunity presented by the Internet it will pay you to spend a few minutes reading this and understanding how to better optimize your Midland Main Line shopping experience:

1. Compare - without doubt the biggest advantage that the Midland Main Line offers shoppers today is the ability to compare thousands of Midland Main Line at a time. This is a great thing, but not necessarily all the time! Too much can be daunting at times so take advantage of the great comparison sites and where possible let them do the hard work for you.

2. Research - if it has been said it will be on the internet. Ignorance is no longer a justifiable reason for buying the wrong thing. Take the time to research in detail everything that you could possible want to know about

3. Testimonials - don't know anybody that has bought a Midland Main Line? Wrong! If the Midland Main Line is good the internet will let you know. Use the Internet as a friend and get testimonials before you buy.

4. Questions - Got a question about Midland Main Line then search the Forums, FAQ's, Blogs etc. Don't be afraid to ask .....

5. Reputation - Never heard of the company selling Midland Main Line? Don't worry, no reason why you should know every company in the world, but you know someone that does! Use the internet to find out what people are saying about Midland Main Line and build up a picture of their reputation for sales, returns, customer service, delivery etc.

6. Returns - still worried that even after all of the above your Midland Main Line wont be what you want? Check out the returns policy. There is so much competition now that someone, somewhere is bound to offer the terms that you are comfortable with.

7. Feedback - happy with your Midland Main Line then let people know, after all you are depending on others people input in your buying decision, so why not give a little back.

8. Security - check for the yellow padlock on the Midland Main Line site before you buy, and the s after http:/ /i.e. https:// = a secure site

9. Contact - got a question about Midland Main Line, or want to leave a comment then check out the sites contact page. Reputable companies have them and respond.

10. Payment - ready to pay for your Midland Main Line, then use your credit card or PayPal! Be aware of companies that don't accept them, there may be genuine reasons but given the huge amount of choice you have when buying online there is no reason at all not to buy via credit card or PayPal.



The Midland Main Line is a main railway line in the United Kingdom, part of the Rail transport in Great Britain.

The 'Modern' line links London (St Pancras station) to Sheffield (Sheffield Midland station) in northern England and connects other places including Luton, Bedford, Bedfordshire, Kettering, Leicester, Derby and Nottingham.

Historically the line has extended further north to Manchester in the north west, Leeds in the north east and trains through to both Glasgow and Edinburgh in Scotland.Progress and electrification of the east and west coast mainlines has made this route slower in comparison.

There are plans to build East Midlands Parkway railway station to serve East Midlands Airport.

Express passenger services on the line are operated by the Midland Mainline train operating company. The section between St Pancras and Bedford is electrified and forms the northern half of the Thameslink commuter service (operated by First Capital Connect), which provides a through service from Bedford to Brighton railway station.

The northern part of the route between Derby and Sheffield is shared with Virgin Cross-Country train services. Central Trains also operates regional and local services between Nottingham and Leicester / Derby / Sheffield.

History The Midland Main Line was built in stages between the 1830s and the 1860s, as three lines which met at the Tri Junct Station in Derby.

First to arrive was the line built by the Birmingham and Derby Junction Railway from Hampton-in-Arden Warwickshire (on the London and Birmingham Railway) to Derby station. This section opened on 12 August, 1839. This is now known as the Cross Country Route (MR) through Birmingham New Street railway station to Bristol Temple Meads railway station.

This was followed on 1 July, 1840 by the North Midland Railway, which ran from Derby to Leeds Hunslet Lane Station via Chesterfield, Swinton, South Yorkshire, Rotherham Masborough railway station (from where the Sheffield & Rotherham Railway ran a branch to Sheffield Wicker Station), and Normanton railway station. This avoided Sheffield, Barnsley, and Wakefield in order to reduce gradients.

On the same day the Midland Counties Railway, which ran from Derby and Nottingham to Leicester Campbell Street Station, was extended from Leicester to a temporary station on the northern outskirts of Rugby, Warwickshire. A few months later, the Rugby viaduct was finished and the Midland Counties Railway reached the London and Birmingham's Rugby railway station. This cut 11 miles off the former route via Hampton-in-Arden.

