Retford railway station
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Retford | |
 |
|
|---|---|
| Location | |
| Place | Retford |
| Local authority | Bassetlaw |
| Operations | |
| Station code | RET |
| Managed by | GNER |
| Platforms in use | 4 |
| Annual entry/exit 04/05 | 0.298 million ** |
| National Rail - UK railway stations | |
| ** based on sales of tickets in 2004/05 financial year which end or originate at Retford. Disclaimer (PDF) | |
Retford railway station serves the town of Retford in Nottinghamshire, England. It has four platforms, two of which serve the East Coast Main Line while two located at a lower level and at right angles to the first pair serve the Sheffield to Lincoln Line.
[edit] The station
The first station (on the site of today's higher-level platforms) was opened on 4 September 1849 by the Great Northern Railway. The Manchester, Sheffield & Lincolnshire Railway reached Retford in 1857 and although its direct line "missed" the Great Northern station, crossing the London - York route on the level to the immediate southeast, connections were laid allowing MS&LR trains to use the GNR facilities.
The higher-level platforms (numbered 1 and 2) respectively serve southbound and northbound East Coast Main Line trains calling at Retford. Platform 1 (on the eastern side of the layout) adjoins the main station building. Between the two platforms tracks there are two further lines, used by fast trains not booked to call here.
The lower-level platforms (numbered 3 and 4) were added in the 1960s when the flat crossing between the two lines was removed and the Sheffield - Lincoln tracks were lowered to pass beneath the London - York route. These works also necessitated the removal of the direct north-to-east curve, meaning that trains between Sheffield and Lincoln could no longer call at the original platforms without a reversal.
Bill Bryson comments of Retford station, in his book "Notes From A Small Island", that it is shown on railway maps in a typeface marking it as equivalent to much more notable cities in northern england, and he therefore deemed it worth a visit.
[edit] External links
- Train times and station information for Retford railway station from National Rail
- Map and aerial photo of Retford railway station from Multimap.com
| Preceding station | National Rail | Following station | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Newark North Gate* | GNER East Coast Main Line |
Doncaster | ||
| Grantham | Hull Trains London – Hull |
Doncaster | ||
| Gainsborough Central Limited Service |
Northern Rail Cleethorpes – Sheffield |
Worksop | ||
| Gainsborough Lea Road | Northern Rail Lincoln – Sheffield |
Worksop | ||
| * Most, but not all, trains on this service call here | ||||
 This article on a railway station in the East Midlands is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
