Midland Mainline took over operations of the franchise from the state-owned operator InterCity in April 1996. Originally intended to run for ten years, a two-year extension was awarded in exchange for greater investment into new rolling stock and the provision of an hourly service to Leeds. To facilitate the Project Rio services, 23 HST power cars and associated Mark 3 carriages were transferred from Virgin CrossCountry to Midland Mainline. During February 2002, Midland Mainline ordered sixteen four-carriage and seven nine-carriage Class 222 Meridian trains, the first of which entered service in May 2004. These new trainsets allowed for several HSTs to be released to other operators, such as First Great Western and Great North Eastern Railway (GNER).
The Midland Mainline franchise was awarded by the Director of Passenger Rail Franchising to Midland Main Line Limited for a period of ten years with operations commencing on 28 April 1996. Shortly after the franchise commenced, the transport conglomerate National Express launched a bid to acquire Midland Main Line Limited, and thereby the franchise.[2] The tentative acquisition was promptly referred to the Monopolies and Mergers Commission for review as National Express not only operated an existing rail franchise but also numerous express coach services in the West Midlands. The Commission found that the deal would likely be against the public interest, leading to the Board of Trade deciding that National Express ought to commit to certain requirements in respect to coast fares and service levels.[2] National Express consented to several restrictions, including to maintain the service levels of its coach services, to not increase fares above the increase in the Retail Price Index, and to provide verifying information to regulatory authorities so that its level of compliance to this undertakings can be ascertained.[3]
During May 1999, Midland Mainline was able to extend its sphere of operation following the delivery of additional rolling stock. In August 2000, the Shadow Strategic Rail Authority awarded a two-year extension in return for National Express committing itself to certain investments in the franchise, which included the ordering of new rolling stock and the running of an hourly service to Leeds.[4]
Service patterns
The off peak service pattern, upon conclusion of the franchise in November 2007, consisted of four departures per hour from London St Pancras. There were two fast and two semi-fast trains per hour.[5] All Midland Mainline services (except The Master Cutler morning up service) called at Leicester with the fastest journey time to and from London of one hour and nine minutes. The services between London, Luton and Bedford supplemented the high frequency Thameslink and later First Capital Connect commuter service.
Midland Mainline operated a limited service between St Pancras and Leeds, with three early morning departures from Leeds and four evening return trips from St Pancras. This was principally because Midland Mainline's HSTs were maintained at Neville Hill depot. The timings did not compare favourably with the principal service from London King's Cross to Leeds along the East Coast Main Line with the Midland Main Line having a much slower line speed. The journey time on the Midland route was around three hours and 15 minutes vs two hours and 15 minutes via the East Coast.[6][pageneeded]
From May 2000, through trains between St Pancras and Matlock were introduced, ceasing in December 2004 when Class 222s were introduced, as they were not allowed on the Derwent Valley Line branch line.[8][9] That same month, Midland Mainline also began operating one Saturday service between St Pancras and York via Doncaster; in summer, it would continue to Scarborough. On Sunday, a service to York started at Leicester, with the return service being via the Erewash Valley Line to Nottingham, where it reversed before proceeding to St Pancras.[8]
A small number of trains operated between St Pancras and Sheffield via Nottingham and along the Erewash Valley Line to Chesterfield serving Langley Mill and Alfreton.[5]
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 Midland Main Line until Dore South Junction, using Dore Tunnel Curve to join the Hope Valley Line westwards towards Manchester Piccadilly. South of Leicester, the service ran in the path of the xx:30 semi-fast Nottingham train, with an additional Leicester to Nottingham service introduced using the displaced Class 170 Turbostar.
Named trains
The Robin Hood on the 06:30 Sheffield to St Pancras via Nottingham, and returning as the 17:00 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.
Midland Mainline inherited a fleet of High Speed Trains from British Rail. Enhancements were carried out to the power cars of the HSTs, most notably a revised lighting cluster.[citation needed]
In April 1997, Midland Mainline ordered 13 (later expanded to 17) Class 170 Turbostars to operate stopping services.[12] Originally, all were ordered as two-carriage sets before it was decided to increase 10 to three-carriage sets. During May 1999, the first Class 170 entered service with the operator; the type's arrival permitted a new timetable with increased frequencies to be introduced, in which the Class 170s operated the majority of the stops south of Leicester, allowing the HSTs to be better used on the longer-distance services.[citation needed]
During February 2002, Midland Mainline ordered sixteen four-carriage and seven nine-carriage Class 222 Meridian trains based on Virgin CrossCountry's Class 220 Voyager, but with developments to improve passenger comfort and address some of the criticisms aimed at the Voyager.[15] The first of these sets entered service in May 2004.[16][full citation needed] The four-carriage sets replaced the Class 170s, which were transferred to Central Trains, while the nine-carriage sets were ordered to operate a new service from London St Pancras to Leeds via Nottingham and the Erewash Valley Line.[5] When the Strategic Rail Authority ruled that there was not enough demand for this service, the nine-carriage sets were left sitting idle[17][18][full citation needed] until eventually they were put into use on the services between Nottingham/Sheffield and London St Pancras from July 2005, releasing one HST for hire to First Great Western while it refurbished its fleet and two other HSTs to Great North Eastern Railway (GNER) to allow that operator to run extra services to Leeds from May 2007.[19]
As the nine-carriage Meridians were lightly loaded while the four-carriage sets were overcrowded, it was decided in 2006 to reduce all of the nine-carriage sets to eight carriages, the removed carriages then being used to extend seven of the four-carriage sets to five carriages.[20] A further reconfiguration of the Meridians took place in 2008, shortly after East Midlands Trains took over Midland Mainline's services, when six of the eight-carriage sets were reduced to seven carriages and the remaining set was reduced to five carriages, allowing all nine of the remaining four-carriage sets to be extended to five carriages.[21]
To operate the Project Rio services to Manchester Piccadilly, 23 HST power cars and associated Mark 3 carriages were transferred from Virgin CrossCountry in May 2003.[22][full citation needed] Whilst these were undergoing overhaul, a First Great Western HST was hired from May 2003 until February 2004. [23][full citation needed] When Project Rio concluded in September 2004, some sets were transferred to First Great Western and GNER, while others went into storage.[11]
Midland Mainline's fleet consisted of the following trains at the time they ceased operating:
As part of a redrawing of the rail franchise map from November 2007, the Midland Mainline franchise was combined with some Central Trains services into a new East Midlands franchise.[24]
In September 2006, the Department for Transport (DfT) announced that National Express, Arriva, FirstGroup and Stagecoach had been shortlisted to bid for the new franchise.[25][26] In June 2007, the DfT awarded the franchise to Stagecoach, with the services operated by Midland Mainline transferring to East Midlands Trains on 11 November 2007.[27][28]
Related Research Articles
The Midland Main Line (MML) is a major railway line from London to Sheffield in Yorkshire via the East Midlands. It comprises the lines from London's St Pancras station via Leicester, Derby/Nottingham and Chesterfield.
