Newark flat crossing is the last remaining flat railway crossing on the

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 ...

network in the United Kingdom where two standard gauge lines intersect. It is located to the north of Newark North Gate station. It is the point where the

Nottingham to Lincoln Line Nottingham ( , locally ) is a city and unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located north-west of London, south-east of Sheffield and north-east of Birmingham. Nottingham has links to the legend of Robin ...

intersects with the East Coast Main Line.X marks the spot ''

Rail Rail or rails may refer to: Rail transport *Rail transport and related matters *Rail (rail transport) or railway lines, the running surface of a railway Arts and media Film * ''Rails'' (film), a 1929 Italian film by Mario Camerini * ''Rail'' ( ...

'' issue 470 17 September 2003 pages 32-36 On 4 October 1852 a Great Northern train collided with a Midland train which was on the crossing. The Great Northern engine No. 204 driven by William Lightfoot heading north struck the third wagon from the end of the Midland train. The three wagons of the Midland train left the line and ended up in water at the bottom of the embankment. Three passenger coaches from the Great Northern train were also derailed and several passengers were injured. The guard of the Midland train was severely injured and taken to the Lion and Adder Public House in Newark for surgical treatment. There have been numerous proposals to replace it with a grade separation, none of which have been implemented. A geographical constraint is the proximity of the site to the

River Trent The Trent is the third-longest river in the United Kingdom. Its source is in Staffordshire, on the southern edge of Biddulph Moor. It flows through and drains the North Midlands. The river is known for dramatic flooding after storms and ...

which is crossed by a bridge immediately to the north of the junction. It is renewed about every 16 years, most recently in May 1986, August 2003 and August 2019. During the August 2019 renewal the wooden bearers were replaced with Fiber Form Urethane (FFU) which is expected to have a 30-40 year working life.

References

{{coord, 53.0906, -0.8049, display=title East Coast Main Line Rail junctions in England