How many trains use the Joan Croft flyover (North Doncaster Chord) these days ?

[Justin Smith]

I can remember them building the Joan Croft Flyover (North Doncaster Chord) back in 2013 and could understand how it would be very useful for all the coal trains to the Aire power stations, but since two out of the three power stations have now shut the question is how many trains use the flyover now ? And where are they going from and to ?

 

[jfollows]

Something like https://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/se...o/gb-nr:DONCHJN?stp=WVS&show=all&order=actual and the similar search in the reverse direction should show you.

 

[zwk500]

5 Trains between Immingham and Drax Power Station used it yesterday

Realtime Trains | Departures from Haywood Jn all day on 27/04/2026

Train information at Haywood Jn all day on 27/04/2026. From Realtime Trains, an independent source of train running info for Great Britain.

www.realtimetrains.co.uk

The issue of trying to filter for freight in RTT is it's previously/subsequently fields search for stops only, not passes.

Perhaps the better option for this line, given the relative amounts of traffic, would be to look at Thorpe Marsh Jn:

Realtime Trains | Departures from Thorpe Marsh Jn all day on 23/04/2026

Train information at Thorpe Marsh Jn all day on 23/04/2026. From Realtime Trains, an independent source of train running info for Great Britain.

www.realtimetrains.co.uk

and to exclude the traffic that carries on to Applehurst Jn:

Realtime Trains | Departures from Applehurst Jn all day on 23/04/2026

Train information at Applehurst Jn all day on 23/04/2026. From Realtime Trains, an independent source of train running info for Great Britain.

www.realtimetrains.co.uk

(these RTT searches are for last thursday to give an idea of how much actually runs.)

Alternatively you could look at Haywood Jn in RTT and filter for things that have stopped at Immingham/Grimsby etc.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 28 Apr 2026 ==

Something like https://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/se...o/gb-nr:DONCHJN?stp=WVS&show=all&order=actual and the similar search in the reverse direction should show you.

I think that's looking at the Doncaster avoiding line, and not the chord over the ECML a bit further north at Joan Croft.

 

[jfollows]

Thanks!

 

[DarloRich]

Bio mass trains to Drax from Immingham and a couple of Grand Central trains to from Bradford?

 

[zwk500]

Aha, have found a slightly better data site courtesy of Vail Data's Berth History:

15 Trains using the Flyover from East to West yesterday: https://vaildata.uk/berth_history?describer=DR&berth=0843&date=2026-04-27
13 Trains using the Flyover from West to East yesterday: https://vaildata.uk/berth_history?describer=DR&berth=0842&date=2026-04-27

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 28 Apr 2026 ==

Bio mass trains to Drax from Immingham and a couple of Grand Central trains to from Bradford?

Grand Central run via Doncaster so can't use the Chord (which links Knottingley to Barnetby avoiding the ECML).

 

[DarloRich]

Grand Central run via Doncaster so can't use the Chord (which links Knottingley to Barnetby avoiding the ECML).

they run via Shaftholme don't they? ( via the old south facing line rather than the newer bridge - got my geography wrong there!)

 

[zwk500]

they run via Shaftholme don't they? ( via the old south facing line rather than the newer bridge - got my geography wrong there!)

Yes, but the Chord being asked about is the one avoiding Shaftholme Jn. Grand Central run Knottingley-Shaftholme Jn-Doncaster.

 

[DarloRich]

Yes, but the Chord being asked about is the one avoiding Shaftholme Jn.

yes - i got my geography wrong!

 

[Justin Smith]

Aha, have found a slightly better data site courtesy of Vail Data's Berth History:

15 Trains using the Flyover from East to West yesterday: https://vaildata.uk/berth_history?describer=DR&berth=0843&date=2026-04-27
13 Trains using the Flyover from West to East yesterday: https://vaildata.uk/berth_history?describer=DR&berth=0842&date=2026-04-27

Thanks for that, is that typical ?
Where are they going from and to (if that page tells me I cannot understand it ! ) ?

 

[DarloRich]

Where are they going from and to

Immingham > Drax > Immingham bio mass trains I suspect

 

[zwk500]

Thanks for that, is that typical ?
Where are they going from and to (if that page tells me I cannot understand it ! ) ?

Primarily Biomass trains between Immingham and Drax as @DarloRich suggests. I haven't checked a range of dates for how typical that is.
The links I provided list the headcodes that are searchable in RTT.

 

[Vexed]

Thanks for that, is that typical ?
Where are they going from and to (if that page tells me I cannot understand it ! ) ?

That page just shows low-level data and makes no attempt to do anything with the descriptions. Because they're not unique, it's not simple to match a headcode to a service, especially once keeping track of delayed ones is taken into account.

If you pick a different weekday on the top (sorry if you're on mobile, it doesn't show well) it looks pretty typical.

As zwk500 said you can search them on RTT. But you might find Rail Record's headcode search better as it's easier to pick different dates.

