Market Harborough railway station

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Market Harborough
Location
Place	Market Harborough
Local authority	Harborough
Operations
Managed by	Midland Main Line
Platforms in use	2
Annual entry/exit 02/03	0.519 million *
National Rail - UK railway stations
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
* based on sales of tickets in 2002/03 financial year which end or originate at Market Harborough. Disclaimer (PDF)

Market Harborough railway station serves the town of Market Harborough in Leicestershire, England. It lies on the Midland Main Line, 16 miles (26 km) south-east of Leicester and is served by the majority of semi-fast Midland Mainline Class 222 "Meridian" services, although some faster express services also call during peak times and at weekends. The station is situated to the east of Market Harborough town centre.

1 Services
2 History
3 Future
4 External links
5 References

[edit] Services

There is generally a half-hourly service of Meridian trains in each direction: southbound to London St Pancras and northbound to Leicester and then either Derby or Nottingham. Occasional peak-hour Inter City 125 (HST) trains from London St Pancras to Nottingham or Sheffield, and vice versa, also call.

[edit] History

The original station was built by the LNWR in 1850 on its line between Stamford to Rugby and thence to Euston. The Midland Railway shared it from 1857 when it built its extension from Leicester to Bedford and Hitchin.

As traffic built up, the Midland built a new line at a higher elevation, crossing the LNWR and then running parallel to a new joint station in the present position. The Midland line was quadrupled in 1879 and the new station opened in 1885.

The station was the scene of a serious accident in 1862. An excursion train bound for Burton-upon-Trent stopped to pick up water, and a second train bound for Leicester collided with the rear of it.

The service on the original LNWR line was drastically reduced in 1960 and finally closed in 1966. The Midland line continues, with the platform buildings and canopies replaced with modern designs in the 'sixties. The main building survived, however, and was carefully restored in 1981.

[edit] Future

The currently proposed specifications for a new East Midlands rail franchise ^[1] would see a big reduction in the number of trains calling at Market Harborough, plans which are being fought by the Harborough Rail Users' Group. ^[2]