Nottingham–Grantham line
Template:Short description Template:Use British English Template:Use dmy dates Template:Infobox rail line Template: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.
The following places are served by the line:
- Nottingham
- Netherfield and Colwick
- Radcliffe-on-Trent
- Bingham
- Aslockton and Whatton
- Elton and Orston
- 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, splitting from the Grantham line near Allington onto the Grantham Avoiding Line at Allington junction.[1] The journey on this route to 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 GNR in 1852. At Bottesford, the line was crossed by a north-south 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 junction.[2]
Services were disrupted in July 2012 when an embankment collapsed near Allington.[3][4] 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.[5] 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.[6]
Cotgrave Colliery branch
The branch to Cotgrave Colliery left the Grantham line at the east end of the viaduct over the River Trent and headed south for about Template:Convert. It was built in 1960. The major engineering work was the Template:Convert long, Template:Convert high, concrete viaduct,[7] formed of 37 spans of about Template:Convert each, where the branch left the main line. Most of the line was on a bank about Template:Convert high, formed of about Template:Convert of fill from a borrow pit alongside the main road. Most of the line was on a 1 in 392 gradient, with Template:Convert at 1 in 199.[8] The colliery closed in 1993 and the track was lifted in 2012.[7]
Services
All services on the line are provided by East Midlands Railway. There is an hourly service in each direction between Template:Rws and Template:Rws, generally calling only at Template:Rws and Template:Rws, and an hourly service in each direction between Nottingham and Template:Rws, via Template:Rws, calling at most stations along the route. Very few trains serve Template:Rws or Template:Rws.[9] These services are usually formed of Template:Brc Express Sprinter or Template:Brc Turbostar DMUs.
References
External links
- "Binghams Railways". Bingham Heritage Trails Association. Retrieved 21 July 2012
Template:GeoGroup Template:Sister project Template:Railway lines in the East Midlands Template:Coord
- ↑ "Allington Junction". Signalbox.org. Retrieved 21 July 2012
- ↑ "The Barnstone Branch" Template:Webarchive. Steamrailways.com. Retrieved 21 July 2012
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- ↑ a b Cotgrave Viaduct photo and article
- ↑ Template:Cite magazine
- ↑ Template:NRtimes