 

[Justin Smith]

Thanks for that, is that typical ?

That page just shows low-level data and makes no attempt to do anything with the descriptions. Because they're not unique, it's not simple to match a headcode to a service, especially once keeping track of delayed ones is taken into account.

If you pick a different weekday on the top (sorry if you're on mobile, it doesn't show well) it looks pretty typical.

As zwk500 said you can search them on RTT. But you might find Rail Record's headcode search better as it's easier to pick different dates.

Would its build have been economic at 12 trains a day ?

 

[JonathanH]

Would its build have been economic at 12 trains a day ?

It is surely more about the capacity it provides for other trains to run without conflicts.

 

[Kite159]

Would its build have been economic at 12 trains a day ?

Wasn't it built at a time when a lot more freight trains were expected to use it, i.e. carrying coal to the power stations which have seen closed. Immingham towards Drax carrying the wood makes sense using the flyover owing to the junction at Drax pointing towards Knottingley.

 

[endofthetunnel]

It’s an average of 1 train per hour. On its own not enough to build a line but to run vital power station traffic and keep it clear of the ECML is a different story. Remember previously much of the traffic ran into Doncaster or a yard just beyond it, the locomotives ran round, and then back.

 

[zwk500]

Would its build have been economic at 12 trains a day ?

The project also included removal of the level crossing at Joan Croft farm. However as others have pointed out, it's keeping a regular daily flow clear of the 2-track ECML.

If the runround at Doncaster were not used, the alternative route would be to join the ECML at Joan Croft Jn and then run up to Temple Hirst jn before turning left at Selby, left at Gascoigne Wood, and left at Ferrybridge or Castelford.

 

[Adrian Barr]

It's easier to filter the results in TRUST (trains at Hatfield & Stainforth going to Haywood Jn or vice versa). Last week (i.e. over 7 days from 26th April to 2nd May) there were about 70 movements in each direction over the flyover. For a freight-only route that's a pretty significant amount of traffic - perhaps not enough to sway the business case if the flyover was being planned today (which would also depend on the long-term prospects for the biomass traffic), but I agree with the posts above that if all the current freight was on the 2-track 125mph section of the ECML for the 13 miles between Joan Croft and Hambleton, it would cause headaches and delays with the current timetable - picking a midweek lunchtime, it looks like about 5 passenger trains an hour in each direction are using it.

Current traffic over the flyover is mostly biomass on the Immingham - Drax circuit (as already noted) but also steel trains from Scunthorpe going to Teesside. These can run via Knottingley, Ferrybridge, Milford Jn and Church Fenton to join the ECML at Colton - further north than the alternative of trundling over Joan Croft Jn at 25mph blocking both lines in the process.

As per the above post, the normal route for coal trains from Immingham to the Aire Valley power stations pre-flyover involved joining the ECML at Joan Croft Jn and leaving it at Hambleton Jns to run via Gascoigne Wood, Milford Jn and Knottingley (or Castleford if they were going to Ferrybridge). This route is still used occasionally, such as on Sundays when trains starting on the biomass circuit from Milford Sidings often run that way (4R50 and 4R53 today have done this). Remembering the Great Heck crash, it involved a coal train from Immingham to Eggborough using that section of the ECML. If the route via Scunthorpe and the flyover is blocked for engineering work, biomass trains usually divert via Brigg, such as 6B65 on Saturday which ran via Barnetby, Brigg, Gainsborough, Doncaster, Shaftholme Jn and the Knottingley South Jn to East Jn curve towards Drax. That route means less time on the ECML, but takes half an hour longer and puts more trains through Doncaster station (plus requires the signal boxes on the Brigg route to be open).

Some photos to illustrate the area around the flyover (a quiet road bridge built to replace a level crossing provides a good view of both the flyover and the ECML just north of Joan Croft Jn):

An Immingham - Ferrybridge coal train joins the ECML at Joan Croft Jn in 2013 - the new flyover is taking shape above, but hadn't yet opened:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/alanpadley/11133363366/ (Photo: Alan Padley)

A view from the same location showing more of the flyover shortly before it opened, as 66162 joins the ECML with an Immingham - Drax coal train in 2014: https://www.flickr.com/photos/alanpadley/14124633507/ (Photo: Alan Padley)

70001 works a 6R71 Immingham - Drax coal over the new flyover at the official opening in June 2014:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/alanpadley/14331710809/ (Photo: Alan Padley)

After crossing the flyover in the background, 66158 approaches Haywood Jn where it will join the line from Shaltholme Jn to Knottingley:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/andy_hoare/46070561692/ (Photo: Andy Hoare)

