The Nottingham–Grantham line is a
branch line between the city of
Nottingham
Nottingham ( , East Midlands English, locally ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located north-west of London, south-east ...
and the town of
Grantham
Grantham () is a market and industrial town in the South Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England, situated on the banks of the River Witham and bounded to the west by the A1 road. It lies some 23 miles (37 km) south of the Lincoln and ...
in the
East Midlands
The East Midlands is one of nine official regions of England at the first level of ITL for statistical purposes. It comprises the eastern half of the area traditionally known as the Midlands. It consists of Leicestershire, Derbyshire, Li ...
of England. For most of its length it runs parallel to the
A52.
The following places are served by the line:
*
Nottingham
Nottingham ( , East Midlands English, locally ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located north-west of London, south-east ...
*
Netherfield and
Colwick
*
Radcliffe-on-Trent
Radcliffe-on-Trent is a large village and civil parish in the Rushcliffe borough of Nottinghamshire, England. The population of the civil parish at the Census 2011 was 8,205.
Location
Radcliffe has a population of about 8,000. It is to the eas ...
*
Bingham
*
Aslockton and
Whatton
*
Elton and
Orston
Orston is an English village and civil parish in the Rushcliffe borough of Nottinghamshire, 15 miles (24 km) east of Nottingham. It borders the parishes of Scarrington, Thoroton, Flawborough, Bottesford and Elton on the Hill. The population at t ...
*
Bottesford
*
Grantham
Grantham () is a market and industrial town in the South Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England, situated on the banks of the River Witham and bounded to the west by the A1 road. It lies some 23 miles (37 km) south of the Lincoln and ...
Routes to Skegness
At Grantham, the line meets the
East Coast Main Line
The East Coast Main Line (ECML) is a electrified railway between London and Edinburgh via Peterborough, Doncaster, York, Darlington, Durham and Newcastle. The line is a key transport artery on the eastern side of Great Britain running broa ...
and also the
Grantham–Skegness line
The Grantham–Skegness line, originally promoted as the "Poacher Line", runs for between Grantham and Skegness in Lincolnshire, England. Trains on this route originate from Nottingham via the Nottingham to Grantham Line as an hourly through se ...
. Not all Skegness-bound trains stop at Grantham, and the express service (limited stop) has its first stop at
Sleaford
Sleaford is a market town and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in the North Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England. Centred on the former parish of New Sleaford, the modern boundaries and urban area include Quarrington, Lincolnshire, ...
, splitting from the Grantham line near
Allington onto the
Grantham Avoiding Line at Allington junction. The journey on this route to
Skegness
Skegness ( ) is a seaside town and civil parish in the East Lindsey District of Lincolnshire, England. On the Lincolnshire coast of the North Sea, the town is east of Lincoln and north-east of Boston. With a population of 19,579 as of 2011, i ...
saves 30 minutes of the 2 hours 20 minutes journey via Grantham.
History
The line was initially operated by the
Ambergate, Nottingham, Boston and Eastern Junction Railway from 15 July 1850, taken over by the
GNR in 1852. At Bottesford, the line was crossed by a north-south
LNWR
The London and North Western Railway (LNWR, L&NWR) was a British railway company between 1846 and 1922. In the late 19th century, the L&NWR was the largest joint stock company in the United Kingdom.
In 1923, it became a constituent of the Lond ...
line from
Melton Mowbray
Melton Mowbray () is a town in Leicestershire, England, north-east of Leicester, and south-east of Nottingham. It lies on the River Eye, known below Melton as the Wreake. The town had a population 27,670 in 2019. The town is sometimes promo ...
to
Newark-on-Trent
Newark-on-Trent or Newark () is a market town and civil parish in the Newark and Sherwood district in Nottinghamshire, England. It is on the River Trent, and was historically a major inland port. The A1 road (Great Britain), A1 road bypasses th ...
