Sheffield–Lincoln line
Kiveton Bridge station
Overview
Status	Operational
Owner	Network Rail
Locale	East Midlands Yorkshire and the Humber
Termini	Sheffield Lincoln (main line), Cleethorpes (Brigg Branch)
Stations	11 (main Line), 20 (Brigg branch)
Service
Type	Heavy rail
System	National Rail
Operator(s)	Northern East Midlands Railway
Rolling stock	Class 170 "Turbostar" Class 158 "Express Sprinter" Class 195 "Civity" Class 150 "Sprinter"
Technical
Track length	48 miles (77 km) (main line) 72 miles (116 km) (Brigg branch)
Number of tracks	Two (One on sections on Brigg branch)
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in)standard gauge
Electrification	No
Operating speed	60 miles per hour (97 km/h) (Max.)
Route map (Click to expand)

v t e Sheffield to Lincoln Line
Legend
Midland Main,Hallam &Penistone Lines Sheffield Woodhead Line Midland Main Line Dearne Valley line toRotherham Central Darnall Woodhouse Beighton Great Central Main Line Midland Main Line (Old Road) Great Central Main Line Waleswood Kiveton Bridge Kiveton Park South Yorkshire Jt Rly toDoncaster Shireoaks Robin Hood Line toSutton Parkway Worksop sidings Worksop Checker House East Coast Main Line toDoncaster High Level East Coast Main Line toNewark Retford Low Level Clarborough Tunnel Sturton West Burton power stations Leverton Doncaster–Lincoln line toDoncaster Cottam power stations West Trent Junction Cottam River Trent Torksey Viaduct East Trent Junction Torksey Main Line Brigg Branch Gainsborough Lea Road Gainsborough Central Lea Stow Park Blyton Sykes Junction Saxilby Northorpe Lancashire, Derbyshire & East Coast Railway Skellingthorpe Kirton Lindsey Fossdyke Navigation Kirton Tunnel Pyewipe Junction Nottingham–Lincoln line toNewark Castle Boulthem Junction West Holmes Junction Scawby Lincoln Peterborough–Lincoln line toSleaford Brigg Grimsby–Lincoln– Newark line South Humberside ML toCleethorpes S Humberside ML toDoncaster S Humberside ML toDoncaster Barnetby Brocklesby Barton line toBarton-on-Humber Habrough Stallingborough Healing Great Coates Barton Line toImmingham Docks Grimsby Town East Lincolnshire Rly toLouth Grimsby Docks New Clee Cleethorpes

TheSheffield–Lincoln line is arailway line inEngland. It runs fromSheffield toLincoln viaWorksop,Retford andGainsborough Lea Road. The route comprises the main line of the formerManchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway (MS&LR), to Gainsborough Trent Junction, where it then follows the formerGreat 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 toCleethorpes. 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.^[1]

In the 1950s the line crossed theA1 single-carriageway, at a level crossing, known as Checker House. As part of the Retford bypass, from late 1957, a dual-carriageway bridge was built byRobert McGregor & Sons.^[2][3] The £144,067 improvement was called Five Lane Ends to North of Checkerhouse, the formerChecker House railway station.

Previously there were quarter mile queues on the A1 at this level crossing.^[4]

The line comprises two passenger routes: the main line route from Sheffield to Lincoln and a branch line route running from Sheffield to Cleethorpes, using the Brigg branch line from Gainsborough Trent Junction.^[5] North of Gainsborough Central the Brigg branch line primarily carries freight trains to/from thePort of Immingham.

The route largely follows the formerMS&LR main line, until Trent Junction, Gainsborough where it goes on to follow the formerGNGEJR line to Lincoln.

• Sheffield
• Darnall
• Woodhouse
• Kiveton Bridge
• Kiveton Park
• Shireoaks
• Worksop
  • connections withRobin Hood Line
• Retford
  • connections withECML services at Retford
    • Joined byDoncaster-Lincoln Line at West Trent Junction.
    • Diverges from the former MSLR main line and joins the former GMGEJR line, now the main route line at East Trent Junction.
• Gainsborough Lea Road
  • connections withDoncaster–Lincoln line
• Saxilby
• Lincoln Central

An hourly service provided byNorthern runs along this route.Additional services provided byEast Midlands Railway serve the section between Lincoln and Gainsborough Lea Road en route to Doncaster.

This route follows the former MS&LR main line to Cleethorpes.

• Sheffield
• Darnall
• Woodhouse
• Kiveton Bridge
• Kiveton Park
• Shireoaks
• Worksop
  • connections withWorksop–Nottingham line
• Retford
  • connections withECML services at Retford
    • Continues on the former MS&LR main line, now Brigg Branch Line, from East Trent Junction.
• Gainsborough Central
• Kirton Lindsey
• Brigg
  • Joins theSouth Humberside Main Line (fromHatfield and Stainforth) andGrimsby–Lincoln–Newark line (fromMarket Rasen)
• Barnetby
  • connections withSouth TransPennine route andNottingham–Grimsby line
    • Joined by theBarton line (fromBarton-on-Humber)
• Habrough
  • connections withBarton on Humber–Cleethorpes line
• Grimsby Town
• Cleethorpes

On weekdays, a single daily service Sheffield and Gainsborough Central is provided byNorthern. This was introduced in the May 2023 timetable change and is the first regular weekday service to run on the Brigg branch since 1993.^[6] Passenger services along the entire route only ran on Saturdays previously, when Northern operated three services each way between Sheffield and Cleethorpes. At Barnetby, the route is joined by theSouth Humberside Main Line and the section between there and Cleethorpes is also served by hourly trains fromLiverpool Lime Street, operated byTransPennine Express.

