Market Harborough Station Upgrade

[InTheEastMids]

The car park entrance road is nearly ready for tarmac and there are more construction vehicles on the West side rough ground, but no work yet.

They were laying tarmac on the approach road to the car park today
(Nearly?) all of the street light columns have been put up, some have had luminaires installed too
Some sort of shelter has been installed next to the railway line, plus other street furniture
It looks like all the kerbing etc... has been done, so the main to-dos look like a top-coat of tarmac and white line painting.

Given previous work-rate, Easter's pushing it, but certainly should be complete well before the end of April.

For the new alignment to the west of the running lines, there's quite a few piles of rail and some sleepers lying around
A lot of gensets, lights and other (smaller) plant is on site to the North of the station
There's been quite a bit of deforestation of the old alignment near the station
No activity further up at/beyond Great Bowden

Looking again at plans I've seen, I think all the over-bridges needed work for trains to clear - although whether this will be done in the light of cancellation of electrification, I don't know.

 

[Flying Phil]

Thanks "InTheEastMids"
There were some workers active on the west side of the line today. On the new car park, the North half had been nearly cleared ready for the final tarmac top layer. More tarmac was being laid on the approach road so they are getting a move on. There are new steps leading up to the end of the platform, from the car park, near the new "shelter".

 

[Flying Phil]

The top layer of tarmac is now laid on the North end of the car park. The middle is ready for it to be laid and the South end is still being finished. There is a ramp being created from the North end of the South bound platform to the car park.

 

[Flying Phil]

The approach road has been "top" tarmaced, as has about 3/4 of the car park. All the lamp standards are in place and most have lights. Various bollards are in place. Proper fencing is being installed on the East side. Edge guard rails are being installed and the ramp is ready for tarmac so, as "InTheEastMids" says "certainly should be complete well before the end of April."
A pile of scaffold poles has appeared on the west side, but some of the diggers etc have been removed, so not much happening yet.

 

[adrock1976]

Will the station be in the same location, or is it being resited?

 

[swt_passenger]

Will the station be in the same location, or is it being resited?

It’s an overall straightening of the line. The station building remains in use but everything else is moved slightly. I think there are before and after drawings in the MML electrification thread somewhere, I’ll have a look...

Network Rail drawing here:
https://www.networkrailmediacentre....-event-ahead-of-construction-of-new-car-park#

Local news before and after sequence is here:
https://www.harboroughmail.co.uk/ne...h-station-plan-will-start-on-monday-1-8029457

 

[Flying Phil]

According to the earstwhile "Harborough Mail", the contract to complete the Harborough Station upgrade "has been taken on by construction giant Amey" for completion to the original timescale. The new car park should be finished later this month.
Interestingly - due to the Braybrooke electricity substation, electrification to Harborough is "Still on the table" but there is no money for it in the current plans....

 

[InTheEastMids]

According to the earstwhile "Harborough Mail", the contract to complete the Harborough Station upgrade "has been taken on by construction giant Amey" for completion to the original timescale. The new car park should be finished later this month.
Interestingly - due to the Braybrooke electricity substation, electrification to Harborough is "Still on the table" but there is no money for it in the current plans....

Thanks for the update. I would expect that a modest extension of electrification down from Braybrook into Harborough, and perhaps along the new alignment to Great Bowden should have a good business case, but as an enhancement, presumably it has to navigate the new post-Grayling process that sits outside the Control Periods.

 

[Flying Phil]

It would certainly seem to make a lot of financial sense to electrify to at least Harborough with the location of that substation.
The car park and approach road are now fully top coated with tarmac, nearly all the lamp columns have head units, and over half of the car parking bays are white lined. There are opening barrier units in place but no barrier poles yet. There are notices in place saying "Open in May" and the old car park "Closes in May."

 

[Flying Phil]

Situation this weekend.

 

[Flying Phil]

The half barriers are now mounted on the entrance to the new car park, all the bay painting has been done and the ramp to the Southbound platform is complete with all railings in place. It is very nearly ready to replace the old car park.

