Midland Mainline
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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This article is about the train operating company Midland Mainline. For the railway line see Midland Main Line.
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| Franchise(s): | Midland Mainline April 1996 – April 2008 |
| Main Region(s): | East Midlands, Yorkshire and the Humber |
| Other Region(s): | East of England |
| Fleet size: | 23 Class 222 Meridian sets 34 HST power cars |
| Stations: | 27 (7 operated) |
| Parent company: | National Express Group |
| Web site: | www.midlandmainline.com |
Midland Mainline (MML) is a British train operating company owned by the National Express Group, created after the privatisation of British Rail. Midland Mainline and its opperations are based in Derby
It runs fast and semi-fast passenger services from London to the East Midlands and Yorkshire, on the Midland Main Line. Its London terminal is London St Pancras which it currently uses exclusivly.
Most of their trains run between London and either Sheffield, Derby, or Nottingham. Some services extend to Leeds, Barnsley and Burton upon Trent.
Midland Mainline operates as far North as Scarborough during the summer timetable on Saturdays only, with the service only operating to York on Sundays, and throughout the winter timetable on Saturdays.
The company also operates a Rail-Link Bus from the town of Corby to Kettering railway station.
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[edit] Service patterns
The off peak service pattern, as of September 2006, consists of four departures per hour from St Pancras. There are two 'fast' and two 'semi-fast' trains per hour.The hourly pattern from St Pancras is as below:
*xx00: semi-fast to Derby, calling at Luton Airport Parkway, Bedford, Wellingborough, Kettering, Market Harborough, Leicester, Loughborough, Long Eaton and Derby. Opperated by a Four car Class 222 Meridian with a end to end journey time of 1hour56minutes.
- This train forms the limited extensions to Burton upon Trent, Barnsley and Scarborough:
- Extension to Burton upon Trent calling only at Willington with an end to end journey time of 2hours26minutes.
- Extension to Barnsley, generally calling at Belper, Chesterfield, Sheffield and Meadowhall with a end to end journey time around 3hours14minutes.
- Extension to Scarborough , calling at Chesterfield, Sheffield, Meadowhall, Doncaster, York and Scarborough with an end to end journey time of 4hours46minutes.
*xx25: fast to Sheffield, generally calling just at Leicester , Derby, Chesterfield and Sheffield. Opperated by a |Class 43 High Speed Train with an end to end journey time of 2hours37minutes.
- This train forms the limited (see below) extension to Leeds and the single Sunday service to York:
- Generally calling at Doncaster, and Wakefield Westgate with a end to end journey time around 3hours17minutes.
- Extension to York calling only at Doncaster, with a journey time from Leicester Railway Station, of 2hours14minutes.
*xx30: semi-fast to Nottingham, calling at Luton, Bedford, Wellingborough, Kettering, Market Harborough, Leicester , Loughborough, Beeston and Nottingham. Opperated by a Four car Class 222 Meridian with a end to end journey time of 1hour56minutes.
*xx55: fast to Nottingham, generally calling at Leicester and (every hour or two) at Loughborough. Generally opperated by a |Nine car Class 222 Meridian although the odd diagram uses a Class 43 High Speed Train, with a end to end journey time of 1hour41minutes.
- All Midland Mainline services except the morning 'up' The Master Cutler service call at Leicester with the fastest journey time to and from London of 1hour10minutes.
- The services between London, Luton and Bedford supplement the high frequency Thameslink now known as First Capital Connect commuter service. The Midland Main Line between London and Bedford is electrified.
[edit] Limited Service
There is a limited service between London St Pancras and Leeds, with up to three departures per day (all early morning) from Leeds station and up to four late afternoon/evening return trips from St Pancras. This is principally because the main maintenance depot for the Midland Mainline HST power cars is the Maintrain depot at Neville Hill in Leeds.
The service does not compare favourably with the principal service from London to Leeds along the East Coast Main Line, due to the longer distance and slower line speed of the Midland Main Line, it does however provides a useful service between West Yorkshire and the East Midlands. The journey time between St.Pancras and Leeds along the Midland Mainline is around 3hours17minutes. GNER opperates the principle service to and from King's Cross.
Midland Mainline had serious plans (so much so that a new fleet of trains was purchased) for a regular service between London St Pancras and Leeds via Nottingham, the Erewash Valley, Sheffield and Barnsley but these were rejected by the (now defunct) Strategic Rail Authority.
A small number of trains operate between London St Pancras and Sheffield via Nottingham and/or the Erewash Valley serving Langley Mill and Alfreton. There are also a small number of through trains between St Pancras and Burton upon Trent, Belper, and Barnsley.
Over the past few years, Midland Mainline have operated summer weekend services between London and Scarborough on Saturdays providing the only through service between the capital and the North Yorkshire coast, and York on Sundays.
There are no longer through trains between London St Pancras and Matlock as the Class 222 Meridian units cannot negotiate the Derwent Valley Line branch line, unlike the Class 170 Turbostar which previously operated the route.
[edit] Project Rio
During 2003/4, Midland Mainline operated a temporary service between London St Pancras and Manchester Piccadilly whilst the West Coast Main Line between Manchester Piccadilly and Euston underwent engineering work.
This service was known as Project Rio, named after the footballer Rio Ferdinand who had made a record tranfer to Manchester United Football Club. Reportedly, someone involved in the project at a senior level was a Manchester United fan.
