Grantham railway station
Grantham  | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Location | |
| Place | Grantham |
| Local authority | District of South Kesteven |
| Coordinates | 52°54′22″N 0°38′31″W / 52.906°N 0.642°WCoordinates: 52°54′22″N 0°38′31″W / 52.906°N 0.642°W |
| Grid reference | SK914351 |
| Operations | |
| Station code | GRA |
| Managed by | Virgin Trains East Coast |
| Number of platforms | 4 |
| DfT category | C1 |
|
Live arrivals/departures, station information and onward connections from National Rail Enquiries | |
| Annual rail passenger usage* | |
| 2010/11 |
 1.071 million |
| 2011/12 |
1.120 million |
| 2012/13 |
1.152 million |
| 2013/14 |
1.198 million |
| 2014/15 |
1.260 million |
| History | |
| Key dates | Opened 1852 |
| 1906 | Grantham rail accident |
| 1988 | East Coast Electrification |
| 2006 | Allington Chord opened |
| National Rail – UK railway stations | |
| * Annual estimated passenger usage based on sales of tickets in stated financial year(s) which end or originate at Grantham from Office of Rail and Road statistics. Methodology may vary year on year. | |
 UK Railways portal | |
Grantham railway station serves the town of Grantham in Lincolnshire, England and lies on the East Coast Main Line (ECML) 105.5 miles (170 km) north of London King's Cross.
Description
Junctions near the town also connect to branches to Nottingham, and to Sleaford and Skegness. The station was opened in 1852, and 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 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 Trains. 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 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.[1]
The journey to London King's Cross takes a little over an hour, with trains provided by Virgin Trains East Coast and Hull Trains
In May 2009 National Express East Coast installed ticket barriers.
Services
History
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Line opening
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 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.[2]
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 north of Grantham, to Sleaford in 1857, and on to Boston in 1859. This railway 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 a Grantham to Leicester service via this route.
Line closure
The Leicester service ceased in 1953.
The Lincoln line was a victim of the Beeching cuts and closed in 1965. Beeching originally envisaged the Lincoln line being retained, without any intermediate stations, as it formed part of the main route from London to Lincoln. Instead, Lincoln trains were diverted via Newark using a new connection between the ECML and the Nottingham to Lincoln line.[3]
| Preceding station | Historical railways | Following station | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Great Ponton Line open, station closed |
Great Northern Railway East Coast main line |
Barkston Line open, station closed | ||
| Terminus | Great Northern Railway Grantham to Boston |
Barkston Line open, station closed | ||
| Terminus | Great Northern Railway Grantham to Lincoln |
Barkston Line open, station closed | ||
| Terminus | Great Northern Railway Grantham to Nottingham |
Sedgebrook Line open, station closed | ||
| Terminus | Great Northern Railway Grantham to Leicester Belgrave Road |
Sedgebrook Line open, station closed | ||
Accidents and incidents
- Main article: Grantham rail crash
- On 19 September 1906, a sleeper train was derailed after overrunning signals and passing through the station at excessive speed, fourteen people were killed and seventeen were injured.
References
- ↑ "£12 MILLION NEW RAILWAY STRIKES HARMONIOUS CHORD FOR PASSENGERS". Network Rail. 13 October 2005. Retrieved 24 March 2016.
- ↑ Butt, R.V.J. (1995). The Directory of Railway Stations. Yeovil: Patrick Stephens Ltd. p. 108. ISBN 1-85260-508-1. R508.
- ↑ Leleux, Robin (1976). A Regional history of the railways of Great Britain: The East Midlands. Newton Abbot: David and Charles. ISBN 978-0-7153-7165-7.
- Whittaker, Nicholas (1995). "Chapter 4". Platform Souls. London: Gollancz.
External links
- Train times and station information for Grantham railway station from National Rail
- Pathe newsreel, 1947. Experimental snowplough at Grantham
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Grantham railway station. |