When these three companies merged to form the Midland Railway on 10 May 1844, the Midland did not have its own route to London, and relied upon a junction at Rugby, Warwickshire with the London and Birmingham's line (which became part of the London and North Western Railway on 1 January, 1846) to Euston station for access to the capital.

By the 1850s the junction at Rugby had become severely congested, and so the Midland Railway constructed a route from Leicester to Hitchin on the Great Northern Railway (Great Britain), via Bedford. The line avoids Northampton, a medium town south of Leicester, instead going via Kettering and Wellingborough in the east of Northamptonshire. This line met with similar problems at Hitchin as the former alignment had at Rugby, so in 1868 a line was opened from Bedford via Luton to London St Pancras.

The final stretch of what is considered to be the modern Midland Main Line was a short cut-off from Chesterfield through Sheffield, which opened in 1870.

Also part of the line as defined by Network Rail, is the Erewash Valley Line, Leicester to Burton upon Trent Line, Oakham to Kettering Line and sections of the Leicester to Lincoln Line (as far east as Newark) and Birmingham to Peterborough Line (between Nuneaton and Oakham).

Partly to appease the concerns and opposition of landowners along the route, in places some of the route was built so that it avoided large estates and rural towns, and to reduce construction costs the railways followed natural contours, resulting in many curves and bends. This has also resulted in the MML also passing through some of the more hilly areas of the British mainland, such as Sharnbrook. This has left a legacy of lower maximum speeds on the line compared to the other mainlines. The solution to similar problems on the West Coast Main Line has been the adoption of tilting trains, British Rail Class 390 Pendolino trains introduced by Virgin Trains in 2003.

By 1982 the line had undergone Railway electrification in Great Britain from Moorgate as far north as Bedford. The introduction of the High Speed Train HST during the 1980's time brought about an increase of the ruling linespeed on the fast lines from 90mph to 110mph.

Between 2001 and 2003 the section of the Midland Main Line between Derby and Sheffield was upgraded from 100mph to 110mph as part of Operation Princess, the Virgin Cross Country route upgrade.

Operators The principal operator is Midland Mainline (replaced by East Midlands Trains November 2007).



Route - in detail The cities, towns and villages served by the MML are listed below. Those in bold are served by fast InterCity (British Rail) services.

London to Trent Junction

























Trent Junction to Chesterfield via Derby

Ambergate Junction to Manchester This is no longer considered part of the Midland Main Line: see Manchester, Buxton, Matlock and Midlands Junction Railway

The line was once the Midland Railway's route from London St Pancras to Manchester, branching at Ambergate Junction along the Manchester, Buxton, Matlock and Midlands Junction Railway, now known as the Derwent Valley Line.In days gone by, it featured named expresses such as The Palatine. Much later in the twentieth century, it carried the The Midland Pullman.



This line was closed in the 1960s between Matlock railway station and Buxton railway station, severing an important link between Manchester and the East Midlands, which has never been satisfactorily replaced by any mode of transport. A section of the route remains in the hands of the Peak Rail preservation group, operating between Matlock and Rowsley to the north.

Trent Junction to Chesterfield via Erewash Valley Line

Trent Junction to Nottingham



Chesterfield to Leeds







Leeds to Carlisle and the West Riding Extension This is no longer considered part of the Midland Main Line: see Settle-Carlisle Railway.

World War I prevented the Midland Railway from finishing its direct route (avoiding reversal at Leeds) to join the Settle-Carlisle Railway.The first part of the Midlands West Riding of Yorkshire extension from the main line at Royston, South Yorkshire to Dewsbury was opened before the war. However the second part of the extension was not completed.This involved a viaduct at Dewsbury over the River Calder, a tunnel under Dewsbury Moor and a new approach railway into Bradford from the south at a lower level than the existing railway (a good part of which was to be in tunnel) leading into Bradford Midland (or Bradford Forster Square) station.

The 500 yard gap between the stations at Bradford continues to exist - closing it today would also need to take into account the different levels between the two Bradford stations, a task made easier in the days of electric rather than steam traction, allowing for steeper gradients than possible at the time of the Midlands proposed extension.

The failure to complete this section ended the Midland's hopes of being a serious competitor on routes to Scotland and finally put beyond all doubt that Leeds, not Bradford, would be the West Riding's principal town. Midland trains to Scotland continued onwards from Carlisle via either the Glasgow and South Western or Waverley route. In days gone by the line enjoyed named expresses such as the Thames-Clyde Express and The Waverley.

























