Old Dalby Test Track

The Old Dalby Test Track is a railway in the United Kingdom which is used for testing new designs of trains. It runs between Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire and Edwalton, on the course of the Midland Railway's route between Kettering and Nottingham which closed to passengers on 1 May 1967 and to goods in 1968. It is 13.5 miles (21.7 km) in length.

The track was set up by British Rail Research Division, which had used it from May 1966. After closure as a through route in 1968, it was converted into a test track for the Advanced Passenger Train APT-E project, re-opening in September 1970. The track saw extensive use in the heyday of the Research Division and was used for pantograph development and OHLE testing.

Following privatisation of Britain's railways, the track became the property of BRB (Residuary) Ltd, the body set up to own former BR assets that were not sold off. The track was leased for one peppercorn per annum to Serco and later to Alstom and Metronet (LUL). Following the abolition of the BRBR, ownership passed to Network Rail on 30 September 2013.

On July 17, 1984 the track was used to test the integrity of flasks used to transport nuclear fuel elements by rail. A Class 46 diesel locomotive (No. 46009), weighing 138 tonnes and pulling three carriages, was intentionally crashed at speed into a pre-arranged, derailed, flask-carrying wagon. The behaviour of the flask was monitored in detail and the observations used to validate numerical modelling of flasks subjected to impact loading. A photographic record is available, as well as a video.

In 2001 the track was leased to Alstom Transport, which electrified the former Down line at 25 kV AC OHLE to test and commission the Class 390 "Pendolino" trains for Virgin Trains on the West Coast Main Line, and re-instated six miles of the former Up line from Old Dalby to the southern portal of Stanton Tunnel to test and commission the proposed ERTMS system for NR.

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