View source for Helpston railway station

{{Short description|Railway station in Cambridgeshire, England}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2015}}
{{Use British English|date=March 2015}}
{{Infobox station
| name                = Helpston
| status              = Disused
| image               = Helpston railway station 2035162 8fddd69d.jpg
| caption             = Remains of the station in 1995
| borough             = [[Helpston]], [[City of Peterborough]]
| country             = England
| grid_name           = [[Ordnance Survey National Grid|Grid reference]]
| grid_position       = {{gbmapscaled|TF131055|25|TF131055}}
| platforms           = 2
| pregroup            = [[Midland Railway]]
| postgroup           = [[London, Midland and Scottish Railway]] <br /> [[Eastern Region of British Railways]]
| years               = 2 October 1846
| events              = Opened as ''Helpstone'' <ref>Butt, R.V.J., (1995) ''The Directory of Railway Stations,'' Yeovil: Patrick Stephens</ref>
| years1              = 1 July 1858
| events1             = Renamed ''Helpstone for Market Deeping''
| years2              = 1 May 1877
| events2             = Renamed ''Helpston for Market Deeping''
| years3              = 1 May 1912
| events3             = Renamed ''Helpston''
| years4              = 6 June 1966
| events4             = Closed
}}
'''Helpston railway station''' was a station in [[Helpston]], [[Cambridgeshire]], on the [[Midland Railway]]'s [[Syston and Peterborough Railway]]. It was closed in 1966. The [[Great Northern Railway (Great Britain)|Great Northern Railway]] main line runs adjacent to the Midland Railway at this point, but the Great Northern never had a station in Helpston. This was due to an agreement whereby the Midland carried materials to the site during construction of the Great Northern, and in return the Great Northern offered no competition for services on this section.<ref>Robin Leleux, ''A Regional History of the Railways of Great Britain. Volume 9 The East Midlands''.</ref>

The goods shed survives, as does the [[Great Northern Railway (Great Britain)|Great Northern Railway]] signal box, which is now used only to monitor a number of level crossings in the vicinity. 

== Helpston level crossing ==
Helpston level crossing itself carries the Helpston to [[Glinton, Cambridgeshire|Glinton]] road over the four tracks of the ex-GNR line and the two tracks of the ex-MR line. This was previously two separate level crossings, controlled by two separate signal boxes. There was space for two cars between the level crossings. The crossings were merged and converted from gates to full barriers in the 1970s.

Out of all [[level crossings in the United Kingdom]], this has the longest stretch of road between the barriers, crossing six tracks (grouped as four tracks of the 125 mph [[East Coast Mainline]], and two tracks of the [[Birmingham–Peterborough line]]). {{asof|2021|1}}, the crossing was assessed to have a "very high" collective risk rating.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.networkrailmediacentre.co.uk/news/behind-the-scenes-peek-at-helpston-signal-box-helps-community-understand-level-crossing-safety |title=Behind the scenes peek at Helpston signal box helps community understand level crossing safety |date=7 October 2019 |website=Network Rail Media Centre}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://abcrailwayguide.uk/helpston-public-level-crossing-peterborough |title=Helpston Level Crossing |website=The ABC Railway Guide}}</ref>

In 2015, Network Rail proposed to close 73 level crossings between Doncaster and London, including the Helpston level crossing.<ref>https://democracy.peterborough.gov.uk/documents/s22928/5.5%20Level%20Crossing%20Closures.pdf</ref> This was part of a larger initiative started in 2010.<ref>https://www.networkrail.co.uk/communities/living-by-the-railway/level-crossing-closures/</ref> However, later the same year, Network Rail backtracked on the programme.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.thetimes.com/article/network-rail-backtracks-on-crossings-closures-jbfzf5cqkxf |title=Network Rail backtracks on crossings closures |year=2015 |newspaper=[[The Times]] |access-date=2 August 2015 |archive-date=24 November 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151124184908/http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/business/industries/transport/article4487902.ece |url-status=live }}</ref> 

{{Peterborough railway station}}

== References ==
{{reflist}}

{{Historical Rail Start}}
{{Rail line|next=[[Walton railway station (Cambridgeshire)|Walton]]|previous=[[Bainton Gate railway station|Bainton Gate]]|route=[[Midland Railway]]<br /><small>Leicester to Peterborough</small> |col={{MR colour}} }}
{{rail end}}

{{coord|52.6360|-0.3307|type:railwaystation_region:GB|display=title}}

{{Closed stations Cambridgeshire}}

[[Category:Disused railway stations in Cambridgeshire]]
[[Category:Transport in Peterborough]]
[[Category:Buildings and structures in Peterborough]]
[[Category:Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1846]]
[[Category:Railway stations in Great Britain closed in 1966]]
[[Category:Former Midland Railway stations]]
[[Category:Beeching closures in England]]
[[Category:1846 establishments in England]]