Peterborough to Lincoln Line
Encyclopedia
The Peterborough to Lincoln Line is a railway line linking and , via and .
and Spalding
closed to passengers on 5 October 1970 and re-opened on 7 June 1971. North of Spalding, Ruskington
re-opened on 5 May 1975. Metheringham
followed on 6 October 1975.
Intermediate stations south of Sleaford did not re-open; See Diagram. There has been agitation by local communities to re-open Littleworth on a park-and-ride basis for Peterborough.
The route has a regular role as a diversionary route for trains from the East Coast Main Line
.
The line has a regular weekday daytime service but is closed between Sleaford & Spalding in the evenings (due to the high staffing costs associated with the large number of manned level crossings on this section) and has no Sunday service.
DMU
on a user operated crossing south east of Helpringham.
.
History
The section between PeterboroughPeterborough railway station
Peterborough railway station serves the city of Peterborough, England. It is located approximately north of London Kings Cross on the East Coast Main Line...
and Spalding
Spalding railway station
Spalding railway station serves the town of Spalding in Lincolnshire, England.Spalding is on the branch line to Lincoln operated by a roughly hourly service in both directions usually by Class 153 single car units...
closed to passengers on 5 October 1970 and re-opened on 7 June 1971. North of Spalding, Ruskington
Ruskington railway station
Ruskington railway station serves the village of Ruskington in Lincolnshire, England. It opened in 1882 as part of the Great Northern and Great Eastern Joint Railway between Sleaford and Lincoln. It closed in 1961 but was reopened in 1975.-External links:...
re-opened on 5 May 1975. Metheringham
Metheringham railway station
Metheringham railway station serves the village of Metheringham in Lincolnshire, England.-History:The station was opened to passengers on 1 July 1882 named Blankney & Metheringham. It closed to passengers on 11 September 1961 but it was later reopened on 6 October 1975 named Metheringham. The...
followed on 6 October 1975.
Intermediate stations south of Sleaford did not re-open; See Diagram. There has been agitation by local communities to re-open Littleworth on a park-and-ride basis for Peterborough.
Description
The towns and villages served by the route are listed below.- PeterboroughPeterboroughPeterborough is a cathedral city and unitary authority area in the East of England, with an estimated population of in June 2007. For ceremonial purposes it is in the county of Cambridgeshire. Situated north of London, the city stands on the River Nene which flows into the North Sea...
- SpaldingSpalding, LincolnshireSpalding is a market town with a population of 30,000 on the River Welland in the South Holland district of Lincolnshire, England. Little London is a hamlet directly south of Spalding on the B1172 road....
- SleafordSleafordSleaford is a town in the North Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England. It is located thirteen miles northeast of Grantham, seventeen miles west of Boston, and nineteen miles south of Lincoln, and had a total resident population of around 14,500 in 6,167 households at the time...
- connections with Grantham to Skegness LineGrantham to Skegness LineThe Grantham to Skegness Line, promoted as the Poacher Line, runs for between Grantham and Skegness in Lincolnshire, England.The route was selected as one of the seven pilot schemes under the Department for Transport's Community Rail Development Strategy in 2005 and was formally designated as a...
- connections with Grantham to Skegness Line
- RuskingtonRuskingtonRuskington is a large village in the English county of Lincolnshire, on the north-south B1188 road, just north of the A153. The village has approximately 2,200 dwellings, and from east to west is two kilometres long.-History:...
- MetheringhamMetheringhamMetheringham is a medium sized village in Lincolnshire approximately ten miles south of the English city of Lincoln...
- LincolnLincoln, LincolnshireLincoln is a cathedral city and county town of Lincolnshire, England.The non-metropolitan district of Lincoln has a population of 85,595; the 2001 census gave the entire area of Lincoln a population of 120,779....
The route has a regular role as a diversionary route for trains from the East Coast Main Line
East Coast Main Line
The East Coast Main Line is a long electrified high-speed railway link between London, Peterborough, Doncaster, Wakefield, Leeds, York, Darlington, Newcastle and Edinburgh...
.
The line has a regular weekday daytime service but is closed between Sleaford & Spalding in the evenings (due to the high staffing costs associated with the large number of manned level crossings on this section) and has no Sunday service.
Incidents
On 6 December 2004 two people died in a collision between a car and a class 153British Rail Class 153
The British Rail Class 153 Super Sprinter is a single car diesel multiple unit converted from British Rail Class 155s.-Description:These units were originally built as two-car Class 155 units by British Leyland from 1987–88, but were converted by Hunslet-Barclay at Kilmarnock from 1991-92...
DMU
Diesel multiple unit
A diesel multiple unit or DMU is a multiple unit train consisting of multiple carriages powered by one or more on-board diesel engines. They may also be referred to as a railcar or railmotor, depending on country.-Design:...
on a user operated crossing south east of Helpringham.
Proposed Developments
In October 2008, Network Rail obtained funding for the £233 million upgrade of the line to allow frequent passenger and freight traffic to use the line and free up paths on the East Coast Main LineEast Coast Main Line
The East Coast Main Line is a long electrified high-speed railway link between London, Peterborough, Doncaster, Wakefield, Leeds, York, Darlington, Newcastle and Edinburgh...
.