(this northern section was owned by GNR). A western spur of this railway (through
Barnstone
Barnstone is an English village in the Rushcliffe borough of Nottinghamshire, forming part of Langar cum Barnstone parish. It lies on the border with Leicestershire. The nearest retail stores, schools and railway station are in Bingham (4.5 mi ...
) joined at
Saxondale
''Saxondale'' is an English television situation comedy programme, starring Steve Coogan and co-written by Coogan and Neil Maclennan. The series is directed by Matt Lipsey and produced by Ted Dowd. Coogan and Henry Normal served as executive pr ...
junction.
Services were disrupted in July 2012 when an embankment collapsed near
Allington. The line also closed for some six weeks in the summer of 2013, as part of a large-scale improvement to Nottinghamshire's rail network.
Skegness
Skegness ( ) is a seaside town and civil parish in the East Lindsey District of Lincolnshire, England. On the Lincolnshire coast of the North Sea, the town is east of Lincoln and north-east of Boston. With a population of 19,579 as of 2011, i ...
councillors were critical of the decision to close the line during the height of the tourist season, but
Network Rail
Network Rail Limited is the owner (via its subsidiary Network Rail Infrastructure Limited, which was known as Railtrack plc before 2002) and infrastructure manager of most of the railway network in Great Britain. Network Rail is an "arm's leng ...
, the rail infrastructure company, stated that the summer was the quietest time on the line.
Cotgrave Colliery branch
The branch to
Cotgrave Colliery left the Grantham line at the east end of the viaduct over the
River Trent
The Trent is the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, third-longest river in the United Kingdom. Its Source (river or stream), source is in Staffordshire, on the southern edge of Biddulph Moor. It flows through and drains the North Midland ...
and headed south for about . It was built in 1960. The major engineering work was the long, high, concrete viaduct,
[Cotgrave Viaduct photo and article](_blank)
/ref> formed of 37 spans of about each, where the branch left the main line. Most of the line was on a bank about high, formed of about of fill from a borrow pit
Digging, also referred to as excavation, is the process of using some implement such as claws, hands, manual tools or heavy equipment, to remove material from a solid surface, usually soil, sand or rock on the surface of Earth. Digging is actuall ...
alongside the main road. Most of the line was on a 1 in 392 gradient, with at 1 in 199. The colliery closed in 1993 and the track was lifted in 2012.
Services
All services on the line are provided by East Midlands Railway
Abellio East Midlands Limited, trading as East Midlands Railway (EMR), is a train operating company in England, owned by Abellio, and is the current operator of the East Midlands franchise.
History
In March 2017, the Department for Transport a ...
. There is an hourly service in each direction between and , calling only at and , and an hourly service in each direction between Nottingham and , via , calling at most stations. Very few trains serve , or . The Liverpool-Norwich service is usually formed of & ''Express Sprinter'' or (DMUs), the Nottingham-Skegness service is usually formed of & ''Super Sprinter'' DMUs, or DMUs.
On very busy summer services to Skegness, East Midlands Railway
Abellio East Midlands Limited, trading as East Midlands Railway (EMR), is a train operating company in England, owned by Abellio, and is the current operator of the East Midlands franchise.
History
In March 2017, the Department for Transport a ...
will use a Class 180,These are otherwise usually used on services to London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
from Sheffield
Sheffield is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is Historic counties o ...
, Derby
Derby ( ) is a city and unitary authority area in Derbyshire, England. It lies on the banks of the River Derwent in the south of Derbyshire, which is in the East Midlands Region. It was traditionally the county town of Derbyshire. Derby gai ...
and Nottingham
Nottingham ( , East Midlands English, locally ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located north-west of London, south-east ...
that run express.
References
External links
"Binghams Railways"
Bingham Heritage Trails Association. Retrieved 21 July 2012
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nottingham-Grantham line
Rail transport in Lincolnshire
Rail transport in Nottinghamshire
Railway lines opened in 1850
Railway lines in the East Midlands
Standard gauge railways in England