Newark North Gate railway station

Newark North Gate railway station is on the East Coast Main Line in the United Kingdom, serving the town of Newark-on-Trent, Nottinghamshire. It is 120 miles 8 chains (193.3 km) down the line from London King's Cross[2] and is situated on the main line between Grantham to the south and Retford to the north.[3][2] The station is Grade II listed.[1]

Newark North Gate
Southbound view of the station from Platform 2 in January 2011
Location	Newark-on-Trent, District of Newark and Sherwood England
Coordinates	53.081°N 0.799°W
Grid reference	SK804545
Owned by	Network Rail
Managed by	London North Eastern Railway
Platforms	3
Other information
Station code	NNG
Classification	DfT category C1
History
Opened	15 July 1852
Passengers
2015/16	1.048 million
Interchange	0.237 million
2016/17	0.901 million
Interchange	0.236 million
2017/18	0.919 million
Interchange	0.244 million
2018/19	0.961 million
Interchange	0.236 million
2019/20	0.910 million
Interchange	0.171 million
Listed Building – Grade II
Feature	Northgate Railway Station, Appleton Gate
Designated	20 May 1988
Reference no.	1196065[1]
Notes
Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road

Newark-on-Trent
East Coast Main Line Nottingham to Lincoln Line Newark flat crossing Newark North Gate Newark Castle Great North Road Nottingham to Lincoln Line East Coast Main Line

Newark-on-Trent is a market town, 25 miles (40 km) east of Nottingham. Newark has another station, Newark Castle, operated by East Midlands Railway and closer to the town centre.

History

The station is on the Great Northern Railway Towns Line from Peterborough to Doncaster which opened on 15 July 1852,[4] the easier to construct Fens Loop Line via Boston and Lincoln had opened two years earlier.[5]

The station opened without any ceremony. The first train of passengers from the north arrived at 6.38 am and those from the south arrived at 8.05 am.[6] The buildings comprised a booking-office, cloak room, first and second class ladies’ and other waiting rooms, and a large refreshment room 51 feet (16 m) by 21 feet (6.4 m), and a smaller one 21 feet (6.4 m) by 14 feet (4.3 m). The platforms were 435 feet (133 m) long, with awnings provided for 50 feet (15 m) of their length. There was a coal depot, goods warehouse and sheds to accommodate 4 locomotives.

The station became a junction in 1879 with the opening of the Great Northern Railway branch to Bottesford, built as a northern extension of the Great Northern and London and North Western Joint Railway which opened at the same time. Services from Newark were provided to Northampton or Leicester and also to Nottingham. Services onto the joint line from Newark were withdrawn by 1922.[7] The line was much used for through goods, especially between Newark and Northampton. The joint line closed in 1962 except for isolated fragments, but the Newark to Bottesford Junction section survived until 1988.

On 9 July 1928, King George V and Queen Mary arrived at the station from King's Cross where they were received by the 6th Duke of Portland.[8]

The short connection to the Newark Castle to Lincoln line was opened in 1965 by British Rail to maintain a link between the East Coast Main Line and Lincoln following the closure of the branch from the latter to Grantham. This remains in use today by trains to Lincoln and Grimsby.[9]

Station masters

• Mr. Easterfield ca. 1861 - 1882[10] (afterwards station master at Stamford)
• Alfred Mason 1882 - 1895[11]
• Arthur Joseph Pott 1895 - 1902 (afterwards station master at Grantham)
• Charles Cooper 1902[12] - 1910 (formerly station master at Essendine)
• John Thomas Chandler 1910 - 1925[13]
• F.G. Allen 1925 - 1930 (formerly station master at Trowse)
• Robert Bruntlett 1930 (afterwards station master of London Road, Manchester)
• Edwin Oliver Wright 1930 - 1932[14]
• William Ewart Nott 1944 - ????
• Robert M. Shand ???? - 1955 (afterwards station master at Leeds Central)

Newark Crossing

The station is just south of the Newark flat crossing,[15] one of the few remaining flat railway crossings in the UK. The East Coast Main Line is crossed by the Nottingham-Lincoln line. Trains on the East Coast Main Line not calling at Newark North Gate have to slow from 125 miles per hour (201 km/h) to 100 miles per hour (160 km/h) at the crossing. There are plans to grade-separate the crossing by providing a flyover for east–west services, with a shallow enough gradient to accommodate freight trains. A key geographical constraint on the construction of a flyover will be the proximity of the site to the River Trent and the A1 trunk road. The benefits of a flyover would include higher capacity on both the East Coast Main Line and the Nottingham-Lincoln line, for both passengers and freight; journey time improvements; and a more reliable timetable. Network Rail's final Route Utilisation Strategy for the East Midlands estimated that a flyover would have a benefit:cost ratio of 1.4, with further benefits which could not be taken account of in the standard project appraisal procedures. The RUS recommended that the provision of a flyover at Newark was further developed in Control Period 4 (2009–2014) to refine the infrastructure costs and potential benefits, with the possibility of constructing it in Control Period 5 (2014–2019).[16]