Carlisle to Edinburgh (the waverley route) This is no longer considered part of the Midland Main Line. See Waverley Line.















Former stations As with most railway lines in Britain, the route used to serve far more stations than it currently does (and consequently passes close to settlements that it no longer serves). Places that the current mainline used to serve include

one of the newest stations on the route. . a former key reversal point on the Midland Main Line on the route north.The following on the original North Midland Railway line

Future Traffic levels on the Midland Main Line are rising faster than national average, with continued increases predicted. The now defunct Strategic Rail Authority produced a Route Utilisation Strategy for the Midland Main Line in 2005 to propose ways of meeting this demand; Network Rail plan to start work on a new study in 2008.

London St Pancras St Pancras railway station in London will be opened as the new home of Eurostar International services in November 2007. When these commence, Leicester will be the first major city along the Midland Mainline with single-change links to the continent.In December 2007 First Cappital Connect services between Bedford and Brighton will also stop at the new Thamslink box under St Pancras when Kings Cross Thamslink closses.

Network Rail's Plans Network Rail's route 19 in recent years has seen many direct long distance trains removed to other more modern lines which has inevitably affected communities along the route. The Midland Mainline has for many years been thought of as a 'Cinderella' line and, with the increasing capacity constraints on other lines, it is inevitable that this route will be upgraded in the not-too-distant future. Re-signalling of the entire route is expected to be complete by 2016 when all signalling will be controlled by the new East Midlands Signalling centre currently being built at Derby.

Thameslink Programme

2007 Business Plan Network Rail's 2007 business plan for the Midland Main Line talks for the first time in recent years of line speed increases - bringing journey times to Sheffield to under two hours, meaning that journey times would become more competitive to other north-south routes. Highlights include:



Freight utilisation Strategy Network Rail have recently released their freight utilisation strategy , and if a cross country freight route was to be taken forward, the railway through Leicester, from Syston to Wigston Junctions, would be enhanced with additional slow lines and platforms at Leicester.

Stagecoach Plans The newly awarded franchise to Stagecoach includes a number of improvements to rolling stock and infrastructure linked timetabling improvements:



References



The Midland Main Line is a main railway line in the United Kingdom, part of the Rail transport in Great Britain.

The 'Modern' line links London (St Pancras station) to Sheffield (Sheffield Midland station) in northern England and connects other places including Luton, Bedford, Bedfordshire, Kettering, Leicester, Derby and Nottingham.

Historically the line has extended further north to Manchester in the north west, Leeds in the north east and trains through to both Glasgow and Edinburgh in Scotland.Progress and electrification of the east and west coast mainlines has made this route slower in comparison.

There are plans to build East Midlands Parkway railway station to serve East Midlands Airport.

Express passenger services on the line are operated by the Midland Mainline train operating company. The section between St Pancras and Bedford is electrified and forms the northern half of the Thameslink commuter service (operated by First Capital Connect), which provides a through service from Bedford to Brighton railway station.

The northern part of the route between Derby and Sheffield is shared with Virgin Cross-Country train services. Central Trains also operates regional and local services between Nottingham and Leicester / Derby / Sheffield.

History The Midland Main Line was built in stages between the 1830s and the 1860s, as three lines which met at the Tri Junct Station in Derby.

First to arrive was the line built by the Birmingham and Derby Junction Railway from Hampton-in-Arden Warwickshire (on the London and Birmingham Railway) to Derby station. This section opened on 12 August, 1839. This is now known as the Cross Country Route (MR) through Birmingham New Street railway station to Bristol Temple Meads railway station.

This was followed on 1 July, 1840 by the North Midland Railway, which ran from Derby to Leeds Hunslet Lane Station via Chesterfield, Swinton, South Yorkshire, Rotherham Masborough railway station (from where the Sheffield & Rotherham Railway ran a branch to Sheffield Wicker Station), and Normanton railway station. This avoided Sheffield, Barnsley, and Wakefield in order to reduce gradients.

On the same day the Midland Counties Railway, which ran from Derby and Nottingham to Leicester Campbell Street Station, was extended from Leicester to a temporary station on the northern outskirts of Rugby, Warwickshire. A few months later, the Rugby viaduct was finished and the Midland Counties Railway reached the London and Birmingham's Rugby railway station. This cut 11 miles off the former route via Hampton-in-Arden.

