Spalding to Boston Link: A New Idea

[DeltaAustralia]

People often talk about getting back a line from Spalding to Boston, but because the original was closed in the Beeching Cuts and lost under the A16 road - coupled with the fact that there are several drains and/or rivers for such a line to cross with no existing bridges - this may prove difficult.

I've come up with this, and - despite a longer journey than what people may have in mind for a Spalding-Boston line - I think it'd be cheaper than trying to connect the two around the original alignment.


So, we're connecting the GNGE with the Sleaford-Boston line using this big chord.

Joining the Sleaford-Boston line with a junction at this angle is much harder the closer to Boston you go because the line runs right on the bank of Great Hale Eau and South Forty-Foot Drain for most of the way to Boston. But here, it allows for the GNGE to connect with the Sleaford to Boston line, reconnecting Spalding and Boston with less new track required. The double blue line just above it is a bridge over the South Forty-Foot Drain.

A new station is depicted to serve Helpringham and Little Hale, along with a suitable access road (black dot with beige line drawn to it). Why is a station here a good idea, when Heckington isn't far away? Because Heckington is not on the GNGE, for a start, so Helpringham people would have to go to Sleaford, and Helpringham's old station on the GNGE doesn't give them access to the Boston and Skegness route.
The station proposed here, if served by trains between Boston and Spalding/Peterborough, would mean that all four of these villages (mainly for Helpringham) have a station that serves both lines easily.

There are a couple of minor roads that would have to be crossed (by bridges, obviously), and therefore probably aren't ideal for being approach roads to stations, unless any of you think so.

What do you think of this idea? Do you think it'd be viable?

Thanks!

 

[adamedwards]

Questions:

• How big is Helpringham as I am guessing it might not be large enough to justify it's own station? Is there any school/college traffic to Boston?
• And if that is the case are the curves too tight to go west of Helpringham which would enable the chord to serve Heckington and a new Helpringham on both the new and Lincoln lines (which then makes it more viable)?

Having said that a chord in this area makes perfect sense as a low cost way to put the line back. Just needs a bit of those Levelling Up funds.

 

[A0]

What do you think of this idea? Do you think it'd be viable?

No, not viable - and not solving any problems which actually need solving.

 

[Mcr Warrior]

How big is Helpringham as I am guessing it might not be large enough to justify its own station?

Online resources give an estimated population for Helpringham of c. 800-900.

Soham, which recently had a station re-opened on the already open Ely->Ipswich line, has a population of c. 9,000-11,000, FWIW.

 

[zwk500]

Why a chord instead of reversing at Sleaford?

 

[Glenn1969]

Do Helpringham, Little Hale and Great Hale combined have the population to justify a station?

I would have thought if any Lincs line made a reopening list it would be the one through Louth and Thoresby not this one ?

 

[zwk500]

Do Helpringham, Little Hale and Great Hale combined have the population to justify a station?

I would have thought if any Lincs line made a reopening list it would be the one through Louth and Thoresby not this one ?

Great Hale is already adjacent to Heckington station, and Little Hale has a population of 207 according to Wikipedia. so no, they do not have the population to sustain a station.

I know it's off-topic, but given you can't reopen the line straight through Louth would you rather connect it to Boston or Grimsby?

 

[Glenn1969]

Great Hale is already adjacent to Heckington station, and Little Hale has a population of 207 according to Wikipedia. so no, they do not have the population to sustain a station.

I know it's off-topic, but given you can't reopen the line straight through Louth would you rather connect it to Boston or Grimsby?

Probably Grimsby?

 

[class26]

There is a proposal being touted by some people (Greengauge 21 - east coast connectivity document) to do something similar but to leave the Boston line at the forty foot drain after Swinehead and follow the drain until it meets the Joint Line. This, coupled with reopening between Louth and Firsby would give Louth / Boston to Peterborough direct service but of course would omit Sleaford.
. This would allow for a gentler curve than above but would need more track. i suspect the proposal by the OP has too fierce a radius and require slowing to a low speed.
Little hale is too small to bother with. On the Joint Line Donington, a much larger village can`t seem to get its station reopened so Little hale doesn`t stand much chance and as someone above said, it is very close to Heckington.

 

[PTR 444]

Why not just reverse at Sleaford?

