Barton line

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Barton line
Barrow Road Crossing Signal Box, New Holland.jpg
The line at New Holland, with the manually operated crossing and disused line to the docks in the foreground
Overview
StatusOperational
Owner Network Rail
Locale North Lincolnshire
North East Lincolnshire
Yorkshire and the Humber
Termini
Stations14
Service
Type Heavy rail
System National Rail
Services Barton-on-HumberCleethorpes
UlcebyGreat Coates
(freight to Immingham)
Operator(s) East Midlands Railway
Rolling stock Class 170
History
Opened1848
Technical
Line length22  miles 72  chains (36.85  km)
Number of tracks1 (Barton-on-HumberNew Holland)
2 (New HollandUlceby)
1 (Ulceby–Habrough Junction)
2 (HabroughGrimsby Town)
1 (Grimsby TownCleethorpes)
Character Rural
Track gauge 4 ft 8+12 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Electrification None
Route map
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(Click to expand)
Barton line
Bus link to
Hull Paragon
Barton-on-Humber
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Barrow Haven
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New Holland Pier
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New Holland Town
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New Holland Grain Terminal
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New Holland
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Goxhill
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Thornton Abbey
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Immingham Oil Refineries
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Immingham Docks
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Immingham Docks
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Works
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Ulceby
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Habrough
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Stallingborough
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Healing
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Great Coates
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Grimsby Town
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Grimsby Docks
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Grimsby Pier
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Riby Street Platform
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New Clee
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Cleethorpes
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The Barton line is a railway line in North and North East Lincolnshire, England. It runs from Barton-upon-Humber south east to Cleethorpes and was designated by the Department for Transport as a community rail line in February 2007. Barton station is near to the Humber Bridge. It is situated on the south bank of the Humber Estuary.

Contents

Stations served

The stations served by the route are listed below.[ citation needed ]

Services and rolling stock

Services on the line were operated by Northern Trains and its predecessors until May 2021 when East Midlands Railway took over. [1] As at July 2023, services operate every two hours in each direction on weekdays. Sunday trains only run during the summer months (May to early September). [2]

Class 153s operated the line until December 2021 when replaced by Class 156s. [3] [4] In May 2023, the Class 156s were replaced by Class 170s. [5]

On Monday to Saturday, the first service of the day from Cleethorpes to Barton-on-Humber, the 06:00 departure, and the 06:58 return was operated by a First TransPennine Express Class 185 (for operational reasons), although this service did not call at Great Coates and Thornton Abbey due to the low platforms. This practice ceased at the December 2013 timetable change and the first train from Cleethorpes now serves all intermediate stations other than New Clee, which is currently served by trains on request during daylight hours only.[ citation needed ]

Freight services previously served the chemical works at Barton-upon-Humber and the sidings at New Holland Pier. Since the closure of the chemical plant no scheduled freight services operate on the route, though occasional trainloads have operated from the bulk grain terminal at New Holland (which now occupies the former pier it remained rail-connected for a period, but the tracks are now in disrepair and unusable).

Infrastructure

The line is mostly double track, except for the sections at each end and the connecting curve between Habrough and Ulceby. The eastern portion of the route as far as Habrough is shared with the South Humberside Main Line to Doncaster and Lincoln, whilst the short section either side of Ulceby also forms part of the busy freight artery between Brocklesby and the Port of Immingham. West of Ulceby the line is double as far as Oxmarsh Crossing (near New Holland), reverting to single for the final 3+14 miles (5.2 km) to the terminus at Barton. This section has several manual signal boxes with semaphore signalling and staffed & gated level crossings in operation. [6] Network Rail planned to re-signal the line in 2015–16, with control passing to the York Rail Operating Centre – the level crossings on the line were automated and the existing signal box at Ulceby Junction abolished (those at Goxhill, Barrow Road and Oxmarsh Crossing remain).

History

The New Holland to Grimsby Town section of the line follows the Great Grimsby and Sheffield Junction Railway, opened in 1848. This subsequently became part of the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway and eventually the London and North Eastern Railway at the 1923 Grouping. The line was extended to Cleethorpes by the MS&LR in 1863, with a branch from Goxhill to the docks at Immingham added in 1911. The line was particularly busy during the Second World War, as it served Royal Air Force airfields at Goxhill and Killingholme in addition to the various industrial installations in the area. [7] The line was twice proposed for closure in the 1960s (in 1963 and again four years later), but was reprieved on each occasion (though the Goxhill to Immingham Line did close in June 1963). [8]

Prior to the opening of the Humber Bridge in June 1981, passenger services ran via New Holland Pier where they connected with the Humber Ferry service across the Humber to Corporation Pier in Hull but after the bridge was commissioned the ferry service was withdrawn and a new chord line and replacement station provided at New Holland to allow trains to run directly to and from Barton. Since then, the connection to and from Hull has been provided by Stagecoach in Lincolnshire bus over the bridge and now operates out of Hull Paragon Interchange.

