there were at one time three railway routes to the town: the still-operating midland main line, the great central railway that closed as a result of the beeching cuts and a branch line from nuneaton that was part of the london & north western railway. loughborough central railway station served the great central railway. it was opened on 15 march 1899 and closed in 1969 but re-opened in march 1974 as part of the great central heritage railway. the railway is split into two sections north and south of loughborough. loughborough central station is the northern terminus of the southern section of the railway and services run daily. as of 2017, there were plans to fill the gap and link the two halves of the railway again.