 

[class26]

Why not just reverse at Sleaford?

An option and most likely I would say given the cost of a new line. There will be lots of streams and drains to cross. it`s just the time factor for reversing at Sleaford but I would think that would be overlooked as Sleaford is too important to be missed out of any service coming from Louth / Boston south.

 

[Jorge Da Silva]

Probably Grimsby?

Sadly that’s impossible

 

[GrimsbyPacer]

Eastern Lincolnshire is rather rural, and so someone will say it doesn't deserve rail funding because more urban areas are also lacking funding for good schemes sadly.
Nevertheless, rail is a great way to improve the prospects of an area, and a simple Peterborough to Sleaford and Skegness service, and a Boston to Lincoln and then Grimsby service would have some benefits even if the multiple unit train loses money.
Ofcourse the area most in need of a train is Louth and Mablethorpe, but the case for any attempt at building a line there is doomed unless existing track in Boston is made busier first.

 

[class26]

Well Okehampton`s population is under 6,000 according to wiki whereas Louth`s is around 17,000. OK , the track was still in place with the Devon example so it isn`t the same
The Boston line would be more used if the timetable was more attractive. Just look at connections at Sleaford for Lincoln or Grantham for the north or London. Hopeless. Most drive to the main line. One simple example will sum it up.
I live in Heckington and use the train where possible but especially going north beyond Leeds is a trial. Local train to Grantham then wait , often 40 or more minutes, then LNER to Newark. Wait again for the Edinburgh train so more than 2 hours after leaving my house I am only 20 miles away from my house . Newark is under 30 minutes drive. Few are going to use the train and many do not even consider it because of lamentable connections. OK, there are times when a connection works but it seems this is more fluke than planned and if there are decent connections one hour why not repeat throughout the day ?
AS a first step I would argue to a second hourly service going from Boston alternately to Peterborough and D9oncaster that properly connect with LNER trains and then advertise the fact. This train could also take in the stations that currently get omitted because the present train would take too long to reach Nottingham if it stopped at too many stations and by doing so might allow the Grantham train to stop more at Rauceby and Ancaster where passenger numbers (especially Rauceby) have been growing very well ( Many new houses are being built at Rauceby)

One further point. The lone is used more than many think . Passenger figures maybe do not reflect useage as far too many times the fares unstaffed stations are not taken, the guard not bothering to do the job. This was emdemic pre Covid also. i recall a time about 3 years ago then i had 6 consecutive free journeys. There are times when countless passengers do not pay, especially on a Saturday . If the guard sees too many boarding they simply do not bother. I quickly add i always volunteer my fare at the other end but many do not, especially as Sleaford ticket office closes around 1.00 pm !!!

 

[daodao]

No, not viable - and not solving any problems which actually need solving.

Sadly true. Although Lincolnshire has clearly suffered by closure of the Grimsby-Louth-Boston-Peterborough main line north of Spalding, it is too thinly populated to sustain rail enhancements.

Brylaine, who run the bus service between Boston and Spalding, have just announced that they are suspending the entire Saturday service on this route (there are no Sunday buses).

Proposed local rail service developments that do not serve a significant city have no realistic prospect of happening. This proposal does not meet many of @Altnabreac's golden rules for a successful rail reopening:

1. Population of 10,000+
2. 60 minutes (75 at a push) journey time of a major employment centre.
3. Extant or mainly unobstructed trackbed
4. Ability to extend an existing service so more terminal capacity is not required
5. Regeneration potential to justify public investment
6. Housing growth demand to create both demand and developer contributions.
7. Any extension / diversion should have the effect of generating more passengers than it loses.

 

[A0]

Sadly true. Although Lincolnshire has clearly suffered by closure of the Grimsby-Louth-Boston-Peterborough main line north of Spalding, it is too thinly populated to sustain rail enhancements.

Brylaine, who run the bus service between Boston and Spalding, have just announced that they are suspending the entire Saturday service on this route (there are no Sunday buses).

Proposed local rail service developments that do not serve a significant city have no realistic prospect of happening. This proposal does not meet many of @Altnabreac's golden rules for a successful rail reopening:

1. Population of 10,000+
2. 60 minutes (75 at a push) journey time of a major employment centre.
3. Extant or mainly unobstructed trackbed
4. Ability to extend an existing service so more terminal capacity is not required
5. Regeneration potential to justify public investment
6. Housing growth demand to create both demand and developer contributions.
7. Any extension / diversion should have the effect of generating more passengers than it loses.

