During the series of weekend closures on the Midland Main Line, Network Rail has been able to complete essential maintenance work alongside the major project.

They have completed an extensive amount of maintenance while also completing overhead line upgrades between London and Bedford.

Work began in February and continued into the start of June for a total of nine weekend closures.

While the closures caused disruptions, they allowed Network Rail to carry out critical work which otherwise could not be carried out.

120 different locations received improvements and maintenance, including the removal of trees in the North London area to reduce the risks with overhead line equipment.

They work on signalling and telecoms at 23 sites and carried out inspections on track, telecommunication systems and signalling at 49 sites.

They were able to renew seven sets of switches and crossings so that trains can change tracks smoothly and safely. Additionally, they did some rail grinding and defect removal at six locations.

Seasonal preparations and weather-related overhead line work were carried out at numerous locations to help improve its future reliability.

One of the significant steps of the work included repairing the crossing at Carlton Junction, removing the previous speed restriction.

“While we understand the disruption these weekend closures have caused for passengers, we’ve been working hard to maximise essential access time to prevent future disruption that would otherwise require separate closures.

“By carefully coordinating our maintenance activities with the planned upgrade work, we’re delivering significant improvements that will make journeys more reliable for years to come. We would like to thank passengers for their continued patience while this important work was carried out.”

Mark Budden, Network Rail’s East Midlands route director