http://www.modern-railways.com April 2019 Modern R ailways 9
News Front
MML WIRES TO REACH MARKET HARBOROUGH
THE DEPARTMENT for Transport
has confirmed electrification of the
Midland main line will continue north
of Kettering to Market Harborough.
The scope of the programme,
originally due to continue to
Nottingham and Sheffield, was
cut back to Kettering and Corby in
July 2017, with new bi-mode trains
planned to be introduced instead.
However, as we reported in our
feature last month, a substation to
feed the overhead wires is to be
built at Braybrooke, just south of
Market Harborough, which would no
longer be on the electrified route.
The DfT has remitted Network Rail
to design a solution for connecting
Braybrooke to the electrified line at
Kettering and has now confirmed
the preferred solution is an 11-mile
extension of the overhead wires to
Market Harborough. NR will design
an extension of the electrification
infrastructure and will install the
equipment, and DfT says before
delivery commitments are complete
the scheme will need to be assessedas part of the overall programme
business case. Electrification to
Kettering and Corby is due to be
used in passenger service from
December 2020, and DfT says
electrification to Market Harborough
will follow by December 2023.
A DfT spokesperson said:
‘While there are no current plansto electrify the track further than
Market Harborough, passengers
will benefit from the roll out
of modern trains, delivering
faster journeys, more seats
and a better quality service.’
A Network Rail spokesperson
said: ‘As part of our next funding
cycle (Control Period 6) we arelooking into the viability of options
which would enable electric trains
to run from Market Harborough
to London. We continue to
work with the Department for
Transport and train operators on
this and other future investment
plans to maximise the benefits of
enhancements for passengers.’FIRST ELECTRIC TRAIN ON SHOTTS LINE
THE FIRST electric train
has operated on the Shotts
line in the Scottish central
belt following completion of
electrification by Network Rail
and contractor SPL.
On Sunday 24 February a
Class 86 locomotive completed
a number of test runs, including
at linespeed, along the newly
electrified section between
Holytown and Midcalder
Junctions. NR says the project
has involved the erection of
223km of wires, installation of
2,500 tonnes of steel masts and
modifications to 17 bridges.
The £160 million project,
funded by the Scottish
Government and delivered
ahead of schedule, will enable
ScotRail to introduce new
Hitachi-built Class 385 EMUs on
the route later this year. Work
continues on station platformsand to create step-free access at
a number of stations, which NR
said was on track to completeby the end of March. The
Shotts line becomes the fourth
route between Edinburgh andGlasgow to be electrified, in
addition to those via Carstairs,
Falkirk and Airdrie/Bathgate.Powered up: Class 86 No 86638 testing the wires
on the newly-electrified lines at Breich on the
Shotts route on 24 February 2019. Ian LothianInvestment at Market Harborough: a Meridian passes with a Sheffield – St Pancras service on 30 January 2019, with hoardings
at left showing where station reconstruction work to straighten the line through here is underway. Philip SherrattNR AGREES TO CONTROL PERIOD 6 PLANS
NETWORK RAIL has not raised any
objections to the Office of Rail and
Road’s conclusions on the funding
package and spending plan for
Control Period 6 (2019-24). NR has
therefore accepted ORR’s plans as
set out in its Final Determination on
NR’s Strategic Business Plan. NR ChiefExecutive Andrew Haines has written
to ORR Chief Executive John Larkinson
confirming the decision of the NR
board. ‘Our decision is the culmination
of almost three years of work’ Mr
Haines wrote. ‘We are grateful for the
open and collaborative approach that
ORR has taken over this period. Webelieve this has been key in leading
to a set of conclusions that wraps
around the way we run our business
and ensures that our focus during
CP6 is on delivering for passengers,
freight users and other stakeholders.’
The company was due to publish
detailed spending plans for thefive-year funding period at the end
of March, prior to the start of the
new Control Period on 1 April. The
Government has made £48 billion
available for the railway during CP6,
incorporating a £35 billion spend
focused on operations, maintenance
and renewals.008-009_MR_Apr 2019_news.indd 9 12/03/2019 14: