in the early 1860s, the traffic levels between Shipley Victoria and various cities on the south coast rose sharply, and severe congestion was the result - the worst situation was at Long Eaton and Nyetimber. To address this issue, considerable resources have been spent on new infrastructure and more powerful rolling stock. In order of appearance:
- Quadrupling of Shipley Victoria - Long Eaton line - Once the alternate route between Victoria and Broadstairs via Burgess Hill has been inaugurated, the traffic level on the line was just insane - over 40 all-stop passenger trains, channelled down to a two-track line. Such development has been predicted, though, so appropriate preparations have been done well in advance - the track has been laid down relatively quickly, and the two extra viaducts north of Long Eaton have been already in place. The result is that Long Eaton to Shipley Victoria now has dedicated slow and fast lines
- Expansion of Long Eaton station - The original station had mere 4 platforms, which was thought to be insufficient for the traffic levels expected on the planned quad track line. After the rebuild, it now boasts 6 mainline platforms (again with dedicated slow and fast platforms).
- Track realignment south and west of Long Eaton - Closely tied to the station expansion, the original southern approach with ramps down and up nearby valley has been replaced with a pair of bridges, the same goes for the line diverging west. The only shortcoming so far is that there is no connection between the fast lines and the Burgess Hill line - not a problem now, since all traffic in that direction is all-stop. Sadly, original plans for complete quadruple track all the way to Bury had to be shelved for some time.
- Major expansion of Bury station - since Bury is destined to become a major interchange, the original 2 platforms simply wouldn't do..
- New line between Bury and Rayleigh via Bradford, built mainly to provide faster route between Shipley and Rayleigh than the currently used route via Nyetimber (reduction of congestion here would be a nice side effect)
- Realignment of lines south of Bury - main goals here were easing some nasty curves and expanding station at Much Hoole
#1 - The station at Much Hoole, post-rebuild
#2 - Nyetimber station, now reduced to size more appropriate to the new traffic levels
#3 - New station at Bury, post-rebuild. The secondary station is a part of the Bury-Much Hoole line realignment.