Robin Hood Line
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The Robin Hood Line is a railway line running from
Nottingham Nottingham ( , East Midlands English, locally ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located south-east of Sheffield and nor ...
to
Worksop Worksop ( ) is a market town in the Bassetlaw District in Nottinghamshire, England. It is located south of Doncaster, south-east of Sheffield and north of Nottingham. Located close to Nottinghamshire's borders with South Yorkshire and Derbys ...
,
Nottinghamshire Nottinghamshire (; abbreviated ''Notts.'') is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. The county is bordered by South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west. Th ...
, in England. The stations between Shirebrook and Whitwell (inclusive) are in the county of
Derbyshire Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It borders Greater Manchester, West Yorkshire, and South Yorkshire to the north, Nottinghamshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south-east, Staffordshire to the south a ...
. Passenger services are operated by
East Midlands Railway East Midlands Railway (EMR; legally Transport UK East Midlands Limited) is a British train operating company owned by Transport UK Group, and is the current operator of the East Midlands franchise. Originally owned by Abellio (transport compan ...
. The line in its present form opened to passengers in stages between 1993 and 1998. Following the
Beeching cuts The Beeching cuts, also colloquially referred to as the Beeching Axe, were a major series of route closures and service changes made as part of the restructuring of the nationalised railway system in Great Britain in the 1960s. They are named ...
of the 1960s, the line had been freight-only. The cuts had left Mansfield as one of the largest towns in Britain without a railway station.


