23-789: The Grantham–Skegness line , promoted originally as the Poacher Line , runs for 55 miles (89 km) between Grantham and Skegness in Lincolnshire , England . Trains on this route generally operate hourly from Nottingham to Skegness via the Nottingham to Grantham Line , with additional slower stopping services at peak times. The line is operated by East Midlands Railway , using Class 170 Turbostar and Class 158 Express Sprinter diesel multiple units . The East Lincolnshire Railway from Boston to Louth opened in March 1848;
46-764: A community rail service in July 2006. Passenger use of the line has grown since becoming a community rail line and the Poacher Line Community Rail Partnership actively promotes the route through marketing promotions, ticketing offers, music trains and guided walks. Redundant space at stations at Sleaford and Boston is being brought back into community use. Members of the Partnership include Lincolnshire County Council , East Midlands Railway, Association of Community Rail Partnerships and Network Rail . Nottinghamshire County Council
69-415: A Grantham to Leicester service via this route. The early life of the station was marred by some unfortunate accidents. On 25 July 1868, William Collins, a GNR cleaner, was run over by a guard's van and killed. On 4 November 1868, John Boswell, aged 80, was wandering along the line near the station when he was killed by a down train. On 23 May 1873, Thomas Robinson, a GNR engine driver, was struck fatally by
92-462: A ballast-engine whilst crossing the yard at the station. On 12 March 1887, Eli Addlesee, a driver, was killed by some wagons being shunted in the station. On 27 November 1898, John William Frisby, a GNR shunter, was killed whilst crossing the line near the station. In 1937, the LNER announced that they planned to lengthen the down platform. At 800 feet (240 m) long it was too short to accommodate
115-515: A branch from Firsby ). This also had a section from here to Woodhall Spa and on to Lincoln . There had never been a direct line built from Skegness to Mablethorpe ; travellers to Mablethorpe would have to go either via the branch line from Willoughby (from the south which opened in October 1886) or Louth (from the north which opened in September 1888). The Skegness part of the line inspired
138-483: A large island platform structure. Platform 3 is a bay platform at the northern end of the station that is used to allow local trains to reverse, while Platform 4 is a two-way platform that is used by East Midlands Railway. Only Platform 1 has amenities, including toilets, refreshments and a buffet. Prior to the reopening of the Allington Chord in 2006, trains for Nottingham – Grantham – Skegness reversed in
161-546: A passing loop at Boston . These were singled in the early 1980s to reduce track maintenance costs. East Midlands Trains took over the operation of all routes in the East Midlands in November 2007 and have in the past expressed an interest in running London – Skegness trains on summer Saturdays. This has been delayed by Network Rail putting back the track repairs between Boston and Skegness to 2010. When part of
184-526: Is an express to Nottingham avoiding Grantham. Grantham to Skegness takes about 1 hour 30 minutes on the Poacher Line . As well as providing the only rail service for Boston and Skegness, the line also provides the most frequent and reliable service from Sleaford to reach London . Sleaford can be accessed by a second route, the Peterborough to Lincoln Line ; however, this has services which do not run late at night nor on Sundays. In 2007, Central Trains ,
207-530: Is situated on the main line between Peterborough to the south and Newark North Gate to the north. Two secondary lines diverge from the main line north of Grantham: the " Poacher Line " to Skegness and a branch line to Nottingham . Its three-letter station code is GRA. The original station at Grantham ( Old Wharf ) was opened when the Ambergate, Nottingham, Boston & Eastern Junction Railway opened its line from Nottingham on 15 July 1850. This line
230-506: The LNER at the start of 1923. When other nearby lines were still open, it became a less important route, except for its section from Boston to Firsby which was shared with the more important Peterborough to Grimsby line, via Louth, until October 1970; this resulted in the line's unusually sharp curve in the track near Firsby where it joins the Skegness line (which was originally opened as
253-514: The famous poster, designed in 1908 for the GNR. Class 156 Super Sprinter DMUs no longer operate on the line, as they have been retired by East Midlands Railway; in 2023, they were replaced with Class 170 Turbostar DMUs. 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 designated formally as
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#1732775348138276-795: The first station master, Thomas Hand, absconded with five days' takings from passengers travelling to the Nottingham Fair. Between 1879 and 1953, Bingham was also served by Bingham Road station on the Great Northern and London and North Western Joint Railway . It was used for London and North Western Railway services between Nottingham London Road and stations to Northampton . From 7 January 1963 passenger steam trains between Grantham, Bottesford, Elton and Orston, Aslockton, Bingham, Radcliffe-on-Trent, Netherfield and Colwick, Nottingham London-road (High Level) and Nottingham (Victoria) were replaced by diesel multiple-unit trains. There
