12.11.13
Faster journey times for East Midlands Trains after 125mph upgrade
A £70m line speed improvement scheme will soon cut journey times for passengers travelling from the east Midlands to London.
East Midlands Trains (EMT) will launch a new timetable on 9 December as trains will be able to run at 125mph on sections of the route.
The work has included level crossing replacements with bridges, minor resignalling and work to realign parts of the track. It is being conducted in partnership with Network Rail and will soon be complete.
Three bridges were rebuilt in Northamptonshire and two in Leicestershire in April to provide extra headroom for trains to travel at faster speeds. The previous maximum speed was 110mph, and the first train was tested at 125mph on the route in July.
While services will be able to run at the higher speed from December, the full scheme is due for completion next spring.
EMT managing director David Horne said: “Almost £70m is being spent to enable our trains to run at speeds of up to 125mph on certain sections of our route, which will enable passengers in Sheffield, Derby and Nottingham and many other towns to benefit from faster journeys to London. This is a hugely exciting scheme that will deliver benefits for the local economy and allow us to deliver a much improved service for our customers.
“Following the improvements made over the summer, we now have a railway around Nottingham that has modern, new infrastructure that will enable more capacity on the network and allow us to continue to grow passenger numbers, which all helps to improve the economies of the areas we serve.
“With the line speed improvement programme delivering faster journeys to London from December and electrification around the corner, this is a great step forward for our region and will deliver some significant improvements for our passengers in Sheffield, Derby and Nottingham and many other towns on our network.”
Phil Verster, route managing director for Network Rail, added: “We are investing £70m improving journey times on the Midland Main Line. This involves work on track and structures such as bridges and platforms to allow them to accommodate faster running. We are also removing a number of level crossings which helps increase line speed. The project will allow trains to run up to 125 miles on sections of the route, bringing significant social and economic benefits to the East Midlands.”
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