History

The majority of the current Robin Hood Line re-uses the former
Midland Railway The Midland Railway (MR) was a railway company in the United Kingdom from 1844 in rail transport, 1844. The Midland was one of the largest railway companies in Britain in the early 20th century, and the largest employer in Derby, where it had ...
(MR) route from
Nottingham Nottingham ( , East Midlands English, locally ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located south-east of Sheffield and nor ...
to
Worksop Worksop ( ) is a market town in the Bassetlaw District in Nottinghamshire, England. It is located south of Doncaster, south-east of Sheffield and north of Nottingham. Located close to Nottinghamshire's borders with South Yorkshire and Derbys ...
. However, due to rationalisation leading to track removal in order to save the costs of maintaining the tunnel north of Annesley, the through route was severed in the 1970s. Northwards from Nottingham, the freight-only line remained intact as far as Newstead, where it had served the now closed Newstead Colliery. Southwards from Worksop, the line followed the old MR route as far as
Sutton-in-Ashfield Sutton-in-Ashfield is a market town in Nottinghamshire, England, with a population of 36,404 in 2021. It is the largest town in the district of Ashfield, Nottinghamshire, Ashfield, four miles west of Mansfield, from the Derbyshire border and ...
. Between Sutton-in-Ashfield and
Kirkby-in-Ashfield Kirkby-in-Ashfield is a market town in the Ashfield District of Nottinghamshire, England. With a population of 25,265 (according to the 2001 National Census), it is a part of the wider Mansfield Urban Area. Kirkby-in-Ashfield lies on the ea ...
, the line was diverted in 1972 to take the former Great Northern Railway (GNR) route through the area. This allowed
British Rail British Railways (BR), which from 1965 traded as British Rail, was a state-owned company that operated most rail transport in Great Britain from 1948 to 1997. Originally a trading brand of the Railway Executive of the British Transport Comm ...
to sell land right in the centre of Kirkby-in-Ashfield whilst keeping a freight route through the town. After crossing the town on the GNR route, the line re-joined the old MR route to Pye Bridge, near Ironville but the connection between Kirkby-in-Ashfield and Newstead was closed and the tunnel filled in. When plans for the Robin Hood Line were drawn up, it was vital in the interest of keeping costs down to make as much use of the existing infrastructure as possible so, rather than trying to buy back the land to rebuild the line through the centre of Kirkby-in-Ashfield, the existing GNR diversion was kept and a new partly single track stretch of railway built to re-create the missing link between Kirkby-in-Ashfield and Newstead. North of Newstead, at Annesley, both the
Great Central Railway The Great Central Railway in England was formed when the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway changed its name in 1897, anticipating the opening in 1899 of its Great Central Main Line, London Extension. On 1 January 1923, the company ...
(GCR) and the Midland Railway had driven tunnels through the picturesque Robin Hood Hills but, since both lines closed, both tunnels had been filled in. The GCR's tunnel had been at a lower level than the MR's and so was much longer but it had previously been shared with the GNR and the elevation was a good match for the route through Kirkby. In the end it proved cheaper to re-excavate the MR's tunnel, which was found to be in excellent condition and build the new connection on a gradient between the two levels. The new service from
Nottingham Nottingham ( , East Midlands English, locally ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located south-east of Sheffield and nor ...
to Newstead opened in 1993, although
Bulwell Bulwell is a market town and former civil parish in the Nottingham district, in the ceremonial county of Nottinghamshire, England. It is south-west of Hucknall and to the north-west of Nottingham. The United Kingdom Census 2011 recorded the p ...
station opened only in 1994. It was extended to
Mansfield Woodhouse Mansfield Woodhouse is a town and civil parish in the Mansfield District, Mansfield district of Nottinghamshire, England. It is about north of Mansfield, along the main A60 road in a wide, low valley between the Rivers River Maun, Maun and Rive ...
in 1995, with
Kirkby-in-Ashfield Kirkby-in-Ashfield is a market town in the Ashfield District of Nottinghamshire, England. With a population of 25,265 (according to the 2001 National Census), it is a part of the wider Mansfield Urban Area. Kirkby-in-Ashfield lies on the ea ...
station opening in 1996. The through passenger route from Nottingham to
Worksop Worksop ( ) is a market town in the Bassetlaw District in Nottinghamshire, England. It is located south of Doncaster, south-east of Sheffield and north of Nottingham. Located close to Nottinghamshire's borders with South Yorkshire and Derbys ...
opened in 1998. In 2004 the section between
Bulwell Bulwell is a market town and former civil parish in the Nottingham district, in the ceremonial county of Nottinghamshire, England. It is south-west of Hucknall and to the north-west of Nottingham. The United Kingdom Census 2011 recorded the p ...
and
Hucknall Hucknall () is a market town in the Ashfield, Nottinghamshire, Ashfield district of Nottinghamshire, England, north of Nottingham, southeast of Kirkby-in-Ashfield, from Mansfield and south of Sutton-in-Ashfield. Hucknall is on the west ba ...
was singled to allow space for the new
Nottingham Express Transit Nottingham Express Transit (NET) is a tram system in Nottingham, England. The concept of a modern tramway to reduce road congestion and promote urban renewal was formally identified during the late 1980s while detailed planning was undertake ...
tramway, which follows the route as far north as Hucknall and opened in March 2004.


Service

As of March 2020, the Robin Hood Line operates a Monday to Saturday service between 05:40 and 22:20. During the day, trains run at hourly intervals between Nottingham and Worksop, the full journey taking 67 minutes. A Sunday service began on 7 December 2008, with ten trains running between Nottingham and Mansfield Woodhouse between 09:15 and 22:30. Four of those continued to Worksop. The Sunday service was funded by
Derbyshire County Council Derbyshire County Council is the upper-tier local authority for the non-metropolitan county of Derbyshire in England. The non-metropolitan county is smaller than the ceremonial county, which additionally includes Derby. The county council is ba ...
and
Nottinghamshire County Council Nottinghamshire County Council is the upper-tier local authority for the non-metropolitan county of Nottinghamshire in England. The non-metropolitan county is smaller than the ceremonial county; the non-metropolitan county excludes the city of ...
. An understanding was made with the
Department for Transport The Department for Transport (DfT) is a Departments of the Government of the United Kingdom, ministerial department of the Government of the United Kingdom. It is responsible for the English transport network and a limited number of transport ...
that, if the patronage reached an agreed threshold after two years, it would consider taking over the service and incorporate it within the
East Midlands Trains East Midlands Trains (EMT) was a British train operating company owned by the transport group Stagecoach, which operated the East Midlands franchise between November 2007 and August 2019. Following the Department for Transport (DfT) award of ...
franchise. However, this service was not a commercial success north of
Mansfield Woodhouse Mansfield Woodhouse is a town and civil parish in the Mansfield District, Mansfield district of Nottinghamshire, England. It is about north of Mansfield, along the main A60 road in a wide, low valley between the Rivers River Maun, Maun and Rive ...
, and Nottinghamshire County Council decided to reduce its funding and prioritise running a reduced Sunday service from 22 May 2011. The service runs eight times each Sunday between Nottingham and Mansfield Woodhouse and return.


