The Nottingham–Lincoln line, marketed as the Castle line, is a railway line in central

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

, running north-east from

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 south-east of Sheffield and nor ...

to Lincoln.

History

The Nottingham to Lincoln line was built by the

Midland Railway The Midland Railway (MR) was a railway company in the United Kingdom from 1844 in rail transport, 1844. The Midland was one of the largest railway companies in Britain in the early 20th century, and the largest employer in Derby, where it had ...

and engineered by

Robert Stephenson Robert Stephenson , (honoris causa, Hon. causa) (16 October 1803 – 12 October 1859) was an English civil engineer and designer of locomotives. The only son of George Stephenson, the "Father of Railways", he built on the achievements of hi ...

. The contractors for the line were Craven and Son of Newark and Nottingham who also built many of the stations.

Lincoln railway station Lincoln railway station (previously Lincoln Central) serves the city of Lincoln, England. The station is owned by Network Rail and managed by East Midlands Railway, who provide the majority of services from the station, with other services b ...

was built by the contractor Mr. Burton of Lincoln. The line was inspected by General Pasley on 31 July 1846 and opened on 4 August 1846. Originally the line ended at Lincoln Midland station (later renamed St. Marks) which was built as a terminus. The line was later extended to a junction just east of Lincoln Central railway station (the former Great Northern station), enabling through running from Nottingham to the South Humber ports and

Cleethorpes Cleethorpes () is a seaside town on the estuary of the Humber in North East Lincolnshire, Lincolnshire, England with a population of 29,678 in 2021. It has been permanently occupied since the 6th century, with fishing as its original industry ...

. This extension led to over a hundred years of pedestrian and driver frustration in central Lincoln because there were two mainline level crossings on the High Street within 350 metres, resulting in congestion and traffic chaos. Lincoln St. Marks station was closed (along with its High Street crossing) in the mid-1980s when a diversionary curve was laid to allow services from

to enter Lincoln Central. The old station building is now part of a shopping centre and houses Lakeland. Most passenger trains were taken over by diesel units from 14 April 1958, taking about an hour between the two cities.

Incidents

Due to fog, 14 cows were killed, at Staythorpe, when hit by a three-carriage train, on the evening of Sunday 16 October 1977. There were 40 passengers.

Current operations

Passenger services on the line are provided by

East Midlands Railway East Midlands Railway (EMR; legally Transport UK East Midlands Limited) is a British train operating company owned by Transport UK Group, and is the current operator of the East Midlands franchise. Originally owned by Abellio (transport compan ...

, using a mix of mainly Class 156 diesel multiple units, Class 158 diesel multiple units, and pairs of Class 153 diesel multiple units. At certain times Class 156 and Class 153 trains run coupled together. Many trains on this route continue southward from Nottingham to

Leicester Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area, and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest city in the East Midlands with a popula ...

via the

Midland Main Line The Midland Main Line (MML), sometimes also spelt Midland Mainline, is a major Rail transport in Great Britain, railway line from London to Sheffield in Yorkshire via the East Midlands. It comprises the lines from London's St Pancras railway ...

. Some trains call at Newark Northgate (this is generally the first two and last two trains of the day) by running down the spur at the side of the

East Coast Main Line The East Coast Main Line (ECML) is a electrified railway between its northern terminus at and southern terminus at . The key towns and cities of , , , , and are on the line. The line is a key transport artery on the eastern side of Grea ...

and then reversing back again. Many trains also run between Newark North Gate and Lincoln throughout the day, usually timed to provide connections to London King's Cross and other stations on the East Coast Main Line. Every other hour this service continues to

Grimsby Grimsby or Great Grimsby is a port town in Lincolnshire, England with a population of 86,138 (as of 2021). It is located near the mouth on the south bank of the Humber that flows to the North Sea. Grimsby adjoins the town of Cleethorpes dir ...

from Lincoln, with the first and last trains of the day continuing to Cleethorpes. Summer Sundays see a scheduled Newark NG–Lincoln–Cleethorpes service. As of August 2019,

London North Eastern Railway London North Eastern Railway (LNER) is a British train operating company which operates most services on the East Coast Main Line. It is owned by DfT Operator for the Department for Transport (DfT). The company's name echoes that of the Londo ...

runs one train a day in each direction from London to Lincoln. The line between Newark and Lincoln is currently only cleared for speeds.

Nottinghamshire County Council Nottinghamshire County Council is the upper-tier local authority for the non-metropolitan county of Nottinghamshire in England. The non-metropolitan county is smaller than the ceremonial county; the non-metropolitan county excludes the city of ...

has paid for a study into running. The line serves the following places. *

* Carlton *

Burton Joyce Burton Joyce () is a large Village#United Kingdom, village and civil parish in the Borough of Gedling, Gedling district of Nottinghamshire, England, east of Nottingham, between Stoke Bardolph to the south and Bulcote to the north-east. The A61 ...

* Lowdham *

Thurgarton Thurgarton is a small Village#United Kingdom, village in rural Nottinghamshire, England. The village is close to Southwell, Nottinghamshire, Southwell, and Newark-on-Trent and still within commuting distance to Nottingham. It is served by Thur ...

* Bleasby * Fiskerton * Rolleston * Newark * Collingham * Swinderby * Hykeham * Lincoln

Service

The timetable has been improved on the line since 2015, with additional trains introduced between Newark Castle and Nottingham in addition to the primary Nottingham to Lincoln ones. The Sunday service on the line has also been increased since the May 2017 timetable change, with the former afternoon-only timetable improved to an hourly frequency each way starting from mid-morning and the intermediate stations served at least every two hours. One train daily on a Monday to Saturday runs along the line from Lincoln to London St Pancras in the morning, and from London St Pancras back to Lincoln in the evening. It only calls at the busier stations along the line, namely Collingham, Newark Castle, Lowdham (evening journey only) and Nottingham. The train travels along the Midland Main Line for the Nottingham–London portion of the journey. There is also a few trains a day in each direction run by

from Lincoln to London King's Cross which leaves/joins the Nottingham to Lincoln line at the Newark flat crossing with the ECML just north of Newark North Gate station.

References

External links

Midlands Today January 1991
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nottingham-Lincoln line Rail transport in Lincolnshire Rail transport in Nottinghamshire Rail transport in Leicestershire Railway lines opened in 1846 Railway lines in the East Midlands Standard gauge railways in England 1846 establishments in England