When these three companies merged to form the Midland Railway on 10 May 1844, the Midland did not have its own route to London, and relied upon a junction at Rugby, Warwickshire with the London and Birmingham's line (which became part of the London and North Western Railway on 1 January, 1846) to Euston station for access to the capital.

By the 1850s the junction at Rugby had become severely congested, and so the Midland Railway constructed a route from Leicester to Hitchin on the Great Northern Railway (Great Britain), via Bedford. The line avoids Northampton, a medium town south of Leicester, instead going via Kettering and Wellingborough in the east of Northamptonshire. This line met with similar problems at Hitchin as the former alignment had at Rugby, so in 1868 a line was opened from Bedford via Luton to London St Pancras.

The final stretch of what is considered to be the modern Midland Main Line was a short cut-off from Chesterfield through Sheffield, which opened in 1870.

Also part of the line as defined by Network Rail, is the Erewash Valley Line, Leicester to Burton upon Trent Line, Oakham to Kettering Line and sections of the Leicester to Lincoln Line (as far east as Newark) and Birmingham to Peterborough Line (between Nuneaton and Oakham).

Partly to appease the concerns and opposition of landowners along the route, in places some of the route was built so that it avoided large estates and rural towns, and to reduce construction costs the railways followed natural contours, resulting in many curves and bends. This has also resulted in the MML also passing through some of the more hilly areas of the British mainland, such as Sharnbrook. This has left a legacy of lower maximum speeds on the line compared to the other mainlines. The solution to similar problems on the West Coast Main Line has been the adoption of tilting trains, British Rail Class 390 Pendolino trains introduced by Virgin Trains in 2003.

By 1982 the line had undergone Railway electrification in Great Britain from Moorgate as far north as Bedford. The introduction of the High Speed Train HST during the 1980's time brought about an increase of the ruling linespeed on the fast lines from 90mph to 110mph.

Between 2001 and 2003 the section of the Midland Main Line between Derby and Sheffield was upgraded from 100mph to 110mph as part of Operation Princess, the Virgin Cross Country route upgrade.

Operators The principal operator is Midland Mainline (replaced by East Midlands Trains November 2007).



Route - in detail The cities, towns and villages served by the MML are listed below. Those in bold are served by fast InterCity (British Rail) services.

London to Trent Junction

























Trent Junction to Chesterfield via Derby

Ambergate Junction to Manchester This is no longer considered part of the Midland Main Line: see Manchester, Buxton, Matlock and Midlands Junction Railway

The line was once the Midland Railway's route from London St Pancras to Manchester, branching at Ambergate Junction along the Manchester, Buxton, Matlock and Midlands Junction Railway, now known as the Derwent Valley Line.In days gone by, it featured named expresses such as The Palatine. Much later in the twentieth century, it carried the The Midland Pullman.



This line was closed in the 1960s between Matlock railway station and Buxton railway station, severing an important link between Manchester and the East Midlands, which has never been satisfactorily replaced by any mode of transport. A section of the route remains in the hands of the Peak Rail preservation group, operating between Matlock and Rowsley to the north.

Trent Junction to Chesterfield via Erewash Valley Line

Trent Junction to Nottingham



Chesterfield to Leeds







Leeds to Carlisle and the West Riding Extension This is no longer considered part of the Midland Main Line: see Settle-Carlisle Railway.

World War I prevented the Midland Railway from finishing its direct route (avoiding reversal at Leeds) to join the Settle-Carlisle Railway.The first part of the Midlands West Riding of Yorkshire extension from the main line at Royston, South Yorkshire to Dewsbury was opened before the war. However the second part of the extension was not completed.This involved a viaduct at Dewsbury over the River Calder, a tunnel under Dewsbury Moor and a new approach railway into Bradford from the south at a lower level than the existing railway (a good part of which was to be in tunnel) leading into Bradford Midland (or Bradford Forster Square) station.

The 500 yard gap between the stations at Bradford continues to exist - closing it today would also need to take into account the different levels between the two Bradford stations, a task made easier in the days of electric rather than steam traction, allowing for steeper gradients than possible at the time of the Midlands proposed extension.

