Midland Mainline
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- This article is about the train operating company Midland Mainline. For the railway line see Midland Main Line.
MML operates High Speed Trains acquired from British Rail. It initially ordered class 170 Turbostar diesel multiple units, which were later replaced by Class 222 Meridian units. The company’s original livery was teal, but as part of a corporate makeover, this was replaced with blue.
MML's named trains include "The Master Cutler" on the 0614 Leeds to St Pancras, and 1715 St Pancras to Leeds return, "The Midlands Express" on the 0705 Sheffield to St. Pancras, and "The Robin Hood" on the 0630 Sheffield to St. Pancras via Nottingham, and returning as the 1700 St. Pancras to Nottingham.
Midland Mainline operates to Scarborough during the summer on Saturdays only, with the service only operating to York on Sundays, and on other Saturdays all year round.
The company also operates a Rail-Link Bus from the town of Corby to Kettering railway station.
Service patterns
The off peak service pattern, as of February 2006, consists of four departures per hour to and from St Pancras. There are two 'fast' and two 'semi-fast' trains per hour. The 'fast' trains are operated mostly by HSTs, but also by nine car 'Meridian' units. The 'semi fast' trains utilise four-car Meridian sets. The hourly pattern from St Pancras is as below.'On the hour' (xx00): semi-fast to Derby, calling at Luton Airport Parkway, Bedford, Wellingborough, Kettering, Market Harborough, Leicester, Loughborough, Long Eaton and Derby.
xx25: fast to Sheffield, generally calling just at Leicester, Derby, Chesterfield and Sheffield.
xx30: semi-fast to Nottingham, calling at Luton, Bedford, Wellingborough, Kettering, Market Harborough, Leicester, Loughborough, Beeston and Nottingham.
xx55: fast to Nottingham, generally calling at Leicester and (every hour or two) at Loughborough.
The services between London, Luton and Bedford supplement the high frequency First Capital Connect commuter service. The line between London and Bedford is electrified.
There is a limited service between St Pancras and Leeds, with up to three departures per day (all early morning) from Leeds 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 Leeds to London - GNER's service to/from King's Cross via the East Coast Main Line - but provides a useful service between West Yorkshire and the East Midlands. Midland Mainline had serious plans for a regular service between St Pancras and Leeds via Nottingham and the Erewash Valley but these were rejected by the (then) Strategic Rail Authority.
A small number of trains operate between London 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. There are no longer through trains between St Pancras and Matlock as the 'Meridian' units cannot negotiate that branch line, unlike the 'Turbostars' which previously operated the route. Over the past few years, Midland Mainline have operated summer weekend services between St Pancras and York and Scarborough, providing the only through service between the capital and the North Yorkshire coast.
Midland Mainline manage the following stations. St Pancras, Wellingborough, Kettering, Market Harborough, Leicester, Derby, Chesterfield and Sheffield. The stations at Luton Airport Parkway, Luton and Bedford are managed by First Capital Connect. Loughborough, Beeston, Long Eaton and Nottingham stations are managed by Central Trains.
During 2003/4, Midland Mainline operated a temporary service between 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 transfer 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 line (avoiding Derby) to Clay Cross, rejoining the MML 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 HST sets were used and were quickly painted into MML livery.
Future
It has been [announced] that the Midland Mainline franchise will finish in 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. Since the announcement, however, a [Written Answer] in Parliament from the Secretary of State for Transport has revealed that the franchise will end in April 2008.Future plans also include the construction of a parkway station between Loughborough and Long Eaton to serve the nearby East Midlands Airport.
Controversy
Many people, including consumer watchdogs and local ministers, have criticised Midland Mainline for hiking up ticket fares, especially on fast trains between London and Nottingham. However, they also have some of the lowest pre-booked fares of any of the London-serving train companies. The pre-booked fares, which were introduced in late 2005 start at £6.00 one-way and are compatible with discounts. A Railcard discount allows some passengers to complete a 2hour journey to the capital—such as Nottingham–St. Pancras—for £4.00.In theory, this makes Nottingham East Midlands Airport one of the cheapest airports to reach from London!
Driver's Eye View
There is a driver's eye view of the Midland Mainline from St. Pancras to Sheffield, on board a Class 43 High Speed Train, calling at Leicester,Derby, Chesterfield and Sheffield. The first stop at Leicester is a distance of 100 miles from St. Pancras station. Unknown to travelling passengers, surprisingly, a speed of 110mph is achieved around the first few Thameslink stations such as Hendon and Cricklewood, the maximum overall line speed.The programme is very informative and provides facts and a detailed history of the line.
External links
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