Services

LNER service to London

East Midlands Railway service for Grimsby

Platforms 1 and 2, for London North Eastern Railway run intercity trains south for stations to London King's Cross, as well as to the North for stations to Leeds, Newcastle upon Tyne and Scotland. From platform 3 services continues to Lincoln Central. East Midlands Railway also runs a service to Lincoln Central and Grimsby. Occasional trains on the Nottingham to Lincoln Line also call additionally at Newark North Gate, which involves a cumbersome double reversal. This is currently practised by 2 trains a day Monday–Saturday & 5 on Sundays.[17]

The current off-peak Service pattern is the following:

London North Eastern Railway

• 2tph to London King's Cross
• 1tp2h to York
• 1tp2h to Lincoln
• 1tph to Newcastle; some continue to Edinburgh Waverley.
• 1 train a day to Hull Paragon.

Former services

Preceding station		Disused railways		Following station
Claypole		Great Northern Railway East Coast main line		Carlton-on-Trent
Cotham		Great Northern Railway Nottingham to Newark		Terminus
Cotham		Great Northern Railway Leicester Belgrave Road to Newark		Terminus

Station name

There is significant ambiguity about the correct form of the station's name. Different station name signs on the platforms say "Newark North Gate" or "Newark Northgate". On exiting the station, the old British Rail sign says just "Northgate" and road signs towards the station say 'Northgate'. National Rail timetables show Newark North Gate.

Station car parks

There are three car parks in the immediate area for the railway station. They are operated by the railway car parks and National Car Parks (NCP).

Railway Northgate Car Park - 289 spaces

NCP Northgate Car Park - 371 Spaces

Of the three main car parks in the area, the NCP and the Railway car parks are the most conveniently situated for the railway station facilities.

Notes

1. Historic England, "Northgate Railway Station, Appleton Gate (1196065)", National Heritage List for England, retrieved 30 December 2016
2. Padgett, David (October 2016) [1988]. Brailsford, Martyn (ed.). Railway Track Diagrams 2: Eastern (4th ed.). Frome: Trackmaps. map 16C. ISBN 978-0-9549866-8-1.
3. "Newark North Gate (NNG)". National Rail. Retrieved 4 August 2017.
4. "Newark - The Great Northern line". Lincolnshire Chronicle. England. 23 July 1852. Retrieved 28 June 2017 – via British Newspaper Archive.
5. Body, p.116
6. "Newark - Great Northern Railway". Stamford Mercury. England. 23 July 1852. Retrieved 28 June 2017 – via British Newspaper Archive.
7. Bradshaws Railway Guide, July 1922.
8. "Royal Visit to Newark". Grantham Journal. England. 14 July 1928. Retrieved 28 June 2017 – via British Newspaper Archive.
9. "Network Rail study proposes new platform at Lincoln station and faster trains to Nottingham" Pidluznyj, S, The Lincolnite news article, 12 March 2018, Retrieved 17 June 2019
10. "Newark". Stamford Mercury. England. 9 June 1882. Retrieved 3 September 2017 – via British Newspaper Archive.
11. "Newark". Lincolnshire Chronicle. England. 19 April 1895. Retrieved 3 September 2017 – via British Newspaper Archive.
12. "Essendine". Grantham Journal. England. 19 April 1902. Retrieved 3 September 2017 – via British Newspaper Archive.
13. "Local Happenings". Nottingham Evening Post. England. 1 July 1925. Retrieved 3 September 2017 – via British Newspaper Archive.
14. "Former Driffield Station Master Retiring". Driffield Times. England. 13 April 1946. Retrieved 2 September 2017 – via British Newspaper Archive.
15. http://wikimapia.org/6526956/Newark-Crossing
16. "East Midlands". Network Rail. 26 February 2010. Retrieved 19 May 2010.
17. https://www.eastmidlandstrains.co.uk/Documents/Menus/1/Timetable%20DEC%202017/TT3%20Dec17%20Web.pdf

References

• Body, G. (1986), PSL Field Guides - Railways of the Eastern Region Volume 1, Patrick Stephens Ltd, Wellingborough, ISBN 0-85059-712-9
• National Rail
• NCP Newark Northgate Station Car Park

External links

• Media related to Newark North Gate railway station at Wikimedia Commons
• NCP Newark Northgate Station Car Park