The service ran hourly until the spring of 1990, but was cut to the current two-hourly pattern at that year's timetable change by British Rail due to unreliability and a shortage of rolling stock. The winter Sunday service also suffered the same fate in 1999 following the abolition of Humberside County Council and subsequent withdrawal of funding by the replacement unitary authorities. [8]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">North East Lincolnshire</span> Borough in Lincolnshire, England

North East Lincolnshire is a unitary authority area with borough status in Lincolnshire, England. It borders the borough of North Lincolnshire and districts of West Lindsey and East Lindsey. The population of the district in the 2011 Census was 159,616. The administrative centre and largest settlement is Grimsby and the borough includes the towns of Cleethorpes and Immingham as well as the villages of New Waltham, Waltham, Humberston, Healing and Great Coates. The borough is also home to the Port of Grimsby and Port of Immingham as well as Cleethorpes beach.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sheffield–Lincoln line</span> Railway line in England

The Sheffield–Lincoln line is a railway line in England. It runs from Sheffield to Lincoln via Worksop, Retford and Gainsborough Lea Road. The route comprises the main line of the former Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway (MS&LR), to Gainsborough Trent Junction, where it then follows the former Great Northern and Great Eastern Joint Railway (GNGEJR) to Lincoln Central. The former MS&LR main line continues from Trent Junction to Wrawby Junction, Barnetby, much of it now single line, where it then runs to Cleethorpes. In 2023, the Department for Transport announced that a new station will be opened on the line. Waverley station will be located between Darnall and Woodhouse.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Habrough railway station</span> Railway station in Lincolnshire, England

Habrough railway station serves the village of Habrough and the town of Immingham in North East Lincolnshire, England. It was built by the Great Grimsby and Sheffield Junction Railway in 1848. Up until 1988 there was a signal box at the station on the south side of the track and east side of the road with manually-operated gates. It was of typical Great Central Railway signal box design. The main buildings were located on the eastbound platform and were linked to the westbound one via a footbridge, but both have also been demolished and the level crossing was converted to an AHB crossing. In 2015/2016, it was converted to a full-barrier level crossing with Obstacle Detection (MCB-OD).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cleethorpes railway station</span> Railway station in Lincolnshire, England

Cleethorpes railway station is a railway station serving the seaside town of Cleethorpes in Lincolnshire, England. The station is managed by TransPennine Express, with East Midlands Railway and Northern Services also using the station. The station is the terminus and start of multiple services.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Barrow Haven railway station</span> Railway station in North Lincolnshire, England

Barrow Haven railway station serves the village of Barrow Haven in North Lincolnshire, England. The station has a single platform on the single-track line, with a shelter and a telephone on the platform. Stopping services from Barton-on-Humber to Cleethorpes call at the station. All services are provided by East Midlands Railway who operate the station.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Barton-on-Humber railway station</span> Railway station in Barton-upon-Humber, England

Barton-on-Humber railway station serves the town of Barton-upon-Humber in North Lincolnshire, England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New Holland railway station</span> Railway station in Lincolnshire, England

New Holland railway station is a single-platform station which serves the village of New Holland in North Lincolnshire, England. The station is situated on the Barton line 19 miles (31 km) west of Cleethorpes, and all trains serving it are operated by East Midlands Railway.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Goxhill railway station</span> Railway station in Lincolnshire, England

Goxhill railway station serves the village of Goxhill in North Lincolnshire, England. It was built by the Great Grimsby and Sheffield Junction Railway in 1848. The station is on the Barton Line 17 miles (27 km) north west of Cleethorpes and all trains serving it are operated by East Midlands Railway.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ulceby railway station</span> Railway station in North Lincolnshire, England

Ulceby railway station serves the village of Ulceby in North East Lincolnshire, England. It was built by the Great Grimsby and Sheffield Junction Railway in 1848 and is located at Ulceby Skitter.

