The line comprises two passenger routes: the main line route from Sheffield to Lincoln and a branch line route running from Sheffield to Cleethorpes, using the Brigg branch line from Gainsborough Trent Junction.[2] North of Gainsborough Central the Brigg branch line primarily carries freight trains to/from the Port of Immingham.
Main line route
The route largely follows the former MS&LR main line, until Trent Junction, Gainsborough where it goes on to follow the former GNGEJR line to Lincoln.
An hourly service provided by Northern runs along this route.
Additional services provided by East Midlands Railway serve the section between Lincoln and Gainsborough Lea Road en route to Doncaster.
Brigg branch line route
This route follows the former MS&LR main line to Cleethorpes.
On weekdays, a single daily service Sheffield and Gainsborough Central is provided by Northern. This was introduced in the May 2023 timetable change and is the first regular weekday service to on the Brigg branch since 1993.[3] Passenger services along the entire route only ran on Saturdays previously, when Northern operated three services each way between Sheffield and Cleethorpes. At Barnetby, the route is joined by the South Humberside Main Line and the section between there and Cleethorpes is also served by hourly trains from Manchester Airport, operated by TransPennine Express.
The Brigg Branch line is single from Barnetby to Brigg, and Kirton Tunnel to Thonock (North of Gainsborough Central) with a passing loop at Northorpe. Other sections are double track.
The line diverged from the MS&LR main line at Clarborough junction ran through Leverton, Cottam and Torksey to Sykes Junction (located about 1.3 miles (2.1 km) northwest of Saxilby). Services from Sheffield via the branch line to Lincoln, then continuing to Grimsby and Cleethorpes via Market Rasen, used to operate along the line. Opening of the line was delayed for four months by controversy over the safety of Torksey Viaduct. It is now a Grade II listed structure, though the line closed to passengers on 2 November 1959.[7]
In 1967 the line was reopened from Clarborough Junction to Cottam to serve Cottam power stations and is now solely used for freight traffic. On reopening, Clarborough Junction signalbox was closed and control passed to Thrumpton, and the two level crossings were converted to automatic half barriers.[8][full citation needed] The Thrumpton box was rebuilt in 2014.[9]
With the closure of Cottam power station in 2019, the line has since remained disused with it. The final train to travel over this branchline was "The Cottam Farewell" railtour, which travelled over the line on 28 September 2019. The train line is still classed as "Live" despite no trains passing down the line since this date. Mandatory inspections and patrols still take place of which are done on foot, however there are no official plans to reopen the line for passenger or freight traffic as of March 2023.[10]
On 28 February 2007, an EWS freight train derailed at a set of points between Lincoln Central train station and Lincoln High Street level crossing. There were no injuries.[12]
On 27 April 2012, a Northern Rail passenger train running the Lincoln-Adwick route derailed as it was leaving Clarborough Tunnel on the Retford side. This was due to a landslip onto the line. The driver and a passenger were taken to hospital with minor injuries.[13]
4 December 2012, a Northern Rail Passenger train running a Scunthorpe-Lincoln route, struck and fatally injured a worker on the tracks near Saxilby.[14]
On 30 June 2015, a DB Schenker freight train was derailed near the site of Langworth station, on the Lincoln-Grimsby line.[15]
Most freight traffic using the line will leave this line and join the Doncaster to Lincoln line at West Trent Junction. With the closure of both West Burton Power Station and Cottam Power Station freight traffic west of West Trent Junction has ceased, aside from occasional freight diversions through the night.
Retford dive-under
The Sheffield and Lincolnshire Junction Railway (S&LJR) (later Great Central Railway (GCR), now the Sheffield–Lincoln line) was the first railway in Retford, arriving on 6 July 1849. This was then joined by the Great Northern Railway (GNR) line from Doncaster, arriving on 4 September 1849 with the GNR crossing the S&LJR at a flat crossing. This flat crossing caused congestion as trains could not run on both lines at the same time; this was to become a bigger problem when the West Burton and Cottam power stations were built, as they would require 5 million imperial tons (approx. 5 million tonnes) of coal a year, to be sourced from the National Coal Board's coalfields in the East Midlands and North East. The flat crossing also placed a speed restriction on express trains using the GNR line.[17]
In order to alleviate these problems a dive-under was constructed, by which the GCR passed under a new bridge which the GNR passed over. Construction started in 1963 and was completed in 1965. During construction, trains continued to use the flat crossing. Upon completion of the dive-under the flat crossing was finally removed on 13 June 1965, allowing through trains on the GNR to run at normal operating speeds, and allowing trains to run on both lines simultaneously.[18] The approach slopes into the dive-under's 2,160 feet (660 m) long channel have a gradient of 1 in 100 on the east and 1 in 133 on the west side.[18]
