The Northampton loop is a railway line serving the town of Northampton. It is a branch of the West Coast Main Line, deviating from the faster direct main line which runs to the west. The WCML is a four track line up to either end of the Loop: the 'up' and 'down' fast tracks take the direct route while the 'up' and 'down' slow tracks are diverted via Northampton railway station. Generally, fast express trains run via the direct line, while freight and slower passenger services run via the loop line. The southern interconnect between the Northampton loop and the direct London–Birmingham main line is at Hanslope Junction, just north of Milton Keynes. The lines continue to run alongside until the two routes diverge north of Roade at the northern end of Roade cutting. The loop line then runs north east for several miles until it reaches Northampton station. After Northampton, the line heads to the north-west for around twenty miles, until it re-joins the main line at Hillmorton Junction at Rugby, just east of Rugby station. Services and operations The majority of passenger services on the line are provided by West Midlands Trains using Class 350 electric multiple units. Class 319 units are used for peak-hour express services between Northampton and London Euston. The service consists of three 'semi fast' trains per hour between London Euston and Birmingham New Street. There is also an hourly local service between Northampton and Birmingham. Prior to December 2012 there was also a service to and from Crewe, but a few serve the loop line during morning and evenings and hourly on Sundays. Avanti West Coast provide a small number of Class 390 Pendolino services to London at the extremes of the day. But nearly all Avanti West Coast trains use the direct main line. Line speeds on the loop line are currently limited to compared to on the fast line, making the line unattractive to the routing of fast services. As of 2011, line speeds were expected to increase to once signalling improvements are in place north of Northampton up to Rugby. Long Buckby; the one other station on the line, is served by the London–Birmingham/Northampton–Birmingham services. The London–Crewe service does not stop at Long Buckby except on Sundays. The line sees heavy freight traffic, as it is used by all freight trains on the southern part of the WCML. Many of