You'll have to justify the bit in bold - where's the evidence that East Lincs has "suffered" ? Most of the area is agricultural land and relatively lightly populated. Had the rail line survived there would have been pressure for significant housing and other development near it - would that have been what the local communities wanted?

The most deprived areas of Lincs - Cleethorpes, Grimsby etc are of course rail linked with links to both Lincoln and also west to Sheffield and beyond.

 

[daodao]

You'll have to justify the bit in bold - where's the evidence that East Lincs has "suffered" ? Most of the area is agricultural land and relatively lightly populated. Had the rail line survived there would have been pressure for significant housing and other development near it - would that have been what the local communities wanted?

The most deprived areas of Lincs - Cleethorpes, Grimsby etc are of course rail linked with links to both Lincoln and also west to Sheffield and beyond.

East Lincs has become isolated by the closure of the East Lincs main line, with no significant road upgrades. That on its own causes deprivation because of lack of easy access to facilities that cosmopolitan city dwellers take for granted. Similar consequences have occurred in other rural areas suffering widespread rail closures such as North Cornwall, Buchan, much of Ulster (5 of its 9 counties) and (until the Waverley line was partly re-opened) the Scottish Borders.

While Grimsby/Cleethorpes still has rail links, passenger services to the south are poor, and shortly before rail privatisation BR withdrew the thrice daily through Cleethorpes-Lincoln-King's Cross trains, introduced to replace the direct expresses via Louth when the East Lincs line closed in 1970.

More details of the transport issues in East Lincs can be found in a recent report published by the Greengauge 21 Group available at http://www.greengauge21.net/wp-content/uploads/Connecting-East-Lincolnshire-Greengauge-21-FINAL.pdf

"Connecting East Lincolnshire - A case study in meeting the connectivity needs of a rural and coastal area at a time of climate crisis"

I don't necessarily agree with its conclusions/recommendations though. National Express used to run a daily coach service from Mablethorpe (East Lincolnshire) to London, but it was withdrawn pre-Covid in late 2019, suggesting that there is little market for all-year-round long distance public transport to/from the capital.

 

[backontrack]

I think, if anything, the rail imperative for Boston would be gaining a direct service to Lincoln - which is already theoretically possible with the present rail resources. It's just about finding a path down the Joint Line between Lincoln and Sleaford.

Lincolnshire...is too thinly populated to sustain rail enhancements.

I don't agree with this as a blanket statement. Line reopenings are perhaps difficult to justify, but perhaps the existing resources could be managed better.

I also think that intermediate stations are perhaps justified in some areas.

• Washingborough, Heighington and Branston - to the east of Lincoln - have a combined population of over 10,000, and so there may be potential for a new station in Washingborough on the Joint Line.
• Cherry Willingham, near Lincoln on the line to Grimsby, has a population of over 3,000 but there are plans for considerable expansion.
• Pinchbeck, to the north of Spalding, exceeds 5,000 people and is right on the line. It would benefit from reconnection, and is also a tad closer to Bourne than any station is at present (although in reality most would drive to Peterborough).
• Donington, as mentioned upthread.

Realistically four stations is a bit excessive - it might be wise to build one station east of Lincoln, and one station north of Spalding. But I wouldn't argue against rail enhancements in general - new track is a stretch however.

 

[DeltaAustralia]

I also think that intermediate stations are perhaps justified in some areas.

• Washingborough, Heighington and Branston - to the east of Lincoln - have a combined population of over 10,000, and so there may be potential for a new station in Washingborough on the Joint Line.

I'm actually undergoing a major campaign for Branston and Heighington Station to reopen (I've got the support of the three local parish councils, as well as a lot of the public). It was apparently being talked about even before my presentation on 13 December.

 

[backontrack]

I'm actually undergoing a major campaign for Branston and Heighington Station to reopen (I've got the support of the three local parish councils, as well as a lot of the public). It was apparently being talked about even before my presentation on 13 December.

