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Downham Market railway station is on the Fen line in the east of England, serving the town of
The Lynn & Ely Railway Act received the Royal Assent on 30 June 1845. Work started on the line in 1846 and the line and its stations were opened on 27 October 1846. Downham Station opened with the line and was situated south of Stow Station and was a temporary end of the line. The line was completed to Ely in 1847. On New Year's Day, Downham station ceased to be a temporary terminus when the line was opened through to Denver Road Gate.
The new line connected King's Lynn and its harbour with Ely and trains to London.
The wooden signal box, built for the Great Eastern Railway in 1881, was listed Grade II in 2013.
In early 2017, the station was redecorated to commemorate
Downham Market
Downham Market, sometimes simply referred to as Downham, is a market town and civil parish in Norfolk, England. It lies on the edge of the Fens, on the River Great Ouse, approximately 11 miles south of King's Lynn, 39 miles west of Norwich and 30 ...
, Norfolk. It is measured from London Liverpool Street
Liverpool Street station, also known as London Liverpool Street, is a central London railway terminus and connected London Underground station in the north-eastern corner of the City of London, in the ward of Bishopsgate Without. It is the t ...
and is situated between and stations. Its three-letter station code is DOW.
The station and most trains calling are operated by Great Northern (with service to and from ), with some additional peak services being operated by Greater Anglia (to and from London Liverpool Street).
The station building of 1846, built of carrstone with pale brick dressings, is a Grade II listed building
In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...
.
History
The Lynn & Ely Railway Act received the Royal Assent on 30 June 1845. Work started on the line in 1846 and the line and its stations were opened on 27 October 1846. Downham Station opened with the line and was situated south of Stow Station and was a temporary end of the line. The line was completed to Ely in 1847. On New Year's Day, Downham station ceased to be a temporary terminus when the line was opened through to Denver Road Gate.
The new line connected King's Lynn and its harbour with Ely and trains to London.
The wooden signal box, built for the Great Eastern Railway in 1881, was listed Grade II in 2013.
In early 2017, the station was redecorated to commemorate Network SouthEast
Network SouthEast (NSE) was one of the three passenger sectors of British Rail created in 1982. NSE mainly operated commuter rail trains within Greater London and inter-urban services in densely populated South East England, although the net ...
, the British Rail division that operated services across England's south east 30 years previously. With assistance from the Railway Heritage Trust, paintwork and signage has been returned to a style that mimics that of the late 1980s.
Services
Great Northern operate all off-peak services at Downham Market using EMUs. The typical off-peak service in trains per hour is: * 1 tph to * 1 tph to During the peak hours, additional Great Northern services run to the station as well as a single Greater Anglia service to and fromLondon Liverpool Street
Liverpool Street station, also known as London Liverpool Street, is a central London railway terminus and connected London Underground station in the north-eastern corner of the City of London, in the ward of Bishopsgate Without. It is the t ...
.
Footbridge
On 10 August 2009Network 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 ...
submitted a planning application for a new £1.5 million footbridge, describing the current foot crossing as 'one of the most dangerous in the country'. The plan was supported by then station operator First Capital Connect
First Capital Connect (FCC) was a British train operating company, owned by FirstGroup, that operated the Thameslink and Great Northern sectors from April 2006 to September 2014 which later became the Thameslink, Southern and Great Northern (T ...
, with an intended completion date of summer 2011. The initial application was withdrawn following consultation with local councils, English Heritage
English Heritage (officially the English Heritage Trust) is a charity that manages over 400 historic monuments, buildings and places. These include prehistoric sites, medieval castles, Roman forts and country houses.
The charity states that i ...
and the Railway Heritage Trust and a revised plan submitted in December 2009 following changes to improve the appearance of the bridge. However, this proposal was rejected by King's Lynn and West Norfolk Council in April 2010, citing the lack of accessibility for disabled passengers and the effect of the bridge on the Grade II listed station building.
The foot crossing has since been closed and passengers must now use the nearby road level crossing
A level crossing is an intersection where a railway line crosses a road, path, or (in rare situations) airport runway, at the same level, as opposed to the railway line crossing over or under using an overpass or tunnel. The term a ...
to switch between platforms.
References
External links
{{coord, 52.60560, N, 0.36724, E, type:railwaystation_region:GB_source:enwiki-osgb36(TF604035), display=title Railway stations in Norfolk DfT Category E stations Former Great Eastern Railway stations Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1846 Railway stations served by Govia Thameslink Railway Greater Anglia franchise railway stations 1846 establishments in England Downham Market