The Grimsby District Light Railway (GDLR) was one of three standard gauge railways, all part of the Great Central Railway, promoted by the latter to connect the wider world to Immingham Dock which it built in the early Twentieth Century on an almost uninhabited, greenfield site on the south bank of the Humber, England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grimsby and Immingham Electric Railway</span> Light railway in Lincolnshire, England

The Grimsby & Immingham Electric Railway (G&IER) was an electric light railway, primarily for passenger traffic, linking Great Grimsby with the Port of Immingham in Lincolnshire, England. The line was built by the Great Central Railway (GCR), was absorbed by the London & North Eastern Railway (LNER) in 1923, and became part of the Eastern Region of British Railways. It ran mainly on reserved track.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">A180 road (England)</span> Road in northern England

The A180 is a primary route in northern England, that runs from the M180 motorway to Cleethorpes. The road is a continuation of the M180, but built to lower specifications: it is mainly dual two-lane without hard shoulders. The road is dual carriageway for 16.87 miles (27.15 km) from the M180 to Grimsby, and is a single carriageway road for 2 miles (3.2 km) between Grimsby and Cleethorpes beach.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stagecoach Grimsby-Cleethorpes</span> Bus operator in North East Lincolnshire, England

Stagecoach Grimsby-Cleethorpes is a subdivision of Stagecoach East Midlands that operates buses in and around North East Lincolnshire, England, serving a population of over 150,000. It runs town services in its main hubs of Grimsby and Cleethorpes, as well as services to Immingham and nearby villages.

The Great Grimsby and Sheffield Junction Railway was an early British railway company which existed between 1845 and 1847 with the intention of providing rail services between Grimsby, New Holland and Gainsborough in the county of Lincolnshire. It amalgamated with the Sheffield, Ashton-Under-Lyne and Manchester Railway and the Sheffield and Lincolnshire Junction Railway, the three being renamed the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway in 1847.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Immingham Dock railway station</span> Former railway station in England

Immingham Dock railway station served the dock at Immingham, Lincolnshire, England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New Holland Pier railway station</span> Former railway station in Lincolnshire, England

New Holland Pier railway station is a former railway terminus in North Lincolnshire, England. It stood at the seaward end of the New Holland Pier, which juts 1,375 feet (419 m) northwards into the Humber estuary at the village of New Holland. Its purpose was to enable railway passengers, vehicles and goods to transfer to and from ferries plying between New Holland and Hull.

The Barton and Immingham Light Railway is a railway line in North Lincolnshire and North East Lincolnshire, Lincolnshire, England. It ran from a junction at Goxhill to Immingham Dock. Another spur runs from Immingham Dock to Ulceby. It was later absorbed by the Great Central Railway and later, on grouping, it passed to the London and North Eastern Railway. The railway is used for freight traffic to the ports at Immingham. The section from Goxhill to North Killingholme was mothballed and lifted. The track is still in situ but now overgrown and out of use.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">South Humberside Main Line</span> Railway line in the UK

The South Humberside Main Line runs from Doncaster on the East Coast Main Line to Thorne where it diverges from the Sheffield to Hull Line. It then runs eastwards to Scunthorpe and the Humber ports of Immingham and Grimsby, with the coastal resort of Cleethorpes as terminus.

Immingham Western Jetty railway station was the first railway station which served the dock in Immingham, Lincolnshire, England. It was replaced by Immingham Dock.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New Holland Town railway station</span> Former railway station in Lincolnshire, England

New Holland Town railway station is a former railway station in the village of New Holland in North Lincolnshire, England. It stood at the landward end of the pier, whilst the purpose of Pier station, which juts 1,375 feet (419 m) northwards into the Humber estuary, was to enable railway passengers and goods to transfer to and from ferries plying between New Holland and Hull. New Holland Town station's purpose was for more conventional use by the local community.

References

  1. "May Milestone for MML Timetable". Modern Railways . No. 872. May 2021. p. 23.
  2. EMR Regional Train Timetable 09 East Midlands Railway 21 May 2023
  3. EMR becomes fully PRM compliant Rail issue 947 29 December 2021 page 18
  4. Class 156s for Barton The Railway Magazine issue 1341 February 2022 page 81
  5. Class 156 Super Sprinter Rail Express issue 326 July 2023 page 20
  6. "Friends of The Barton Line – Current Issues" Barton Line Rail User Group; Retrieved 30 April 2014
  7. History of the Barton Cleethorpes Railway Line Archived 11 December 2013 at the Wayback Machine NE Lincs CC website article; Retrieved 6 December 2013
  8. 1 2 A Brief History of the Barton Line Friends of the Barton Line; Retrieved 6 December 2013

53°36′00″N0°14′18″W / 53.6001°N 0.2384°W / 53.6001; -0.2384