The Anonymous Widower

Beeching Reversal – More Stopping Services At Radcliffe-on-Trent And Bottesford Stations On The Poacher Line Between Grantham And Nottingham

This is one of the Beeching Reversal projects that the Government and Network Rail are proposing to reverse some of the Beeching cuts.

It is one of a pair of submissions from the local MP; Alicia Kearns. The other is Increased Services To Nottingham And Leicester, via Syston And Loughborough From Melton Mowbray.

When I heard of the MP’s submissions, I wrote MP Campaigns To Extend Train Services For Melton Borough and the following uses that post as a starting point.

Wikipedia says this about services at Bottesford station on the Poacher Line.

• The service is generally every two hours to Nottingham in the West and Skegness in the East.
• Some trains call at Grantham and have a connection to the East Coast Main Line.
• LNER services at Grantham connect to Doncaster, King’s Cross, Leeds, Lincoln, Peterborough, Stevenage, Wakefield and York.
• Bottesford is in the Borough of Melton and their is no direct rail service between Bottesford and Melton. A typical journey takes over two-and-a-half hours with two changes, that can include a wait of an hour at Leicester station.
• Bottesford is in the County of Leicester. There is no direct rail service between Bottesford and Leicester.

I think the MP has a point and an improved and more frequent service at Bottesford could be very beneficial.

• Many routes like this in the UK have a regular hourly service. Coastal stations with a regular hourly or better service include Blackpool South, Cleethorpes, Cromer, Exmouth, Felixstowe, Kings Lynn, Paignton, Scarborough and Sheringham
• I suspect many communities along the Poacher Line would benefit from a regular hourly service.
• All services calling at Grantham for East Coast Main Line services would be useful.
• Do services have a good interchange at Nottingham for Midland Main Line services?

Replacing 75 mph Class 153 and Class 156 trains with 100 mph Class 170 trains would probably be a big help.

Conclusion

It looks like improvements at Bottesford would not require any new expensive infrastructure.

But East Midlands Railway would need more trains and they would probably need to be faster too!

August 22, 2020 - Posted by AnonW | Transport/Travel | Beeching Reversal, Class 170 Train, East Midlands Railway, Poacher Line