The failure to complete this section ended the Midland's hopes of being a serious competitor on routes to Scotland and finally put beyond all doubt that Leeds, not Bradford, would be the West Riding's principal town. Midland trains to Scotland continued onwards from Carlisle via either the Glasgow and South Western or Waverley route. In days gone by the line enjoyed named expresses such as the Thames-Clyde Express and The Waverley.

























Carlisle to Edinburgh (the waverley route) This is no longer considered part of the Midland Main Line. See Waverley Line.















Former stations As with most railway lines in Britain, the route used to serve far more stations than it currently does (and consequently passes close to settlements that it no longer serves). Places that the current mainline used to serve include

one of the newest stations on the route. . a former key reversal point on the Midland Main Line on the route north.The following on the original North Midland Railway line

Future Traffic levels on the Midland Main Line are rising faster than national average, with continued increases predicted. The now defunct Strategic Rail Authority produced a Route Utilisation Strategy for the Midland Main Line in 2005 to propose ways of meeting this demand; Network Rail plan to start work on a new study in 2008.

London St Pancras St Pancras railway station in London will be opened as the new home of Eurostar International services in November 2007. When these commence, Leicester will be the first major city along the Midland Mainline with single-change links to the continent.In December 2007 First Cappital Connect services between Bedford and Brighton will also stop at the new Thamslink box under St Pancras when Kings Cross Thamslink closses.

Network Rail's Plans Network Rail's route 19 in recent years has seen many direct long distance trains removed to other more modern lines which has inevitably affected communities along the route. The Midland Mainline has for many years been thought of as a 'Cinderella' line and, with the increasing capacity constraints on other lines, it is inevitable that this route will be upgraded in the not-too-distant future. Re-signalling of the entire route is expected to be complete by 2016 when all signalling will be controlled by the new East Midlands Signalling centre currently being built at Derby.

Thameslink Programme

2007 Business Plan Network Rail's 2007 business plan for the Midland Main Line talks for the first time in recent years of line speed increases - bringing journey times to Sheffield to under two hours, meaning that journey times would become more competitive to other north-south routes. Highlights include:



Freight utilisation Strategy Network Rail have recently released their freight utilisation strategy , and if a cross country freight route was to be taken forward, the railway through Leicester, from Syston to Wigston Junctions, would be enhanced with additional slow lines and platforms at Leicester.

Stagecoach Plans The newly awarded franchise to Stagecoach includes a number of improvements to rolling stock and infrastructure linked timetabling improvements:



References



Home - East Midlands Trains
East Midlands Trains runs fast trains between London and the East Midlands, plus regional trains around central England. Buy tickets, find train times, view maps and more.

Midland Mainline Agents
Welcome to the Midland Mainline website dedicated to our travel trade partners. Midland Mainline recognises the important role that the travel trade plays in distributing ...

Midland Mainline - The Open Guide to Nottingham
Another pants company of the [National Express Group], Midland Mainline have pants been running the high speed midland railpants network since 1996, and currently hold this pants ...

Midland Mainline - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Midland Mainline (MML) was a British train operating company owned by the National Express Group and based in Derby. It was created after the privatisation of British Rail.

Midland Mainline - Company news
Midland Mainline Company News ... Industrial Action 1 November 2007 - 31 October 2007 We have been advised that ASLE&F Drivers working for Midland Mainline are taking strike action ...

Midland Main Line - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Midland Main Line is a major railway line in the United Kingdom, part of the British railway system. The 'Modern' line links London St. Pancras International to Sheffield ...

Midland Mainline Mk3 - Hornby
For all your Hornby needs! From product searches to online forums, stockist and distributor searches and competitions, you will find it all here ..... and more.

Campus Map - Downloadable Maps
Campus Map Loughborough University Leicestershire, UK, LE11 3TU Tel: +44 (0) 1509 263171

BBC - Nottingham - Travel - Midland Mainline
Don't miss your train! Our departure boards and information panels will keep you on-track. Journey information can be obtained by ringing National Rail Enquiries on 08457 48 49 50.

Ananova - Midland Mainline trains cancels services
Midland Mainline has confirmed that the line between Loughborough and Leicester is closed due to flooding.

 

Midland Main Line



 
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