New toilets are finally set to open at Harborough railway station

New toilets are finally poised to be opened at Market Harborough railway station on Friday (July 22).

The new loos are set to be thrown open after passengers have been forced to use temporary lavatories for three years.

A Network Rail spokeswoman told us: “We can confirm that the toilets will open on Friday and we look forward to passengers benefitting from the new facilities.”

Cllr Phil Knowles, who has fought hard to get the new toilets, said: “I can sum up my reaction to this news very simply – better late than never.

“We’ve had a stream of promises from Network Rail over the last three years – and every one’s been broken.

“If these new amenities do actually open at last on Friday then I wholeheartedly welcome them,” said the Harborough district councillor.

“But I also want to know why this has taken so long.

“The people of Harborough and beyond have had to use makeshift loos for far too long – and that’s totally unforgivable.

“We were within hours of opening the toilets at the end of June when they were delayed again because the cubicles were not right.

“What went wrong there for goodness sake?

“We have to know because we need answers to a lot of crucial questions,” said Cllr Knowles.

“It’s high time that Market Harborough had a 21st century railway station for the 21st century.

“Let’s just hope that we are finally getting there after all this time.”

The new toilets are being backed by both Harborough MP Neil O’Brien and Harborough District Council chief Phil King.

Mr O’Brien said: “This is very welcome news for people who use the station at Market Harborough.

“Over recent months I’ve been in regular correspondence with Network Rail and East Midlands Railway on a range of station and train matters as I’m always keen to see improvements to our stations and trains where ever possible,” said the Conservative MP.

“To have this following on from the other improvement works we’ve seen at the station and the ongoing work to electrify the Midland Mainline is very welcome news for many constituents who are regular users of the service.”

Cllr King said: "As a regular rail user, the council leader and as someone who has been positively campaigning for track and station investment for many years, I am delighted that as long last, the completion of the £57 million improvement works is in sight.

“I'm sure all users of the station will appreciate and welcome that these new facilities are now fully available after what I have no doubt has been a very difficult period of time for construction works,” said Cllr King.

“Further, I'm also extremely pleased that the electrification of Midland Mainline is now advancing north of Market Harborough.

“This will make a significant contribution to the reduction of noise along with pollution from trains passing through the Harborough district."