 

[Flying Phil]

Despite our little station being in the news due to football "fans" fighting on a train on Saturday night, the car park is still not in use.....There is still some fencing to put up before NR will pass it to use...should be done "before the end of this month" though.

 

[Flying Phil]

The fencing work is just about finished and so the car park is very nearly ready to use.
There are a new couple of piles of stones on the West side of the line but no work is being done yet.

 

[Flying Phil]

The Car Park is complete and all the temporary fencing was being taken away today. the edges were being "litter/debris" picked and swept. However a station staff member thought it would be open "next month"!!!
Perhaps, with the new timetable, they don't want to overload station users with too many changes at once?

 

[Flying Phil]

The car park is finished and just needs "Opening". However the new approach road opens onto the two lane main road into Harborough - which will mean traffic coming into Harborough to get into the car park will stop all the incoming traffic as they wait to turn right into the new car park. The old car park had a central right turning lane......so a bit more traffic build up is likely I think.......

 

[Flying Phil]

The new car park is still not yet open but there are a couple more diggers/excavators on the west side of the line.

 

[InOban]

Maybe someone forgot to order the notice which is presumably meant to be attached to the two poles in the foreground...

 

[InTheEastMids]

Related to the straightening of the line through the station, there are currently a lot of weekend/overnight works on the curve South from Harborough and off towards Kettering, where I think the linespeed will be raised from 75 to 90 mph in both directions

 

[Flying Phil]

Related to the straightening of the line through the station, there are currently a lot of weekend/overnight works on the curve South from Harborough and off towards Kettering, where I think the linespeed will be raised from 75 to 90 mph in both directions

I thought the only work South of the Station was to be the erection of a foot overbridge to replace the old foot crossing. There is work North of the Station to straighten the Great Bowden curve.

 

[edwin_m]

If the speed nearby is changing then there might be some re-canting. However I don't think this would happen until the new track was ready.

 

[38Cto15E]

So is the maximum line speed through the station presently 75mph and once all the improvements have been completed it will be 90mph?
An increase in speed on the up line will also help trains get a run up the bank to Desborough North a bit quicker.
TIA

 

[Hairy Bear]

No its currently 60mph. Will be going up to 90 after the re-alignment, so hang onto your hat.
Track to the south up to Little Bowden has been relayed over the past few weeks, but this is not connected the re-alignment project.
An initial length to the north of the station (great bowden road bridge) on the new alignment has been made though.

 

[38Cto15E]

Thanks for that Hairy, it will be a little Hairy for drivers who are used to passing through at 60mph to be going 50% faster.

 

[InTheEastMids]

Quite a few questions about the future line speeds and scope of works in the posts above. Unless the scope has changed, then this slide pack probably answers a lot of questions = slides 12 & 13 have the proposed line speeds and that was why I - incorrectly - guessed that the work on the curve South of Little Bowden might have been to do with the raised line speed.

http://politics.leics.gov.uk/docume...ne Speed and Station Improvements Summary.pdf

Work on the foot bridge has not commenced, although I understand it to be fully consented.

 

[Flying Phil]

So the speed through MH station will go from 60mph to 110mph! The work so far, to the North of the station, is only about 40 sleepers put in position, no rail yet.

 

[martinr1]

A look at the station on Wednesday 6th June

 

[InOban]

Does that last shot show that the new car park is in use, perhaps unofficially?

 

[Flying Phil]

Does that last shot show that the new car park is in use, perhaps unofficially?

The cars are the contractors vehicles, they have been using it for several weeks. Also in the video, the Northbound freight had a very noisy wagon about three from the end!

 

[Flying Phil]

Apparently in the "Invitation to Tender" for the new MML franchise, there is the statement about "Electrification to Market Harborough".....Could we really be getting wires?

 

[snowball]

So far we only have the Derby Telegraph's word for it. Can anyone find it in the ITT?