Great North Eastern Railway, often referred to as GNER, was a train operating company in the United Kingdom, owned by Sea Containers, that operated the InterCity East Coast franchise on the East Coast Main Line between London, Yorkshire, North East England and Scotland from April 1996 until December 2007.
Sheffield station is a combined railway station and tram stop in Sheffield, England; it is the busiest station in South Yorkshire, and the third busiest in Yorkshire & the Humber. Adjacent is Sheffield station/Sheffield Hallam University Sheffield Supertram stop.
Leicester railway station is a mainline railway station in the city of Leicester in Leicestershire, England. The station is managed by East Midlands Railway and owned by Network Rail. The station is served by CrossCountry and East Midlands Railway services. It is the busiest station in Leicestershire, the second busiest station in the East Midlands, and the fifth busiest station in the Midlands as a whole.
The InterCity 125 (originally Inter-City 125) or High Speed Train (HST) is a diesel-powered high-speed passenger train built by British Rail Engineering Limited between 1975 and 1982. A total of 95 sets were produced, each comprising two Class 43 power cars, one at each end, and a rake of seven or eight Mark 3 coaches. The name is derived from its top operational speed of 125 mph (201 km/h). At times, the sets have been classified as British Rail Classes 253, 254 and 255.
InterCity was a brand name introduced by British Rail in 1966 for its long-haul express passenger services.
The British Rail Class 170 Turbostar is a British diesel multiple unit (DMU) passenger train designed and built by Adtranz, and later by Bombardier Transportation, at Derby Litchurch Lane Works.
The British Rail Class 222 Meridian is a diesel-electric multiple-unit high-speed passenger train capable of 125 mph (200 km/h). Twenty-seven sets were built by Bombardier Transportation in Bruges, Belgium.
Chesterfield railway station serves the market town of Chesterfield in Derbyshire, England. It lies on the Midland Main Line. Four tracks pass through the station which has three platforms. It is currently operated by East Midlands Railway.
Derby railway station is a main line railway station serving the city of Derby in Derbyshire, England. Owned by Network Rail and managed by East Midlands Railway, the station is also served by CrossCountry services. It is the busiest station in Derbyshire, and the third busiest station in the East Midlands.
The British Rail Class 43 (HST) is the TOPS classification used for the InterCity 125 High Speed Train (formerly Classes 253 and 254) diesel-electric power cars, built by British Rail Engineering Limited from 1975 to 1982, and in service in the UK since 1976.
Kettering railway station serves the town of Kettering in Northamptonshire, England. It lies south-west of the town centre, on the Midland Main Line, 71 miles (115 km) north of London St. Pancras.
East Midlands Parkway railway station is located north of Ratcliffe-on-Soar on the Midland Main Line in the East Midlands of England. It provides park and ride facilities for rail passengers on the routes from Leicester to Derby and Nottingham. It is also the closest station to East Midlands Airport, some 4 miles (6.4 km) away, but without public transport link.
The Bombardier Voyager is a family of high-speed 125 mph diesel-electric multiple units built in Belgium by Bombardier Transportation, for service on the railway network of the United Kingdom. Construction of the Voyager family took place between 2000 and 2005, consisting of three classes - the Class 220 Voyager, the Class 221 Super Voyager and the Class 222 Meridian.
The Master Cutler is a British named express passenger train operated by East Midlands Railway between Sheffield and London St Pancras. It has a somewhat complicated history, with the route and composition changing several times.
CrossCountry is a train operating company in the United Kingdom owned by Arriva UK Trains, operating the current CrossCountry franchise.
The Robin Hood is one of the four flagship named passenger trains operated by East Midlands Railway inherited from Midland Mainline in the UK.
The Midlands Express was one of the three flagship named passenger trains operated by Midland Mainline and now East Midlands Trains. This train ran along the Midland Main Line and was operated using an InterCity 125.
East Midlands Trains (EMT) was a British train operating company owned by the transport group Stagecoach, which operated the East Midlands franchise between November 2007 and August 2019.
East Midlands Railway is a train operating company in England, owned by Transport UK Group, and is the current operator of the East Midlands franchise.
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