Brigg Line - What’s the point?

[ricoblade]

Looks to be cancelled until December as there is no times in for the May to December timetable on real time trains.

Well, it ran on Saturday morning as a crappy 150 - no tables/pull downs. Good job it wasn't busy, it was almost empty on arrival at Retford.

 

[IBLRG]

Letter from the Secretary of State for Transport, Grant Shapps, to the Independent Brigg Line Rail Group.

Confirming that the services will probably be suspended until December with no replacement bus service

 

[Peterthegreat]

It states the Brigg line service has been withdrawn and is therefore not eligible for a bus service.
Did anyone see the closure notices for this line?
Train services have been withdrawn from the S & K and Huddersfield to Wakefield lines with bus replacement. I presume these will be withdrawn in due course........

 

[Watershed]

It states the Brigg line service has been withdrawn and is therefore not eligible for a bus service.
Did anyone see the closure notices for this line?
Train services have been withdrawn from the S & K and Huddersfield to Wakefield lines with bus replacement. I presume these will be withdrawn in due course........

It's a specious justification. Unfortunately the way that the provisions of the Railways Act 2005 are drafted, there is nothing formally forcing closure proceedings to be started when the service drops below a certain level. It ultimately requires the operator or funder to propose the closure.

This leads to the risible situation where stations like IBM Halt, Redcar British Steel and Manchester United FC Halt aren't formally closed, but simply have no service.

 

[HSTEd]

So, are taking any bets on the service ever actually being restored?

This has provided the perfect excuse to kill the line.

 

[py_megapixel]

To be fair, the bus industry is struggling with staff shortages as well, and it's probably better that they run nothing than that they advertise a bus service which ends up being extremely unreliable.

It's easy to say that there should ideally be a replacement bus - of course, in an ideal world, there would be trains, and yet here we are.

 

[Greybeard33]

It's a specious justification. Unfortunately the way that the provisions of the Railways Act 2005 are drafted, there is nothing formally forcing closure proceedings to be started when the service drops below a certain level. It ultimately requires the operator or funder to propose the closure.

This leads to the risible situation where stations like IBM Halt, Redcar British Steel and Manchester United FC Halt aren't formally closed, but simply have no service.

If it is permissible to withdraw services indefinitely without triggering the closure procedure, what is the point of "parliamentary" trains?

 

[ChrisC]

I have occasionally used the route in the past on summer Saturdays, travelling from Worksop to spend a few hours in Cleethorpes. In addition to the convenience of a through train and shorter journey time and route it was also quite a bit cheaper than travelling via Doncaster. It would be good if passengers from stations like Worksop and Retford could have reduced priced tickets on Saturdays allowing travel Doncaster but perhaps that is too much to expect.

 

[Watershed]

If it is permissible to withdraw services indefinitely without triggering the closure procedure, what is the point of "parliamentary" trains?

Like a lot of things, they are usually run to satisfy DfT requirements. In turn, and as with other things in the industry, these requirements may arise as a result of a misapprehension of the law.

 

[Baxenden Bank]

When was the last passenger service?
I had a look through the twitter of IBLRG which suggests February but not a date.

 

[Iskra]

When was the last passenger service?
I had a look through the twitter of IBLRG which suggests February but not a date.

It was February. I can't remember the exact date but the date and time was in the last Branchline Society E-Newsletter. It's £12 for an annual subscription to their bi-weekly news letter if you really want to know the exact answer to your question...

 

[Baxenden Bank]

It was February. I can't remember the exact date but the date and time was in the last Branchline Society E-Newsletter. It's £12 for an annual subscription to their bi-weekly news letter if you really want to know the exact answer to your question...

I admire your sales skills, but £12 seems a large amount for one answer. I can get 36 lumps of daytime electricity for that!

 

[Iskra]

I admire your sales skills, but £12 seems a large amount for one answer. I can get 36 lumps of daytime electricity for that!

I am not affiliated at all, I'm just telling you where you can find your answer. If you can't be bothered, that's fine.

 

[oddiesjack]

i was quite surprised to see that Northern ran a couple of ECS workings on Sheffield to Cleethorpes and returns this Saturday just gone.

https://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/se...1/0000-2359?stp=WVS&show=all&order=wtt&toc=NT

Are these route refreshers with a view to restarting this service?

 

[SteveyBee131]

i was quite surprised to see that Northern ran a couple of ECS workings on Sheffield to Cleethorpes and returns this Saturday just gone.

https://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/se...1/0000-2359?stp=WVS&show=all&order=wtt&toc=NT

Are these route refreshers with a view to restarting this service?

They were indeed route knowledge runs. However, as crews only need to go down a line once every 6 months to be competent, the ones who did these runs are cleared until the December timetable changes, so I'm not holding my breath yet.

 

[patrick.hearn3]

I recall some Lincolnshire resignalling with boxes closed. What are the signalling arrangements on the line please?

 

[Watershed]

I recall some Lincolnshire resignalling with boxes closed. What are the signalling arrangements on the line please?

There was some resignalling at the Sheffield end last year, but apart from that it's the same as it's been for quite some years now:

• York ROC (Sheffield WS), TCB from Sheffield to Woodhouse
• York ROC (Rotherham WS), TCB towards Kiveton Bridge
• Kiveton Park SB, AB to Shireoaks
• Worksop SB, TCB to Thrumpton
• Thrumpton SB, TCB to Trent Jns
• Gainsborough Trent Jn SB, TCB to Gainsborough Central
• Gainsborough Central SB, AB then TCB towards Northorpe
• Northorpe SB, TCB through Kirton Lindsey towards Kirton Lime Sidings
• Kirton Lime Sidings SB, TCB then AB to Brigg
• Brigg SB, TCB towards Wrawby Jn
• York ROC (North Lincs WS), TCB to Cleethorpes

 

[patrick.hearn3]

Great, thanks. As a follow up are Northorpe, Kirton Lime Sidings and Brigg still regularly manned for freight use, or would a public service include additional staff cost? TIA

 

[wallan]

Being used for overnight Freight this week