The service used the Midland Main Line as far as Trent Junction, before taking the Erewash Valley (avoiding Derby) to Clay Cross, rejoining the Midland Main Line until Dore South Curve, which linked trains onto the Hope Valley Line towards Manchester.
The service ran from May 2003 and finished in September 2004. Former Virgin Cross-Country Class 43 High Speed Train sets were used and were quickly painted into Midland Mainline livery.
[edit] Named Trains
- The Robin Hood on the 0630 Sheffield to St. Pancras via Nottingham, and returning as the 1700 St. Pancras to Nottingham.
- The Master Cutler on the 06:14 Leeds to St Pancras which runs non stop from Chesterfield, and 16:55 St. Pancras to Leeds return.
- The Midlands Express on the 0705 Sheffield to St. Pancras.
[edit] Rolling Stock
Midland Mainline operate the following trains.
[edit] Current fleet
| Class | Image | Type | Top speed | Number | Routes operated | Built | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| mph | km/h | ||||||
| Class 222 Meridian |  |
Diesel-Electric Multiple Unit | 125 | 200 | 23 | Midland Main Line | 2003 |
| Class 43 High Speed Train |  |
Diesel Locomotive | 125 | 200 | 34 | Midland Main Line | 1976 - 1982 |
Midland Mainline are currently in the process of re-configering the Meridian units, reducing the nine-car sets to eight-car sets and increasing the four-car sets to five-car sets to better provide for seating demand.
[edit] Past fleet
| Class | Type | Built | Withdrawn | Notes |
| Class 170 Turbostar | Diesel-electric multiple unit | 1998 - 1999 | 2004 | These trains were slowly withdrawn from intercity use and utilised by another National Express Group company, Central Trains in 2004 as Class 222 Meridian were brought into traffic. |
[edit] Stations Served
- Midland Mainline operate at twenty seven stations, of which it manages seven:
Wellingborough, Kettering, Market Harborough, Leicester, Derby, Chesterfield and Sheffield.
- Other stations served include:
London St Pancras, Luton Airport Parkway, Luton, Bedford Midland, Loughborough, Long Eaton, Willington, Burton upon Trent, Beeston, Nottingham, Langley Mill, Alfreton, Dronfield, Meadowhall, Barnsley, Doncaster, Wakefield Westgate, Leeds,York, Scarborough.
[edit] Recent Alterations
- Stations recently, but not currently served include:
Duffield, Ambergate, Whatstandwell, Cromford, Matlock Bath, Matlock, Stockport, Manchester Piccadilly.
[edit] Future
[edit] London St. Pancras
Midland Mainline is currently the exclusive opperator at London St Pancras, however, they are due to be joined by Eurostar from November 2007, and later a high-speed domestic rail opperator to Kent which will also use the high speed line.
[edit] New East Midlands Franchise
It has been announced that the current Midland Mainline franchise will continue to operate until 11th November 2007 as part of a franchise reshuffle in the Midlands. The new East Midlands franchise will include former Central Trains services in the East Midlands.
The Department for Transport announced on 19th September 2006 that four parties had pre-qualified for the new East Midlands franchise.[1] On 31st October 2006 Invitations to Tender were issued to the following bidders:[2]
- Arriva Trains East Midlands Limited (Arriva)
- First East Midlands Limited (First Group)
- NXE Trains Limited (National Express Group)
- Stagecoach Midland Rail Limited (Stagecoach Group)
It is expected that the new opperator of the franchise will be asked to reshuffle the timetable, to better match inter-city demand with commuter demand. It was hoped by many passengers and stakeholders that the new franchise would pottentialy create new direct services to Northern cities such as Leeds and Manchester. However this looks unlikely by the specification offered by the Department for Transport. A new rail link is proposed for the town of Corby.
[edit] References
- ^ Governemnt News Network (2006-09-19). Department for Transport announces pre-qualified bidders for 3 new franchises. Retrieved on 2006-11-21.
- ^ Governemnt News Network (2006-10-31). Invitations to Tender issued for three new rail franchises. Retrieved on 2006-11-21.
[edit] External links
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| Preceded by InterCity As part of British Rail |
Operator of Midland Main Line franchise 1996-present |
Succeeded by N/A |
| Domestic: | Arriva Trains Wales - c2c - Central Trains - Chiltern Railways - First Capital Connect First Great Western - First ScotRail - Grand Central1 - GNER - Heathrow Connect Hull Trains - Island Line2 - Merseyrail - Midland Mainline - Northern Rail Northern Ireland Railways3 - 'one' - Silverlink - Southeastern - Southern South West Trains2 - TransPennine Express - Virgin Trains |
|---|---|
| International: | Enterprise3 - Eurostar |
| Airport Link: | Gatwick Express - Heathrow Express - Stansted Express4 |
| Sleeper: | Caledonian Sleeper5 - Night Riviera6 |
| 1 Starts 20 May 2007 - 2 To be replaced by the South Western franchise in February 2007 3 Operated on the Irish railway network - 4 Operated by 'one' - 5 Operated by First ScotRail 6 Operated by First Great Western |
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| Future passenger train operators in Great Britain | |
|---|---|
| New Franchises: | Cross Country1 - East Midlands1 - London Overground1 - South Western2 West Midlands1 |
| Proposed open-access operators: |
Grand Union3 - Wrexham & Shropshire4 |
| 1 Starts November 2007 - 2 Starts February 2007 - 3 Proposed - 4 Awaiting Approval | |
