South Humberside Main Line

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South Humberside Main Line
Road and rail bridge across the Trent - geograph.org.uk - 1050438.jpg
SHML crosses the River Trent at Keadby Bridge
Overview
StatusOperational
Owner Network Rail
Locale Yorkshire and the Humber
Termini
Service
Type Heavy rail
System National Rail
Operator(s) TransPennine Express
East Midlands Railway
Northern Trains
Technical
Number of tracksMostly Double Track, with a Single Track section between Grimsby Town and Cleethorpes.
Track gauge 4 ft 8+12 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Route map
South Humberside Main Line.png
(Click to expand)

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.

Contents

Route

From Doncaster the line forms a joint route with the Sheffield–Hull line to Hatfield, passing Hatfield Colliery where the lines diverge at Thorne Junction. The line runs across Thorne and Hatfield Moors to run along the Stainforth and Keadby Canal toward the River Trent. Close to Keadby Power Station the route turns around Keadby and crosses the river Trent at Keadby Bridge. The line then climbs and passes over the M181 motorway and on viaduct to cross the Lincoln Edge at Scunthorpe. Through Scunthorpe, the line passes through the steelworks into the Ancholme Valley before crossing under the M180 motorway. To the west of Barnetby the line branches further at Wrawby Junction with the Grimsby–Lincoln–Newark line turning south towards Market Rasen, and the Kirton Lindsey line, (formerly a continuation of the Sheffield to Lincoln Line). After Barnetby railway station the line crosses the Lincolnshire Wolds passing quarries at Melton Ross and passes close to Humberside Airport near to where it diverges with the Barton Line and a branch which serves Immingham Docks close to Ulceby. The main line continues to Grimsby roughly parallel with the A180 road though Habrough railway station, Stallingborough railway station, Great Coates railway station to Grimsby railway station. The route then passes Grimsby Docks railway station which is open only during daylight hours, towards Grimsby Docks, and then on to New Clee railway station running along the humber bank/sea wall to Cleethorpes railway station.

Scunthorpe Railway Station Scunthorpe Railway Station.jpg
Scunthorpe Railway Station

Passenger Services

The population in station catchments of the line is 470,000. [1]

The East Midlands Railway service between Cleethorpes and Barton on Humber uses the line until taking the Barton Line branch.

Northern operate a service between Scunthorpe and Sheffield, calling at intermediate stations.

The Barton Line forms a branch to this line from Ulceby Junction, to Barton upon Humber. Passenger services on the line were provided by EMR.

Service patterns

Freight

Imported Coal transported from Immingham passes through Melton Ross Imported Coal from Immingham at Melton Ross - geograph.org.uk - 749170.jpg
Imported Coal transported from Immingham passes through Melton Ross

The South Humberside Main Line is one of eight national Seven Day Railway Routes, which target the routes with the strongest business case for investment. [2] The port of Immingham is located at the end of the South Humberside Main Line from Doncaster. This generates around one fifth of the total UK freight tonnage with potential for significantly more. [3] This line is therefore a very important route for freight and extra capacity is needed to allow rail to grow with the port. Humber International Terminal stage 2 was completed in 2006 which has doubled the amount of coal the port can handle. [4]

The route from Doncaster to Immingham via Scunthorpe is a key artery for rail freight services conveying approximately 20% of the total rail freight volume moved in the UK, it includes: [5]

Services on the Doncaster to Goole/Hull via Thorne line, which normally amount to eight trains per day, are also affected by these trains.

Totals: 68 freight trains per day, journey each way = 136 paths

There are three tracks between Brocklesby and Wrawby, two in the Doncaster direction and one in the Immingham direction. [3] The line speed also restricts capacity, between Ulceby and Doncaster the line speed is predominantly 55 mph, with Wrawby Junction only 30 mph. The line speed between Immingham and Ulceby is mainly 30 mph. Loaded freight trains generally run at 60 mph on other lines, with some modern unloaded trains being capable of 75 mph. [3]

History

The line was initially part of the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway until the company changed name to the Great Central Railway in 1897. In 1916 the section of route between Wrawby and Brocklesby was quadrupled to cope with the growing amount of freight traffic heading for the docks at Immingham and Grimsby.

