Transport in Lincolnshire

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1 Transport network

[edit] Transport network

[edit] Roads

Being on the economic periphery of England, Lincolnshire's transport links are less well developed than many other parts of the United Kingdom. The road network within the county is dominated by single carriageway trunk roads (A roads) and minor roads (B roads) rather than motorways or dual carriageways - the administrative county of Lincolnshire is one of the small number of UK counties without a motorway (the M180, the principal link between South Yorkshire and the North Sea coast, runs exclusively within the boundaries of North Lincolnshire). Following a north-south axis the most important route into and out of the county is the A1 (formerly the Great North Road) linking the county with London and south-east England as well as the important population centres of northern England and Scotland. The three main points where traffic enters the county from the A1 are Stamford, Grantham and Newark (A46). The volume of traffic on the A46 along with the extremely high accident rate forced the County Council to transform the road to a dual carriageway along its entire 20km (13 mile) length with this much needed upgrade being finally completed in 2004. Up until a few years ago, it was said that there was only approximately 35kms (22 miles) of dual carriageway in the whole of Lincolnshire

Partly because of its fast and flat (but deceptively undulating) roads, Lincolnshire has one of the worst road accident records of the UK counties (as measured in terms of road fatalities per head of population). In a national effort to cut the number of speed-related deaths and injuries, the county's residents became early guinea pigs in a programme to roll-out speed cameras across the country and (much to the annoyance of many of its residents) Lincolnshire now has 52 speed cameras installed on its road network.

[edit] Rail

The low population density of the county means that the number of railway stations and train services is rather low considering the county's large physical size. A large number of the county's railway stations were permanently closed following the Beeching Report of 1963.

A daily through train service operated between Cleethorpes and London King’s Cross via Grimsby, Market Rasen and Lincoln until the late 1980s when it was discontinued following the electrification of the East Coast Main Line, necessitating passengers changing trains at Newark when travelling to or from the Capital. However, the East Coast Main Line passes through the county and so it is possible to catch direct trains to London from Grantham.

Trains from Cleethorpes also run to Manchester Airport, passing through Scunthorpe and connecting to the East Coast Main Line at Doncaster before continuing via Sheffield.

[edit] Bus

Bus services within the county are also limited in number, due to the inherent economic feasibility of serving a scattered population living across an area with low population density. Many smaller villages in the county have no regular bus service, making access to a private vehicle the only practical means of living in many parts of the county. The services that do exist almost exclusively service the large population centres (e.g. Lincoln, Grantham, Boston, Skegness, Grimsby, Cleethorpes, Scunthorpe) and mid-sized market towns (e.g. Horncastle, Gainsborough) and a limited number of their dormitory and commuter villages. The main bus company in the county, Lincolnshire Road Car was bought out by Stagecoach in late 2005. Stagecoach Grimsby-Cleethorpes runs buses in North East Lincolnshire

[edit] Airports

Lincolnshire has its own airport (Humberside Airport) in the north of the county at Kirmington (a former RAF bomber airfield), between Scunthorpe, Grimsby and Lincoln. Several others are fairly easily accessible by either road or rail.

[edit] Canals

Lincolnshire is served by the Foss Dyke canal, an ancient waterway of Roman origin, which connects the River Trent and the River Witham. The River Ancholme is also navigable, as are some of the larger drains in the Fens.

Lincolnshire