299-411: The increasing length of the main line express trains, and the work would extend it to 950 feet (290 m). At the same time the whole platform length was to be raised to a standard height of 3 feet (0.91 m) and a new awning over the platform opposite the station buildings would be added. Junctions near the town also connect to branches to Nottingham , and to Sleaford and Skegness . The station
322-580: The line was shared with the East Coast Main Line , there was a common bottleneck on the three miles north of Grantham to the Barkston South junction, which held up valuable slots on a more important route. A solution was needed urgently to reroute Poacher Line trains. In October 2005, trains heading for Skegness were diverted back towards Nottingham as far as Allington junction, a new £11 million short section of track, which
345-644: The market town of Bingham , Nottinghamshire , England . The station is 8½ miles (14 km) east of Nottingham on the Nottingham- Skegness Line. The station is operated and served by East Midlands Railway . Passenger services started on 15 July 1850. It is located on the line first opened by the Ambergate, Nottingham, Boston and Eastern Junction Railway and taken over by the Great Northern Railway . The buildings were designed by Thomas Chambers Hine . In 1851
368-609: The section from Grantham to Boston was built by the Boston, Sleaford and Midland Counties Railway , opening in two stages in 1857 and 1859. In due course, both concerns were leased and later absorbed by the Great Northern Railway company. The section from Wainfleet to Skegness opened in August 1873, by the Wainfleet and Firsby Railway Company, later owned by the GNR in the late 1890s). The GNR amalgamated with other railways to create
391-622: The station and travelled along the ECML, crossing the ECML via a flat junction, adding to congestion on the main line. Since the opening of the chord they reverse and travel whence they came using the chord, crossing under the ECML using existing tracks. The journey to London King's Cross takes a little over an hour, with trains provided by London North Eastern Railway and Hull Trains In May 2009 National Express East Coast installed ticket barriers. These have since been removed however. Bingham railway station Bingham railway station serves
414-440: The then operator, announced that longer trains would be used on the line as overcrowding at weekends has become a severe problem. In November 2005, it was reported that the section between Boston and Skegness was unable to take heavier trains although work to enhance the track took place during winter 2009/10. The line is not electrified and is single track from Sleaford to Heckington and Hubbert's Bridge to Sibsey , with
437-477: Was built close to the factory of Richard Hornsby & Sons . It is composed of four platforms; platforms 1 and 2 are on the East Coast Main Line and are responsible for express services between London and Scotland. Platform 1 serves exclusively London King's Cross via Peterborough and Stevenage ; Platform 2 serves cities of northern England and Edinburgh . Platform 2, 3 and 4 are formed from
460-492: Was built to allow trains to head on to the Grantham Avoiding Line. This has increased reliability at the expense of a slightly increased standard journey time. Grantham railway station Grantham railway station is on the East Coast Main Line , serving the market town of Grantham , Lincolnshire, England. It is 105 miles 38 chains (169.7 km) down the line from London King's Cross and
483-509: Was invited to join the partnership and became a full member in 2007. The line is named after the traditional local song, Lincolnshire Poacher . Trains and train crews operating the Poacher Line are based at Boston and Nottingham. Nottingham to Skegness takes between 1 hour 50 minutes and 2 hours 15 minutes. A couple of express Skegness-Sleaford-Nottingham trains run avoiding Grantham ; these also call at Wainfleet , Boston, Heckington and Bingham . The last evening train at 9pm from Skegness
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#1732775348138506-787: Was taken over by the Great Northern Railway in 1854. This was replaced by the present station which opened on 1 August 1852; the Old Wharf station closed the following day. The new station was on the GNR's direct line between Peterborough and Retford (the Towns Line), which was completed in 1852. The alternative route via Boston and Lincoln (the Fens Loop Line ) had already opened in 1850. The Boston, Sleaford and Midland Counties Railway opened their line from Barkston Junction , 2 miles (3.2 km) north of Grantham, to Sleaford in 1857, and on to Boston in 1859. This railway
529-565: Was taken over by the GNR in 1864. The Grantham to Lincoln line, which branched off the Sleaford line at Honington , was opened in 1867. Finally, the Great Northern and London and North Western Joint Railway was opened in 1879. This ran from Market Harborough and Leicester Belgrave Road in the south, through Melton Mowbray to Nottingham and Newark in the north, crossing the Grantham to Nottingham line near Bottesford . The GNR operated
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