That's excellent! Wishing you the best for your campaign. Some promising signs, there

 

[DeltaAustralia]

Would it be useful to have a service to connect Spalding and Boston which reverses at Sleaford instead of this idea, as some of you said?

That's excellent! Wishing you the best for your campaign. Some promising signs, there

Thank you! And yes, it is going well. When I provided a survey in the local mag in October, I had the first page and 100+ replies!

 

[MarkyT]

While I think the idea is interesting, just to link two fairly small towns directly where rail can be used already with a change is unlikely to justify the investment and ongoing OPEX without some major changes to the economy and demographics of the area. Perhaps if the current UK 'Government' proposed relocating some major civil service departments to Boston to become more Brexitty, a proposal for a new link might be justified to allow a direct service from London. I would suggest building it further east though, diverging just past Donington and staying east of the 40ft drain, which while involving more new track would reduce total distance between the two towns. Wouldn't bother with new stations on the new alignment. Donington seems a reasonable location for a new passenger facility though which could also be served by the joint line trains.

 

[DeltaAustralia]

Great Hale is already adjacent to Heckington station, and Little Hale has a population of 207 according to Wikipedia. so no, they do not have the population to sustain a station.

I know it's off-topic, but given you can't reopen the line straight through Louth would you rather connect it to Boston or Grimsby?

I used to be local to Louth, and it is a large town, yes. Sadly, there is none of its trackbed still intact, so - without removing homes - there is no room for a station close enough to the town centre.

Donington seems a reasonable location for a new passenger facility though which could also be served by the joint line trains.

I agree with that. There's a lot of support for Donington's station, I'll say that.

This, coupled with reopening between Louth and Firsby would give Louth / Boston to Peterborough direct service but of course would omit Sleaford.

Louth should get a line back, and Louth to Firsby is probably the only one that's viable; the section between Keddington Road and Holton-le-Clay is preserved, but privately owned by the LWR. The line towards Bardney probably can't reopen because there's no line at Bardney to connect to, so you'd have to extend back to Lincoln.

LNER are planning on introducing some of its London to Lincoln services that go onwards to Cleethorpes, but Grimsby and Cleethorpes will probably never reconnect to Louth because the A16 was built on the trackbed (on-topic point: the same happened with the Boston to Spalding line), and finding new routes is expensive.

 

[A0]

I used to be local to Louth, and it is a large town, yes. Sadly, there is none of its trackbed still intact, so - without removing homes - there is no room for a station close enough to the town centre.

Louth has a population of 16,000 - that is *not* a large town. A large town is at least 50,000.

In Lincs it's the 12th largest place.

 

[daodao]

Donington seems a reasonable location for a new passenger facility though which could also be served by the joint line trains.

That is a reasonable proposal, but it doesn't need a new line, just a station re-opening. It could be marketed as Donington & Boston Parkway.

Louth should get a line back, and Louth to Firsby is probably the only one that's viable; the section between Keddington Road and Holton-le-Clay is preserved, but privately owned by the LWR. The line towards Bardney probably can't reopen because there's no line at Bardney to connect to, so you'd have to extend back to Lincoln.

Louth has a population of 16,000 - that is *not* a large town. A large town is at least 50,000. In Lincs it's the 12th largest place.

Bids to re-open the Louth-Firsby line and Mablethorpe were made in the 3rd round of the "Restoring Your Railway" competition for funds, and were unsuccessful (not surprisingly).

@backontrack "We should not be closing rail in 2021."

That would have been hasty, but sadly there will be a need to close/mothball lines in 2022.

 

[Doctor Fegg]

Proposed local rail service developments that do not serve a significant city have no realistic prospect of happening. This proposal does not meet many of @Altnabreac's golden rules for a successful rail reopening:

1. Population of 10,000+
2. 60 minutes (75 at a push) journey time of a major employment centre.
3. Extant or mainly unobstructed trackbed
4. Ability to extend an existing service so more terminal capacity is not required
5. Regeneration potential to justify public investment
6. Housing growth demand to create both demand and developer contributions.
7. Any extension / diversion should have the effect of generating more passengers than it loses.

These criteria are and always have been a series of astute observations, but I'd note that Okehampton fails on 1, 4, 5, and 6, and yet...

