Midland Mainline (train operating company)

Midland Mainline
Company type	Train operating company
Industry	Rail transport
Founded	1996
Fate	Franchise ended; operations transferred to East Midlands Trains
Successor	East Midlands Trains
Headquarters	Derby, United Kingdom
Area served	East Midlands, Yorkshire, London
Owner	National Express

Midland Mainline was a British train operator responsible for running the Midland Main Line franchise from April 1996 until November 2007, under the ownership of the transport company National Express.

The company assumed control from the government-run InterCity in 1996. Originally contracted for ten years, the franchise was extended by two years after commitments were made to invest in new trains and implement an hourly service to . To facilitate Project Rio, 23 HST power cars along with Mark 3 coaches were reallocated from Virgin CrossCountry. In February 2002, Midland Mainline placed an order for 16 four-car and 7 nine-car Class 222 Meridian units, with their introduction beginning in May 2004. These advanced trainsets allowed the redeployment of HSTs to other operators such as First Great Western and Great North Eastern Railway.

Midland Mainline provided both express and semi-express services from London St Pancras to destinations across the East Midlands and Yorkshire, focusing primarily on , , and . Some routes extended further to , , , Leeds, , and . The company managed 27 stations overall, with direct management responsibilities at eight of them. In June 2007, the franchise was awarded by the Department for Transport to Stagecoach, which took over operations under the name East Midlands Trains on 11 November 2007.

History

The franchise for Midland Mainline was initially granted to Midland Main Line Limited for a decade starting on 28 April 1996. Soon after, National Express moved to acquire Midland Main Line Limited along with its franchise.^[1] This acquisition underwent scrutiny by the Monopolies and Mergers Commission because National Express already operated various rail franchises and express coach services in the West Midlands. Concerned about potential public interest conflicts, the Commission recommended that the Board of Trade impose conditions requiring National Express to uphold fare controls and service standards.^[1] Consequently, National Express agreed to maintain existing coach service levels, cap fare increases in line with the Retail Price Index, and provide compliance information to regulatory bodies.Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; refs with no name must have content

In May 1999, Midland Mainline expanded its fleet with additional rolling stock. By August 2000, the Shadow Strategic Rail Authority granted a two-year franchise extension contingent upon National Express investing in new trains and introducing an hourly service to Leeds.Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; refs with no name must have content

Service patterns

At the conclusion of the franchise in November 2007, off-peak operations featured four departures each hour from London St Pancras—two classified as fast services and two as semi-fast.^[2] All trains except for the morning up train known as The Master Cutler called at Leicester, with the quickest journey time between London and Leicester being one hour and nine minutes. Services linking London, Luton, and Bedford complemented the frequent commuter routes provided by Thameslink and later by First Capital Connect.

Limited services

Midland Mainline operated a restricted number of trains between St Pancras and Leeds, consisting of three early morning departures from Leeds and four evening returns from St Pancras. This limited schedule was mainly due to maintenance requirements for Midland Mainline’s HSTs at Neville Hill depot. The route via Midland Mainline took approximately three hours and fifteen minutes compared to around two hours and fifteen minutes on the faster East Coast Main Line connecting London King's Cross to Leeds.

In July 1996, a bus connection was introduced between Kettering and Corby.

Starting May 1999, select through services from St Pancras to Burton upon Trent and Barnsley were added, including stops at Belper and Meadowhall.

From May 2000 until December 2004, through trains operated between St Pancras and Matlock. These ceased when the newly introduced Class 222s, which were not authorized on the Derwent Valley Line, replaced earlier stock. In December 2004, Midland Mainline launched a Saturday service running from St Pancras to York via Doncaster, extending during summer months to Scarborough. On Sundays, a service started at Leicester, continuing to York before returning through the Erewash Valley Line via Nottingham back to St Pancras.

A small number of trains also operated between St Pancras and Sheffield via Nottingham and the Erewash Valley Line calling at stations including Langley Mill, Alfreton, and terminating at Chesterfield.

Project Rio

Between May 2003 and September 2004, Midland Mainline provided an hourly connection linking St Pancras and Manchester Piccadilly, commissioned by the Strategic Rail Authority due to engineering works on the West Coast Main Line between London Euston and Manchester. This interim service, dubbed Project Rio—named after footballer Rio Ferdinand's transfer route—utilized the Midland Main Line up to Trent Junction, then diverted via the Erewash Valley Line (skipping Derby) towards Clay Cross, rejoining the Midland Main Line at Dore South Junction before continuing west on the Hope Valley Line to Manchester. South of Leicester, it operated alongside the xx:30 semi-fast train to Nottingham, with an additional Leicester–Nottingham service introduced using Class 170 Turbostar units displaced from other routes.

