The Peterborough–Lincoln line is a

railway line Rail terminology is a form of technical terminology. The difference between the American term ''railroad'' and the international term ''railway'' (used by the International Union of Railways and English-speaking countries outside the United Sta ...

linking and , via and . Between Lincoln and Spalding, the line follows the route of the former

Great Northern and Great Eastern Joint Railway The Great Northern and Great Eastern Joint Railway, colloquially referred to as "the Joint Line"''Joint Line Joy'', in the Railway Magazine, June 2015 was a railway line connecting Doncaster and Lincoln with March and Huntingdon in the eastern co ...

History

The section between

Peterborough Peterborough () is a cathedral city in Cambridgeshire, east of England. It is the largest part of the City of Peterborough unitary authority district (which covers a larger area than Peterborough itself). It was part of Northamptonshire until ...

and Spalding closed to passengers on 5 October 1970 and re-opened on 7 June 1971. North of Spalding,

Ruskington Ruskington is a large village and civil parish in the North Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England, located approximately 4 miles (7 km) north of Sleaford on the north–south B1188 road and slightly north of the A153 road. The village ...

re-opened on 5 May 1975. Metheringham followed on 6 October 1975. Intermediate stations south of Sleaford did not re-open (see diagram). There has been agitation by local communities to re-open Littleworth on a park-and-ride basis for Peterborough. In 2016 this was costed at £4.3 million as it would need a footbridge and car parking availability. Between 1848 and 1963, the

Lincolnshire loop line The Lincolnshire loop line was a double-track railway built by the Great Northern Railway, that linked Peterborough to Lincoln via Spalding and Boston. History The Lincolnshire loop line was authorised on 26 June 1846 as part of the London a ...

ran from Spalding to Lincoln via

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the capital city, state capital and List of municipalities in Massachusetts, most populous city of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financ ...

, Woodhall Junction and

Bardney Bardney is a village and civil parish in the West Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England. The population of the civil parish was 1,643 at the 2001 census increasing to 1,848 (including Southrey) at the 2011 census. The village sits on the e ...

where they connected to other branch lines including the

East Lincolnshire Railway The East Lincolnshire Railway was a main line railway linking the towns of Boston, Louth and Grimsby in Lincolnshire, England. It opened in 1848. The ELR ''Company'' had leased the line to the Great Northern Railway, and it was the latter whic ...

Kirkstead and Little Steeping Railway The Kirkstead and Little Steeping Railway, locally known as the New Line, was a railway line in England built to shorten the route between Lincoln, Lincolnshire, Lincoln and Firsby in Lincolnshire, England. It was built by the Great Northern Rai ...

and the Horncastle Railway. The section between Lincoln and Boston closed to passengers in 1963. However the route between Boston and Spalding closed in 1964. Only the section from Lincoln to Woodhall Junction which provided links to

Horncastle Horncastle is a town and civil parish in the East Lindsey district in Lincolnshire, east of Lincoln. Its population was 6,815 at the 2011 census and estimated at 7,123 in 2019. A section of the ancient Roman walls remains. History Romans Alt ...

and

Firsby Firsby is a small rural linear village and civil parish in the East Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England. It is situated east from the city and county town of Lincoln, south-east from the nearest market town of Spilsby, and inland f ...

remained open until between 1970–1971 to both passengers and freight traffic. Today, the section from Lincoln to Woodhall Junction forms part of the Water Rail Way footpath and between

and Spalding. The trackbed has been converted to form part of the A16.

Description

The towns and villages served by the route are listed below; *

* Spalding *

Sleaford Sleaford is a market town and civil parish in the North Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England. Centred on the former parish of New Sleaford, the modern boundaries and urban area include Quarrington to the south-west, Holdingham to the n ...

** connections with Grantham–Skegness line *

* Metheringham *

Lincoln Lincoln most commonly refers to: * Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865), the sixteenth president of the United States * Lincoln, England, cathedral city and county town of Lincolnshire, England * Lincoln, Nebraska, the capital of Nebraska, U.S. * Linco ...

After an upgrade in 2015, the route through to Lincoln (and beyond to Doncaster) has a regular role as a diversionary route for trains from the

East Coast Main Line The East Coast Main Line (ECML) is a electrified railway between London and Edinburgh via Peterborough, Doncaster, York, Darlington, Durham and Newcastle. The line is a key transport artery on the eastern side of Great Britain runni ...

mostly for slower freight services, but occasionally for passenger trains too. As a result, the route is now open 24 hours per day. In September 2018 a new grade separated junction at Werrington was under construction to allow freight and passenger services to dive under the East Coast Main Line. It was opened in 2021.

Infrastructure

The line is not

electrified Electrification is the process of powering by electricity and, in many contexts, the introduction of such power by changing over from an earlier power source. The broad meaning of the term, such as in the history of technology, economic histor ...

. The line is controlled by Lincoln signalling centre from Werrington Junction to Lincoln, worked under track circuit block regulations (TCB). However, Sleaford East box remains for now: resignalling is due around 2019/2020, when the whole area will switch to York Rail Operating Centre (ROC) along with Lincoln signalling centre.

Linespeeds

* Werrington Junction (excl) to Spalding: 70mph (Down – toward Doncaster) 75mph (Up – toward Peterborough) * Spalding: 50mph * Spalding (excl) to Sleaford South Junction: 75mph * Sleaford avoiding lines: 55mph * Sleaford to Lincoln: 75mph

Incidents

One person died and 30 people were injured in the Nocton rail accident when a train hit a vehicle on the tracks at the site of a removed bridge, on 28 February 2002. On 6 December 2004 two people died in a collision between a car and a class 153 DMU on a user operated crossing south east of Helpringham.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Peterborough-Lincoln Line Rail transport in Lincolnshire Transport in Peterborough Railway lines in the East of England Standard gauge railways in England