| Derwent Valley line | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 An East Midlands Trains Class 156 at Belper, with a service from Matlock to Newark | |||
| Overview | |||
| Status | Operational | ||
| Owner | Network Rail | ||
| Locale | East Midlands | ||
| Termini | |||
| Stations | 8 | ||
| Service | |||
| Type | Heavy rail | ||
| System | National Rail | ||
| Operator(s) | East Midlands Railway | ||
| Depot(s) | Derby | ||
| Rolling stock | |||
| History | |||
| Opened | 1839 | ||
| Technical | |||
| Number of tracks | Double track from Derby to Ambergate Junction, then single track to Matlock | ||
| Character | Branch line | ||
| Track gauge | 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm)standard gauge | ||
| Operating speed | 50 mph | ||
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Derwent Valley line |
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TheDerwent Valley line is a railway line betweenDerby andMatlock inDerbyshire,England. It follows theMidland Main Line as far asAmbergate Junction, just south ofAmbergate; it continues to Matlock, following the course of theRiver Derwent.
The section from Derby to Ambergate was built by theNorth Midland Railway (which ran between Derby andLeeds) and was opened in 1839. Ambergate quickly became busy with tourists alighting for Matlock Bath, who would travel onwards by coach. TheBirmingham and Derby Junction Railway also operated excursions fromBirmingham completing the journey by way of theCromford Canal.
In 1849, theManchester, Buxton, Matlock and Midlands Junction Railway opened from Ambergate and ran as far asRowsley. Lack of finance prevented it from proceeding any further, but Matlock Bath capitalised on its reputation as a tourist town with the appellationLittle Switzerland.
The line was leased jointly by theMidland Railway and theLNWR and, in spite of determined opposition from the latter, the Midland succeeded in reachingManchester in 1867.
The Midland, and later theLMS, regarded it as one of their premier lines, linking Manchester with theEast Midlands andLondon. Indeed, it could be regarded as the originalMidland Main Line carrying such prestige expresses asThe Palatine and thePeaks Express. In the twentieth century, it also carriedThe Midland Pullman. Initially, there was a great deal of parcel traffic, particularly textiles from the various mills, and the line was also immensely important forcoal traffic fromNottinghamshire and Derbyshire to Manchester and, southwards, forlimestone from thePeak District. A largemotive power depot was provided at Rowsley to split trains and providebanking engines for the long haul up toPeak Forest.
With the end of water power for the mills and the introduction of road transport, the parcel traffic disappeared, but minerals remained important until the mid-20th century. In 1968, however, the route from Matlock toBuxton (Midland) was closed during theBeeching Axe.
The line between the quarry north of Matlock and Ambergate remained as a single track carrying a small amount of limestone, with a passenger service continuing from Matlock (supported strongly by Derby railway employees with their free passes).
During the period from 1976 to 1993, trains would run through Derby from the Derwent Valley line to Sinfin. This ceased when theSinfin branch line was first replaced with a taxi, then closed in 1998. The service later returned as a train as far asPeartree as a single train each day until 2001.
While the railway workers had largely disappeared at the beginning of the 21st century, there is renewed public interest in rail;Derbyshire County Council, among others, is keen to reduce traffic congestion on theA6 and in thePeak District National Park. The route between Matlock and Rowsley was taken over by thePeak Rail preservation group, who are campaigning for the link to be restored toBuxton. The County Council carried out a study in 2004, which concluded that it was not economically feasible, but that the track bed would be protected from development.
It was designated by theDepartment for Transport as acommunity rail service in July 2006 and was fully designated as a community rail line in September 2006.
Meanwhile, the interest shown by the local councils and public groups such as theDerwent Valley Rural Transport Partnership and theFriends of the Derwent Valley has encouraged the interest of railway companies. In particular, it follows the course of theDerwent Valley MillsWorld Heritage corridor. Former operatorCentral Trains heavily promoted the line's tourist potential with a specially liveried train. Another former operator,Midland Mainline, extended some of its London–Derby services to Matlock, though these ceased with the introduction of theClass 222Meridians which were too heavy for several bridges north ofWhatstandwell which are in a poor state of repair. HoweverNetwork Rail has announced its intention[citation needed] to overhaul the line completely in 2008, reinforcing or replacing the defective bridges.[needs update]
Passengers using the line have increased steadily at many stations on the line. 94% more passengers used its stations in 2010/11 than in 2007/08; journeys from Ambergate, Belper, Duffield and Matlock Bath have doubled in the same period.[1] On 2 July 2011,Peak Rail extended their services fromMatlock Riverside intoMatlock to provide easy interchange between services.
Local passenger services are operated byEast Midlands Railway. There is a daily service betweenNottingham and Matlock, via Derby. The frequency of the service is hourly, although on Sunday mornings the trains run every two hours increasing to hourly in the afternoon and evening.[2]
The line is operated as one single line block section from Ambergate, using theNo Signalman Key Token system under the supervision of Derby PSB. The driver of each train heading for Matlock must collect a token from the machine at Ambergate station before proceeding and return it prior to leaving the branch.
In addition to the local passenger services, the line between Derby and Ambergate Junction is also used byEast Midlands Railway andCrossCountry's fast services along with freight services operated by various companies.
The Matlock branch lost its through services toLondon St Pancras in 2004 when (the former mainline operator)Midland Mainline replaced itsClass 170Turbostardiesel multiple units with Class 222Meridian sets. The Meridians are not yet cleared to work on the branch.
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53°05′00″N1°30′15″W / 53.0832°N 1.5041°W /53.0832; -1.5041
