Lengthening of platforms at Wellingborough, Kettering, Market Harborough, Loughborough, Long Eaton, and Beeston stations as well as work related to the Thameslink Programme (see below) The Midland had a large network of lines emanating from Derby, stretching to London St Pancras, Manchester, Carlisle, Birmingham, and the South West. It expanded as much through acquisitions as by building its own lines. It also operated ships from Heysham in Lancashire to Douglas and Belfast. A large amount of the Midland's infrastructure remains in use and visible, such as the Midland Main Line and the Settle–Carlisle line, and some of its railway hotels still bear the name Midland Hotel. Twells, H.N. (1985). A Pictorial Record of the Leicester and Burton Branch Railway. Burton-upon-Trent: Trent Valley Publications. ISBN 0-948131-04-7.

In November 2021 the Government announced its Integrated Rail Plan for the North and Midlands which made a number of proposals for the Midland Main Line. These included a commitment to complete the stalled electrification work, an upgrade to digital signalling, and a connection to High Speed 2. The latter would see a junction built south of East Midlands Parkway station rather than the previous plan of an East Midlands Hub further north on the Toton sidings. This will allow HS2 services to connect to both Derby and Nottingham city centres directly using the MML for access, which was a criticism of the previous HS2 eastern leg proposal. [4] Route definition [ edit ] The MR was in a commanding position having its Derby headquarters at the junctions of the two main routes from London to Scotland, by its connections to the London and Birmingham Railway in the south, and from York via the York and North Midland Railway in the north. [7] Consolidation [ edit ] The introduction of the High Speed Train ( HST) in May 1983, following the Leicester area resignalling, brought about an increase of the ruling line speed on the fast lines from 90 miles per hour (140km/h) to 110 miles per hour (180km/h).Capture of a Railway Engine". Bell’s Weekly Messenger. British Newspaper Archive. 9 August 1852 . Retrieved 12 July 2016– via British Newspaper Archive. Before this date the Midland had already constructed a line from Rowsley to Manchester, although this did not follow the route intended by the M.B.M. & M.J.R. owing to the opposition of the Duke of Devonshire to the idea of a railway through Chatsworth Park. In its efforts to gain a through route to Manchester, the Midland Railway had surveyed several possible routes to achieve this end. A line from Duffield to Rowsley was commenced but was terminated at Wirksworth. One outrageous proposal, however, was the upgrading of the Cromford and High Peak Railway to main line status which would have resulted in Derby-Manchester expresses going over gradients as steep as 1:8. The new line deviated at Bedford, through a gap in the Chiltern Hills at Luton, reaching London by curving around Hampstead Heath to a point between King's Cross and Euston. The line from Bedford to Moorgate opened for passenger services on 13 July 1868 [19] with services into St Pancras station starting on 1 October 1868. [20]

Moran, Mark (24 May 2021). "EMR Connect launches all-electric Corby-St Pancras service". Transport Xtra. London: Landor LINKS . Retrieved 16 August 2021. Anderson, P.H. (1985). Forgotten Railways Vol 2: The East Midlands (2nded.). Newton Abbot: David and Charles. a b c Barnes, E.G. (1969). The Rise of the Midland Railway 1844–1874. New York: AugustusM. Kelley. p.308. Wait finally over for Ilkeston train station as hundreds turn up to opening". Nottingham Post. 2 April 2017 . Retrieved 7 May 2017. [ permanent dead link] Although a bill for a line from Hitchin into King's Cross jointly with the GN, was passed in 1847 it had not been proceeded with.Midland Railway. Removal of the Passenger Station at Birmingham". Aris’s Birmingham Gazette. 28 April 1851 . Retrieved 12 July 2016– via British Newspaper Archive.

Spades in ground as government delivers on rail investment promise for North and Midlands". GOV.UK . Retrieved 21 December 2021. In 1853, the boiler of a locomotive exploded whilst it was hauling a freight train near Bristol, Gloucestershire. [43]

Between 2001 and 2003, the line between Derby and Sheffield was upgraded from 100 miles per hour (160km/h) to 110 miles per hour (180km/h) as part of Operation Princess, the Network Rail funded CrossCountry route upgrade. The 500 yards (460m) gap between the stations at Bradford still exists. Closing it today would also need to take into account the different levels between the two Bradford stations, a task made easier in the days of electric rather than steam traction, allowing for steeper gradients than possible at the time of the Midland's proposed extension. The Leeds and Bradford". Derby Mercury. British Newspaper Archive. 15 August 1849 . Retrieved 10 August 2016– via British Newspaper Archive. At Hawes station, on the branch to the east of the main line, there was an end-on junction with the North Eastern Railway (NER) line across the Pennines to Northallerton The Leeds and Bradford Railway had been approved in 1844. By 1850 it was losing money but a number of railways offered to buy it. Hudson made an offer more or less on his own account and the line gave the MR an exit to the north, which became the start of the Settle and Carlisle line, and it gave the MR a much more convenient station at Leeds Wellington. [ citation needed]

Hadfield, Charles (1970). The Canals of the East Midlands (2nded.). David & Charles. ISBN 0-7153-4871-X. Please be aware that the turn into the Midland Railway – Butterley car park is a tight left turn just before the bridge, please take care. Our car park is free and is your start point for your visit. Butterley Station is adjacent to the car park where the entrance is marked. ByTrain Kettering East: Compromise deal agreed over funding". BBC News Online. 13 March 2013 . Retrieved 21 March 2014. As traffic built up, the Midland Railway opened a new deviation just north of Market Harborough railway station on 26 June 1885 to remove the flat crossing of the Rugby and Stamford Railway. [14] Northernmost sections [ edit ]Radford, B., (1983) Midland Line Memories: a Pictorial History of the Midland Railway Main Line Between London (St Pancras) & Derby London: Bloomsbury Books