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Monday 16 Jun 2025

£84m project delivering overhead line improvements completed on time and under budget

Region & Route:

Eastern

| Eastern: East Midlands

A major project to upgrade overhead line equipment between London and Bedford has been successfully delivered by Network Rail – on time and under budget.

The £84m Midland Main Line improvement project – called OLE125 Compatibility – ran from September 2023 to June this year.

Overhead wires and supporting infrastructure installed in the 1980s had become out of date, meaning new bi-mode trains could not run at optimum speeds.

The equipment has now been upgraded, making the railway between London St Pancras and Bedford much more resilient.

This improves reliability and performance for passengers, while also having the environmental benefit of saving diesel by allowing bi-mode trains to run more efficiently.

The OLE125 project, carried out with main contractor SPL Powerlines, saw:

• 40 total miles covered
• 401 head spans replaced
• 108 wire runs upgraded
• 209 balance weight anchor upgrades
• 636,618 total hours worked on the project
• 30 machines used on average per shift

Routine maintenance work has also been carried out to maximise the time when the railway line has been out of action.

Paul Cater, Network Rail senior portfolio manager, said: “The successful OLE125 project has been about making the Midland Main Line more efficient and greener. This upgrade, combined with the wider electrification of the line, will mean the benefits are gained over a large area of our railway.

“We would like to thank everyone who helped us deliver the upgrades, which will have clear benefits for passengers as bi-mode trains can now run more efficiently between London and Bedford.

“We are also grateful to our neighbours living near the line for their patience while we worked on these major improvements and also maximised our time on track by carrying out many other maintenance tasks at the same time.”

Steve McWhan SPL Powerlines UK regional managing director, said: “We are extremely proud of the teamwork, commitment, collaboration and professionalism that has taken place to successfully deliver this complex and challenging project on time and to budget. OLE125 brings massive benefits to passengers with improved line speed bringing quicker journey times. The project also brings greater reliability with life expired equipment being replaced.”

Philippa Cresswell, customer experience director at East Midlands Railway, said: “The completion of the OLE125 project marks a significant milestone for both Network Rail and EMR.

“This important infrastructure investment paves the way for our new Aurora Bi-Mode trains to operate along the Midland Main Line, enabling more reliable, environmentally friendly, and comfortable journeys in the future.

“We would like to thank our customers for their patience while these essential works were carried out.”

Jenny Saunders, customer service director for Thameslink, said: “I’d like to thank passengers for their patience while these works were under way, and I hope that benefits of these reliability improvements on our Bedford, St Albans and Luton routes is noticed.”