Rail chiefs apologise after residents were woken up by loud banging in Harborough

Rail chiefs have apologised to angry residents woken up by loud banging as the main railway line is electrified in Market Harborough.

The multi-million pound scheme is going ahead as Network Rail works round the clock to step up the electrification of the Midland Main Line for thousands of passengers.

But workers using heavy hammers to drive piles into the ground through the night are making a huge din.

And the loud noise is waking up people all over the Northampton Road area of Market Harborough as well as on the town’s Southern Estate.

Today Gavin Crook, principal programme sponsor for Network Rail’s East Midlands route, said: “We are continuing to electrify the line between Market Harborough and Kettering, so that we can run faster, greener, and more reliable trains for passengers in the East Midlands.

“Unfortunately, this does require some noisy work and to keep our people safe, we need to do most of this at night while there are no trains running,” he said.

“I’m sorry for any disturbance this has caused for people living in Market Harborough and would encourage them to contact our helpline with any questions or concerns.”

Mr Cook said this stretch of work will continue until 6am tomorrow morning (Thursday).

“Notification letters were sent to over 2,500 addresses within a 500m radius of the railway on 10 February 2022

“We also held a live event on 8 December 2021 to let people know about the upcoming work,” said Network Rail.

“People can contact our 24-hour national helpline by calling 03457 11 41 41 or through other methods on this link: Contact us - Network Rail”