Straightening the railway through Market Harborough

Time to see how they are getting on with straightening the railway through Market Harborough.

The HST in the photograph above is using the existing rails and the Midland arch of the bridge. Already we can see that when the work is complete trains will used the LNWR arch instead.

Once trains between Northampton and Nottingham (via Melton Mowbray North) and between Rugby and Peterborough used  rails that ran under it.

A little way north of Market Harborough the St Pancras main line climbs to a flyover across the LNWR trackbed. 

In the 1970s there was talking of a more radical straightening scheme that would see the flyover removed, but it will survive the current work.

Closer to Market Harborough station the vegetation and lineside bank has been cut back to make room for the new tracks.

The first photograph was taken from the slightly rickety footbridge by Great Bowden recreation ground. You can see it in some of the later ones.