Passengers travelling on trains between London, the Midlands and Sheffield will benefit from a planned £70 million upgrade of the Midland Main Line.

As part of the project, two railway bridges will be rebuilt in Leicestershire, allowing trains to travel much faster, Network Rail confirmed.

The work will also pave the way for the possible introduction of overhead cables in the future, as the company looks to electrify more of the UK's rail infrastructure.

Network Rail has spent huge sums of money on improving the country's train services in the past 12 months. The firm revealed in June that it spent £5 billion on upgrades in 2012-13 - the equivalent of £14 million every day.

Commenting on the Midland Main Line work, Justin Page - Network Rail acting route managing director - said the new-look line would bring the region's largest economies closer together. 

"This is an exciting time for the Midland Main Line as we upgrade and electrify the route to transform our diesel railway into one of the most modern in Europe," he commented.