Named trains

The Robin Hood – Departs Sheffield at 06:30 for St Pancras via Nottingham; returns at 17:00 from St Pancras to Nottingham.
The Master Cutler – Leaves Leeds at 06:14 for St Pancras, running non-stop from Chesterfield; the return journey departs St Pancras at 16:55 for Leeds.
The Midlands Express – Scheduled at 07:05 from Sheffield to St Pancras.

Rolling stock

Midland Mainline took over a fleet of High Speed Trains (HSTs) inherited from British Rail, upgrading their power cars with updated lighting systems.

In April 1997, the company placed an order for 13 (later increased to 17) Class 170 Turbostars to serve stopping services. Initially delivered as two-car sets, ten were subsequently lengthened to three-car formations. The first unit entered revenue service in May 1999, allowing more frequent services by reallocating local stops south of Leicester to Class 170s and deploying HSTs on longer routes.

To alleviate shortages of HSTs, from February 2002 two Fragonset Class 47 locomotives operated top-and-tail formations with Mark 2 coaches on morning Nottingham–London and evening London–Sheffield runs. In October that year, Midland Mainline leased an additional five HST power cars and two Mark 3 sets released by Virgin CrossCountry.

February 2002 saw an order for sixteen four-car and seven nine-car Class 222 Meridian trains, based on Virgin CrossCountry's Class 220 Voyager but modified for enhanced passenger comfort. The first entered service in May 2004. Four-car Meridians replaced Class 170 units (which were transferred to Central Trains), while nine-car sets were originally planned for a new London St Pancras–Leeds route via Nottingham and the Erewash Valley Line. However, due to insufficient demand as assessed by the Strategic Rail Authority, these nine-car sets remained unused until July 2005 when they began operation on Nottingham/Sheffield–London services. This freed up HSTs for leasing agreements with First Great Western and Great North Eastern Railway.

To optimize capacity in 2006, all nine-car Meridians were shortened to eight carriages; removed vehicles were used to extend seven four-carriage sets to five cars. After East Midlands Trains assumed control in 2008, six eight-car sets were adjusted to seven carriages and one reduced to five carriages, enabling all remaining four-carriage trains to be lengthened to five.

For Project Rio operations, Midland Mainline acquired 23 HST power cars and Mark 3 coaches from Virgin CrossCountry in May 2003. During overhaul periods, a First Great Western HST was leased from May 2003 until February 2004. Following Project Rio's conclusion in September 2004, some trainsets were transferred to First Great Western and GNER, while others were placed into storage.

At the end of its operations, Midland Mainline's rolling stock comprised:

Final fleet

Class	Image	Type	Maximum speed		Number in service	Routes served	Construction period
Class	Image	Type	mph	km/h	Number in service	Routes served	Construction period
Class 43		Diesel locomotive	125	200	31	Midland Main Line	1976–1982
Class 222 Meridian		Diesel multiple unit			23		2003–2005
Mark 3 carriage		Passenger carriage					1975–1982

Former fleet

Class	Image	Type	Maximum speed		Quantity operated	Routes served	Year built	Year withdrawn
Class	Image	Type	mph	km/h	Quantity operated	Routes served	Year built	Year withdrawn
Class 170 Turbostar		Diesel multiple unit	100	160	17	Midland Main Line	1999	2004

Stations

Midland Mainline served a total of twenty-seven stations, with eight principal hubs: London St Pancras, Wellingborough, Kettering, Market Harborough, Leicester, Derby, Chesterfield, and Sheffield.

Other stations on the network included Luton Airport Parkway, Luton, Bedford Midland, Loughborough, Long Eaton, Willington, Burton upon Trent, Beeston, Nottingham, Langley Mill, Alfreton, Dronfield, Meadowhall Interchange, Barnsley, Doncaster, Wakefield Westgate, Leeds, York, and Scarborough.

Stations previously served before withdrawal of services encompassed Duffield, Ambergate, Whatstandwell, Cromford, Matlock Bath, Matlock, Stockport, and Manchester Piccadilly.

Depot

The High-Speed Trains operated by Midland Mainline received maintenance at the Neville Hill depot. The remainder of the fleet was maintained at the facility located in Derby Etches Park.

Demise

In November 2007, the Midland Mainline franchise was combined with select services from Central Trains to establish the East Midlands franchise.

The Department for Transport (DfT) shortlisted National Express, Arriva, FirstGroup, and Stagecoach in September 2006 to compete for this franchise. By June 2007, Stagecoach was awarded the contract by the DfT, resulting in Midland Mainline operations being transferred to East Midlands Trains on 11 November 2007.