The Brigg Branch line is single track from Barnetby to Brigg, and Kirton Tunnel to Thonock (North of Gainsborough Central) with a passing loop at Northorpe. Other sections are double track.

Clarborough Junction is about 3.75 miles (6.04 km) east of Retford.^[7] ThisSheffield and Lincolnshire Junction Railway branch had originally been proposed in 1844.^[8] It opened on 7 August 1850^[9]

The line diverged from the MS&LR main line at Clarborough junction ran throughLeverton,Cottam andTorksey to Sykes Junction (located about 1.3 miles (2.1 km) northwest of Saxilby). Services from Sheffield via the branch line to Lincoln, then continuing to Grimsby and Cleethorpes via Market Rasen, used to operate along the line. Opening of the line was delayed for four months by controversy over the safety ofTorksey Viaduct. It is now a Grade II listed structure, though the line closed to passengers on 2 November 1959.^[10]

In 1967 the line was reopened from Clarborough Junction to Cottam to serveCottam power stations and is now solely used for freight traffic. On reopening, Clarborough Junction signalbox was closed and control passed toThrumpton, and the two level crossings were converted toautomatic half barriers.^{[11][full citation needed]} The Thrumpton box was rebuilt in 2014.^[12]

With the closure of Cottam power station in 2019, the line has since remained disused with it. The final train to travel over this branchline was "The Cottam Farewell" railtour, which travelled over the line on 28 September 2019. The train line is still classed as "Live" despite no trains passing down the line since this date. Mandatory inspections and patrols still take place of which are done on foot, however there are no official plans to reopen the line for passenger or freight traffic as of March 2023.^[13]

• On 9 December 1983,a freight train collided at low speed with the side of a local passenger train at Wrawby Junction. The first carriage of the passenger train was derailed and turned over onto its side, and one passenger was killed instantly.^[14]
• On 28 February 2007, anEWS freight train derailed at a set of points between Lincoln Central train station and Lincoln High Street level crossing. There were no injuries.^[15]
• On 27 April 2012, aNorthern Rail passenger train running the Lincoln-Adwick route derailed as it was leaving Clarborough Tunnel on the Retford side. This was due to a landslip onto the line. The driver and a passenger were taken to hospital with minor injuries.^[16]
• 4 December 2012, aNorthern Rail Passenger train running a Scunthorpe-Lincoln route, struck and fatally injured a worker on the tracks near Saxilby.^[17]
• On 30 June 2015, aDB Schenker freight train was derailed near the site ofLangworth station, on the Lincoln-Grimsby line.^[18]

The line is operated byNorthern Trains, which mainly utilisesClass 195 sets (thoughClass 150 DMUs can also appear^[19]). From Gainsborough Trent Junction (where the line fromDoncaster joins) eastwards to Lincoln,Class 158 andClass 170 units operated byEast Midlands Railway share the route beyond West Trent Junction with trains to/from Doncaster.

Most freight traffic using the line will leave this line and join theDoncaster to Lincoln line at West Trent Junction. With the closure of bothWest Burton Power Station andCottam Power Station freight traffic west of West Trent Junction has ceased, aside from occasional freight diversions through the night.

TheSheffield and Lincolnshire Junction Railway (S&LJR) (laterGreat Central Railway (GCR), now the Sheffield–Lincoln line) was the first railway in Retford, arriving on 6 July 1849. This was then joined by theGreat Northern Railway (GNR) line fromDoncaster, arriving on 4 September 1849 with the GNR crossing the S&LJR at aflat crossing. This flat crossing caused congestion as trains could not run on both lines at the same time; this was to become a bigger problem when theWest Burton andCottam power stations were built, as they would require 5 million imperial tons (approx. 5 million tonnes) of coal a year, to be sourced from theNational Coal Board's coalfields in the East Midlands and North East. The flat crossing also placed a speed restriction on express trains using the GNR line.^[20]

In order to alleviate these problems adive-under was constructed, by which the GCR passed under a new bridge which the GNR passed over. Construction started in 1963 and was completed in 1965. During construction, trains continued to use the flat crossing. Upon completion of the dive-under the flat crossing was finally removed on 13 June 1965, allowing through trains on the GNR to run at normal operating speeds, and allowing trains to run on both lines simultaneously.^[21] The approach slopes into the dive-under's 2,160 feet (660 m) long channel have a gradient of 1 in 100 on the east and 1 in 133 on the west side.^[21]

• Rail transport in Nottinghamshire
• Rail transport in Lincolnshire
• Rail transport in South Yorkshire
• Rail transport in Sheffield
• Lincoln, England
• Railway lines in the East Midlands
• Railway lines in Yorkshire and the Humber
• Standard gauge railways in England

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• Articles with short description
• Short description matches Wikidata
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• Use British English from December 2021
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• Articles with incomplete citations from May 2023