Proposed extension

Just north of Shirebrook station is a junction with a freight branch line that was used for coal traffic to High Marnham power station via
Warsop Warsop is a civil parish in Mansfield District, Nottinghamshire, England, on the outskirts of the remnants of Sherwood Forest.OS Explorer Map 270: Sherwood Forest: (1:25 000): At the 2021 census the population was 12,644 residents, includin ...
, Edwinstowe and Ollerton. Following closure of the power station the line is disused but has been kept open and fully maintained as a test track for driver training. In mid-2009
Nottinghamshire County Council Nottinghamshire County Council is the upper-tier local authority for the non-metropolitan county of Nottinghamshire in England. The non-metropolitan county is smaller than the ceremonial county; the non-metropolitan county excludes the city of ...
commissioned a feasibility study to consider a plan to extend the Robin Hood Line along this route by extending the current hourly service between
Nottingham Nottingham ( , East Midlands English, locally ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located south-east of Sheffield and nor ...
and
Mansfield Woodhouse Mansfield Woodhouse is a town and civil parish in the Mansfield District, Mansfield district of Nottinghamshire, England. It is about north of Mansfield, along the main A60 road in a wide, low valley between the Rivers River Maun, Maun and Rive ...
to Ollerton, calling at Shirebrook, Warsop and Edwinstowe (for Center Parcs Sherwood Forest holiday resort). Nottinghamshire CC have remained keen on the idea, and met with the rail minister Claire Perry in March 2016 to press for the scheme to be adopted. The new line would be about long, but as much of it is used for driver training, only about of new track would be required, and the infrastructure is still in good condition. A report produced for Nottinghamshire CC in February 2016 suggested that the likely costs of reinstatement, including the rebuilding of the three stations, would be between £18.9M and £24.5M, with signalling accounting for more than half of that figure. Operating costs were estimated to be some £1.6M per year, with revenue from fares expected to be a little over half of that, and the rest to be found from subsidies. A condition of the awarding of a new East Midlands franchise for operating the line in 2019 was that the operator was required to produce a business case for the extension to Ollerton. There are also plans to reinstate passenger trains over the freight-only line from to the closed
Pye Bridge railway station Pye Bridge railway station served the village of Pye Bridge, Derbyshire, England from 1851 to 1967 on the Erewash Valley Line. History The station opened as Pye Bridge for Alfreton on 1 December 1851 by the Midland Railway The Midland ...
on the Erewash Valley line. The line, which has been named the Maid Marian line, has been championed by Ashfield District Council, as it would greatly improve access to the proposed Toton HS2 station for residents in the area. In February 2020, they commissioned a public consultation on the idea, and in November 2020 submitted a bid for the second round of the government's Restoring Your Railway fund, to cover the cost of a feasibility study. The project was one of fifteen schemes which were successful in obtaining such funding.


References


Bibliography

* * * * * {{coord missing, Nottinghamshire Rail transport in Nottinghamshire Railway lines in the East Midlands Transport in Nottingham Standard gauge railways in England