Ivanhoe Line - Today

Today

One station on the Derby - Birmingham main line, Willington, past the western (Burton) end of the route, was constructed in the mid 1990s with Ivanhoe branding and painted in the according blue livery. However, as a result of the failure of the Burton upon Trent - Leicester development to go ahead, it is a curious anomaly, separated from the Ivanhoe Line scheme.

A similar anomaly lies at the eastern (Leicester) end of the line, along the Leicester-Loughborough main line, where three stations wers reopened as a planned first phase of full reopening:

• Syston
• Sileby
• Barrow-upon-Soar

Local passenger services on the route are currently operated by diesel multiple units of Classes 153, 156 or 158.

Trains use the slow lines from just north of Leicester to Loughborough, previously used almost exclusively for freight, so as well as the rebuilding of the three intermediate stations, work was also required to build a new third platform at Loughborough facing the Down Slow, and also a new crossover and signal south of Loughborough so southbound trains could cross from the Down Slow to the Up Slow.

Whilst Barrow and Sileby have two platforms (and limited access for disabled passengers), Syston has a single platform serving both directions. Syston station will be rebuilt around 2013 during a Leicester area re-signalling scheme as part of Network Rails Route Utilisation Strategy for freight.