Birmingham To Peterborough Line - History

History

The present route is an amalgamation of lines that were built by separate companies. The sections were:

• The route from Birmingham to Whitacre Junction was built for the Birmingham and Derby Junction Railway in 1840, which later became part of the Midland Railway.
• The line from Whitacre junction to Nuneaton was built by the Midland Railway, and opened in 1864.
• The line between Nuneaton and Wigston was built by the London and North Western Railway and was also completed in 1864.
• The section between Wigston and Syston via Leicester was built for the Midland Counties Railway (a forerunner of the Midland Railway) in 1840. It is now part of the Midland Main Line.
• The eastern section, the Syston and Peterborough Railway, was built for the Midland Railway and opened in 1846.

The entire route became part of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway in the 1923 grouping, and the LMS was nationalised on 1 January 1948 as part of British Railways.

In 1977 the Parliamentary Select Committee on Nationalised Industries recommmended considering electrification of more of Britain's rail network. By 1979 BR presented a range of options to do so by 2000, some of which included the Birmingham to Peterborough line. Under the 1979–90 Conservative governments that succeeded the 1976–79 Labour government, the proposal was not implemented.

The route was privatised in the 1990s as part of Railtrack and is now part of Network Rail.