View source for Nottingham–Grantham line

{{Short description|Branch line in the East Midlands of England}}
{{Use British English|date=February 2019}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2019}}
{{Infobox rail line
| name                            = Nottingham–Grantham line
| color                           = 
| logo                            = 
| logo_width                      = 145px
| image                           = Radcliffe railway station MMB 18 158770.jpg
| image_width                     = 300px
| caption                         = An [[East Midlands Trains]] {{brc|158}} near Radcliffe station in December 2010
| type                            = Heavy rail
| system                          = [[National Rail]]
| status                          = Operational
| locale                          = [[Lincolnshire]]<br>[[Nottinghamshire]]<br>[[East Midlands]]
| start                           = Nottingham<br>{{coord|52.9471|-1.1467|type:railwaystation_region:GB|display=inline|name=Nottingham station}}
| end                             = Grantham<br>{{coord|52.9067|-0.6430|type:railwaystation_region:GB|display=inline|name=Grantham station}}
| stations                        = 8
| routes                          = 
| daily_ridership                 = 
| open                            = 1850
| close                           = 
| owner                           = [[Network Rail]]
| operator                        = [[East Midlands Railway]]
| character                       = 
| depot                           = 
| stock                           = {{ubl||{{BRC|170}} [[Bombardier Turbostar|Turbostar]] |{{BRC|158}} ''Express Sprinter''}}
| linelength                      = 
| tracklength                     = 
| tracks                          = Two
| gauge                           = {{RailGauge|ussg|allk=on}}
| electrification                 = 
| speed                           = 
| elevation                       = 
| map                             = [[File:Nottingham–Grantham line.png|300px]]<br />([[:commons:File:Nottingham–Grantham line.png|Click to expand]])
| map_state                       = uncollapsed
}}
{{Nottingham-Grantham Line}}
The '''Nottingham–Grantham line''' is a [[branch line]] between the city of [[Nottingham]] and the town of [[Grantham]] in the [[East Midlands]] of England. For most of its length it runs parallel to the [[A52 road|A52]].

The following places are served by the line:
*[[Nottingham]]
*[[Netherfield, Nottinghamshire|Netherfield]] and [[Colwick]]
*[[Radcliffe-on-Trent]]
*[[Bingham, Nottinghamshire|Bingham]]
*[[Aslockton]] and [[Whatton-in-the-Vale|Whatton]]
*[[Elton on the Hill|Elton]] and [[Orston]]
*[[Bottesford, Leicestershire|Bottesford]]
*[[Grantham]]

==Routes to Skegness==
At Grantham, the line meets the [[East Coast Main Line]] and also the [[Grantham–Skegness line]]. Not all Skegness-bound trains stop at Grantham, and the express service (limited stop) has its first stop at [[Sleaford railway station|Sleaford]], splitting from the Grantham line near [[Allington, Lincolnshire|Allington]] onto the [[Poacher Line|Grantham Avoiding Line]] at Allington junction.<ref>[http://www.signalbox.org/gallery/e/allingtonjcn.php "Allington Junction"]. Signalbox.org. Retrieved 21 July 2012</ref> The journey on this route to [[Skegness railway station|Skegness]] 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 [[Great Northern Railway (Great Britain)|GNR]] in 1852. At Bottesford, the line was crossed by a north-south [[London and North Western Railway|LNWR]] line from [[Melton Mowbray]] to [[Newark-on-Trent]] (this northern section was owned by GNR). A western spur of this railway (through [[Barnstone]]) joined at [[Saxondale, Nottinghamshire|Saxondale]] junction.<ref>[http://www.meltonmowbray.steamrailways.com/Barnstone%20Branch.htm "The Barnstone Branch"] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070317190827/http://www.meltonmowbray.steamrailways.com/Barnstone%20Branch.htm |date=17 March 2007}}. Steamrailways.com. Retrieved 21 July 2012</ref>

Services were disrupted in July 2012 when an embankment collapsed near [[Allington, Lincolnshire|Allington]].<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-lincolnshire-18921075 |title=Bank slip in Lincolnshire affects train services |work=[[BBC News]] |publisher=[[British Broadcasting Corporation|BBC]] |date=20 July 2012 |access-date=20 July 2012}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-18944482 |title=Grantham and Nottingham rail services resume after bank slip work |date=22 July 2012 |access-date=22 July 2012 |work=[[BBC News]] |publisher=[[British Broadcasting Corporation|BBC]]}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-nottinghamshire-18903291 |title=Nottingham to London trains affected by £100m works |date=19 July 2012 |access-date=21 July 2012 |work=[[BBC News]] |publisher=[[British Broadcasting Corporation|BBC]]}}</ref> [[Skegness]] councillors were critical of the decision to close the line during the height of the tourist season, but [[Network Rail]], the rail infrastructure company, stated that the summer was the quietest time on the line.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-18951834 |title=Skegness tourists put off by work at Nottingham station |date=23 July 2012 |access-date=24 July 2012 |work=[[BBC News]] |publisher=[[British Broadcasting Corporation|BBC]]}}</ref>

===Cotgrave Colliery branch===
The branch to [[Cotgrave, Nottinghamshire#Cotgrave Colliery|Cotgrave Colliery]] left the Grantham line at the east end of the viaduct over the [[River Trent]] and headed south for about {{convert|2|mi}}. It was built in 1960. The major engineering work was the {{convert|360|yd}} long, {{convert|30|ft}} high, concrete viaduct,<ref name="cv">[http://www.forgottenrelics.co.uk/bridges/gallery/cotgrave.html Cotgrave Viaduct photo and article]</ref> formed of 37 spans of about {{convert|30|ft}} each, where the branch left the main line. Most of the line was on a bank about {{convert|21|ft}} high, formed of about {{convert|300,000|cuyd}} of fill from a [[borrow pit]] alongside the main road. Most of the line was on a 1 in 392 gradient, with {{convert|1030|yd}} at 1 in 199.<ref>{{cite magazine |title= Colliery Branch Construction in Nottinghamshire |magazine=[[The Railway Magazine]] |issue=709 | date= May 1960| page=353}}</ref> The colliery closed in 1993 and the track was lifted in 2012.<ref name="cv" />

==Services==

All services on the line are provided by [[East Midlands Railway]]. There is an hourly service in each direction between {{rws|Liverpool Lime Street}} and {{rws|Norwich}}, generally calling only at {{rws|Nottingham}} and {{rws|Grantham}}, and an hourly service in each direction between Nottingham and {{rws|Skegness}}, via {{rws|Grantham}}, calling at most stations along the route. Very few trains serve {{rws|Netherfield}} or {{rws|Elton and Orston}}.<ref>{{NRtimes|May 2025|58}}</ref> These services are usually formed of {{brc|158}} ''Express Sprinter'' or {{brc|170}} ''Turbostar'' DMUs.

==References==
{{reflist|30em}}

==External links==
*[http://www.binghamheritage.org.uk/history_of_bingham/victorian/bingham_railway.php "Binghams Railways"]. Bingham Heritage Trails Association. Retrieved 21 July 2012

{{GeoGroup}}
{{commons category}}
{{Railway lines in the East Midlands}}
{{coord|52.9533|-0.8750|dim:30000_region:GB|display=title}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nottingham-Grantham line}}
[[Category:Rail transport in Lincolnshire]]
[[Category:Rail transport in Nottinghamshire]]
[[Category:Railway lines opened in 1850]]
[[Category:Railway lines in the East Midlands]]
[[Category:Standard gauge railways in England]]