Loughborough Gap

Map of the gap (in red)
New 2017 Great Central Railway bridge over the Midland Main Line, viewed looking southwards from Loughborough railway station

The Loughborough Gap is a 500-metre-long (0.3-mile) missing section of the Great Central Main Line to the north-east of Loughborough, England. The gap was created by the removal of embankments and bridges during the 1980s and the restoration project has been branded Bridge to the Future and Bridging the Gap. From south-to-north the route crosses the Grand Union Canal, Railway Terrace road, a Factory car park, four-track Midland Main Line at Loughborough railway station and the A60 road. The Hermitage Brook watercourse runs parallel.

During the 2010s work began to restore the link in order to join the northern and southern sections of two heritage railways back together giving a total Great Central Railway (heritage railway) line length of 18 miles (29 km).[1] As of 2016, planning permission was granted for the first major component: a replacement 30-metre single-span bridge over the Midland Main Line. An additional station called Loughborough High Level will be built to connect with Loughborough (Midland) station on the Midland Main Line.[citation needed] As of May 2016, the bridge was intended to be owned by Charnwood Borough Council and then leased back to the Great Central Railway for one hundred years in exchange for maintenance costs.[2] Work commenced in April 2017,[3] with the main bridge beams being installed in September of that year.[4] The bridge is expected to be completed in 2019.[1][2][needs update]

The replacement bridge was completed ahead of schedule in August 2018.[citation needed] However due to slight encroachment on the original trackbed, the bridge is slightly askew from the original alignment. Refurbishment has also been conducted on the canal bridge just beyond the existing train shed. Future work will see the embankment reinstated and the current train shed demolished and replaced by one close by as the shed occupies the main line alignment. In addition signalling will need be connected and updated to match the other preserved line.

  1. ^ a b "Mind the Gap: Great Central Railway to be joined after 40 years". BBC News. BBC. 12 February 2016. Retrieved 14 February 2016.
  2. ^ a b Jarram, Matt (19 May 2016). "Ownership plan for GCR bridge". Loughborough Echo. Retrieved 25 May 2016. Charnwood Borough Council has agreed to take ownership of the Great Central Railway bridge … set to be opened in 2019. … will then lease the bridge back to GCR over a 100-year contract. … to maintain the bridge over its 120-year life span will cost around £305,000.
  3. ^ Higgins, Zoe (6 April 2017). "GCR bridge work gets underway". Loughborough Echo. Retrieved 10 October 2017.
  4. ^ Fagan, Ciaran (3 September 2017). "£2.5m bridge to reconnect Great Central Railway is taking shape". Leicester Mercury. Retrieved 10 October 2017.