In April 2019, a level crossing over the line at Suggitt's Lane in Cleethorpes was closed due to safety concerns. In 2022, Suggitt's Lane Bridge was opened, replacing the level crossing. [6]

Incidents

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">M180 motorway</span> Motorway in England

The M180 is a 25.5-mile (41 km) motorway in eastern England, starting at junction 5 on the M18 motorway in Hatfield, within the Metropolitan Borough of Doncaster, South Yorkshire, and terminating at Barnetby, Lincolnshire, some 10 miles (16 km) from the port of Immingham and 14 miles (23 km) from the port of Grimsby. The A180 road continues to the east for Grimsby, Cleethorpes and Immingham. Scunthorpe, Lincoln, Hull, Brigg, Bawtry and the Isle of Axholme can be accessed using the motorway. Humberside Airport, the now-closed Doncaster Sheffield Airport, and the Killingholme, Humber and Lindsey oil refineries are close to the motorway. The road forms part of the unsigned Euroroute E22 and is the main route along the south bank of the Humber Estuary.

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

Scunthorpe railway station serves the town of Scunthorpe in North Lincolnshire, England. The station is located a short walk from the town centre, on Station Road.

<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">Barnetby railway station</span> Railway station in Lincolnshire, England

Barnetby railway station serves the village of Barnetby-le-Wold in North Lincolnshire, England. It is operated by TransPennine Express, with East Midlands Railway and Northern Trains also serving the station.

<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">Barton line</span> Railway line in North and North East Lincolnshire, England

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kirk Sandall railway station</span> Railway station in South Yorkshire, England

Kirk Sandall railway station serves the suburb of Kirk Sandall in Doncaster, South Yorkshire, England. The station is 4 miles (6 km) north of Doncaster on the South Humberside Main Line. The current station opened by British Rail in 1991 and is not on the site of the original station, which was about 0.5 miles (1 km) up the line eastwards.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hatfield & Stainforth railway station</span> Railway station in South Yorkshire, England

Hatfield and Stainforth railway station serves the towns of Hatfield and Stainforth in South Yorkshire, England. It is located 6+34 miles (10.9 km) north east of the main Doncaster station.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Barnetby le Wold</span> Small rural village and civil parish in North Lincolnshire, England

Barnetby le Wold is a village and civil parish in North Lincolnshire, Lincolnshire, England, located between Brigg and Immingham. The village is also near Barton-upon-Humber. The population of the parish in the 2001 census was 1,593. This increased by 148 to 1,741 in the 2011 census.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">A18 road (England)</span> Road in England

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

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

<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.

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">Wrawby Junction</span>

Wrawby Junction is a busy railway junction located a short distance west of Barnetby, North Lincolnshire, England and controls the confluence of the Network Rail routes from Lincoln, Retford and Scunthorpe towards Immingham and Cleethorpes. The junction was controlled by a large signal box of part-brick, part-wooden, construction and is now controlled from York Rail Operating Centre (ROC).

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">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. 1 2 3 4 5 "Rail North –North of England Electrification Strategy" (PDF). Systra. September 2014. Retrieved 4 March 2015.
  2. "Seven Day Railway: better weekend services for passengers" (PDF). ATOC. Retrieved 12 July 2013.
  3. 1 2 3 "Rail freight's Super 16". Freight on Rail. Retrieved 31 January 2013.
  4. The draft Local Transport Bill and the Transport Innovation Fund: Ninth Report of Session 2006-2007. House of Commons Transport Committee. 3 August 2007. ISBN   9780215035851 . Retrieved 31 January 2013.
  5. "Update on rail repair – Hatfield & Stainforth – 17 May 2013". Network Rail. 17 May 2013. Archived from the original on 14 July 2014. Retrieved 12 July 2013.
  6. "New £3.6m bridge opens at Suggitt's Lane in Cleethorpes". North-East Lincolnshire Council. 18 March 2022. Retrieved 22 March 2022.
  7. "Rail line reopens after landslip". BBC News. 8 July 2013. Retrieved 26 April 2018.
  8. "UPDATE: Train derailed near Scunthorpe - lines blocked". Scunthorpe Telegraph. 7 August 2015. Retrieved 7 August 2015.
  9. "Derailment at Santon near Foreign Ore Branch Junction, Scunthorpe". Rail Accident Investigation Branch. 10 December 2014. Retrieved 7 August 2015.