 

[MarkyT]

That is a reasonable proposal, but it doesn't need a new line, just a station re-opening. It could be marketed as Donington & Boston Parkway.

True. I said in my earlier post the new line was unlikely to make any sense whatsoever without some serious development in the Boston area. The reason I find the proposal interesting is that instead of just saying let's reinstate the original route, the OP has sensibly looked at other alternatives that might deliver similar outputs. That's a good template for other more viable projects, if not here. Donington station (can't stand the parkway nomenclature - every vaguely rural station today needs a good car park) I agree is a separate consideration and was probably a casualty of a Beeching era policy to remove all local calls on the route in question, in contrast to the Skeggy line which seems to have retained many if not all of its more minor interim stops. A single extra call for modern MUs on the 'joint' shouldn't add significantly to journey times unlike the situation in late steam/early diesel days.

 

[daodao]

True. I said in my earlier post the new line was unlikely to make any sense whatsoever without some serious development in the Boston area. The reason I find the proposal interesting is that instead of just saying let's reinstate the original route, the OP has sensibly looked at other alternatives that might deliver similar outputs. That's a good template for other more viable projects, if not here. Donington station (can't stand the parkway nomenclature - every vaguely rural station today needs a good car park) I agree is a separate consideration and was probably a casualty of a Beeching era policy to remove all local calls on the route in question, in contrast to the Skeggy line which seems to have retained many if not all of its more minor interim stops. A single extra call for modern MUs on the 'joint' shouldn't add significantly to journey times unlike the situation in late steam/early diesel days.

I agree that constructing a chord between the Sleaford-Boston line and the GN/GE joint line would be an innovative and sensible way to attempt to re-connect Boston and Spalding by rail, given that the A16 has subsumed much of the former alignment, but I'm not convinced that the likely demand would warrant such construction.

All the remaining smaller stations (bar Saxilby) on the Joint line between Doncaster and March closed in 1961 (i.e. pre-Beeching; the very minor ones had closed earlier), leaving just 3 all year buffet car expresses (including the North Country Continental) from East Anglia to the north of England, plus summer Saturday holiday trains to places such as Great Yarmouth, and freight traffic. The local passenger service on the joint line was never very frequent - just 4 trains per day each way in 1922. Ruskington and Metheringham stations re-opened in 1975. I would support re-opening of a station at Donington - it is a fairly large village with a population of 2800 and a secondary school.

 

[backontrack]

@backontrack "We should not be closing rail in 2021."

That would have been hasty, but sadly there will be a need to do close/mothball lines in 2022.

I disagree with need, it's a choice. And although we shouldn't contemplate closing any route that isn't already parliamentary, at a push, I don't think Brigg or Snaith are making it to 2025. And perhaps that's for the best.

Perhaps Altnabreac's rules come in handy here too - although then again, there's Okehampton...

You could probably draw up a weakened variation of Altnabreac's rules for the closure of lines. Clearly it's not a matter of justifying an expensive investment on a new line, but instead justifying maintaining existing levels of expenditure.

1. Serves a total population of over 10,000.
2. Provides at least 8,000 people with a 60-75 minute service to a major regional centre.
3. Serves a region that would be isolated from public transport without the railway.
4. Provides a connection to an onwards transport link - eg ferries.
5. Does not obstruct simple timetabling, is not regularly impassable, and does not tie up rolling stock unnecessarily.
6. Would not be more useful if converted to tram or light rail.
7. Maintains at least 4tpd Monday-Saturday at present.

There's nuances I haven't included, like tourist potential for example. It'll be easier to judge this kind of thing once we've had a gander at post-covid flow patterns.

But there we are; seven criteria. A railway line has to pass four of them to justify its continued staying open - if we're pushed then we can make that 5/7.

So Brigg scores 2/7, Snaith scores 2/7, Pontefract Baghill scores 3/7, Denton scores 3/7, Conwy Valley scores 3/7, Barton scores 4/7, Blackpool South scores 4/7, Colne scores 5/7.

Rail closures are a slippery slope, and I'm sceptical of anyone who's particularly trigger-happy.

 

[High Dyke]

I doubt the cost of constructing a chord from Helpringham towards Boston would be beneficial. Consideration for upgrading the single line between Hubberts Bridge & Boston also needs to given, with regards to capacity along that route.