The opposite end of the line over the flyover seen in 2016, with the flyover itself at the end of the embankment to the right. 66164 has just come over the flyover with coal empties from Drax, and is approaching Thorpe Marsh Jn where it will join with the line from Skellow Jn seen on the left. 66194 is approaching on this route with steel empties from Dollands Moor to Scunthorpe (ex Hayange, near Metz). This train will have run via Doncaster station, Adwick and the curve from Carcroft Jn to Skellow Jn, which avoids crossing the station throat at the north end of Doncaster station onto the more direct route to Scunthorpe via Kirk Sandall. At the back of the steel train, Applehurst Jn can be seen where the curve to Joan Croft Jn diverges right to join the ECML.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/66202473@N04/24720589121/ (Photo: Alan Burkwood)

An interesting 2011 view with a zoom lens before the flyover was built. Looking north along the ECML, Shaftholme Jn is in the foreground while the 66 is joining the ECML at Joan Croft Jn after taking the curve from Applehurst Jn. The route from Applehurst Jn to Skellow Jn crosses the ECML on a bridge behind the photographer, while the flyover was built a couple of years later to cross the ECML just above the class 66.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/penske666photography/6283771438/ (Photo: penske666)

These were the runners via the flyover on Tuesday 28th April:

Aside from the biomass trains, 6J38 and 6J32 were on-track-plant moves, 6N74 was loaded steel for Lackenby, 6D12 and 6D97 were steel empties, and 6Z12 was empty IGAs which had delivered rail to Tees Dock on the previous day's 6X12 (which also used this route).

Trains at HATFLD+S for HAYWOODJN
Selected trains from 00:01 to 24:00 on 28/04/26
Lc Arr Dep Wttid Origin TRUST report
PASS 00:01 6H24 IMBIO DBC 22:24 Termin'd DRAXPOWER 00:42
PASS 01:43 6H50 IMBIO DBC 00:06 Termin'd DRAXPOWER 02:40
PASS 03:40 6H57 IMBIO DBC 02:15 Termin'd DRAXPOWER 04:30
PASS 05:44 6H58 IMBIO DBC 04:15 Termin'd DRAXPOWER 06:43
PASS 07:48 6H61 IMBIO DBC 06:15 Termin'd DRAXPOWER 08:45
PASS 09:48 6J38 SCUNTFROD 09:20 Termin'd SEAMUPSID 13:17
PASS 10:09 6H62 IMBIO DBC 08:15 Termin'd DRAXPOWER 11:10
PASS 11:52 6H63 IMBIO DBC 10:15 Termin'd DRAXPOWER 12:51
PASS 13:50 6H65 IMBIO DBC 12:19 Termin'd DRAXPOWER 14:56
PASS 15:55 6H75 IMBIO DBC 14:33 Termin'd DRAXPOWER 17:06
PASS 17:50 6H77 IMBIO DBC 16:19 Termin'd DRAXPOWER 19:05
PASS 19:51 6H79 IMBIO DBC 18:19 Termin'd DRAXPOWER 21:05
PASS 21:01 6N74 SC ENT C 20:25 Termin'd TEES YARD 23:23
PASS 21:59 6H83 IMBIO DBC 20:35 Termin'd DRAXPOWER 22:52

Trains at HATFLD+S from HAYWOODJN
Selected trains from 00:00 to 23:59 on 28/04/26
Lc Arr Dep Wttid Origin TRUST report
PASS 01:22 4R40 DRAXPOWER 00:40 Termin'd IMBIO DBC 02:12
PASS 03:22 4R45 DRAXPOWER 02:38 Termin'd IMBIO DBC 04:24
PASS 05:16 6D97 LACKENBY 01:39 Termin'd SC ENT C 05:45
PASS 05:29 4R47 DRAXPOWER 04:40 Termin'd IMBIO DBC 06:26
PASS 06:50 0D66 MIDLANDRD 05:47 Termin'd LNDSYORCR 07:40
PASS 07:21 4R48 DRAXPOWER 06:30 Termin'd IMBIO DBC 08:23
PASS 09:05 4R49 DRAXPOWER 08:20 Termin'd IMBIO DBC 10:20
PASS 11:24 4R50 DRAXPOWER 10:40 Termin'd IMBIO DBC 12:26
PASS 13:02 6J32 SEAMUPSID 10:15 Termin'd SCUNTFROD 13:32
PASS 13:35 4R51 DRAXPOWER 12:50 Termin'd IMBIO DBC 14:40
PASS 15:15 4R53 DRAXPOWER 14:33 Termin'd IMBIO DBC 16:25
PASS 17:12 6D12 LACKENBY 13:15 Termin'd SC ENT C 17:45
PASS 17:23 4R54 DRAXPOWER 16:40 Termin'd IMBIO DBC 18:30
PASS 18:11 6Z12 TEESDK EB 14:35 Termin'd SC ENT C 18:53
PASS 19:49 4R55 DRAXPOWER 18:50 Termin'd IMBIO DBC 20:55
PASS 23:40 4R39 DRAXPOWER 22:55 Termin'd IMBIO DBC 00:37

 

[Justin Smith]

Thanks for that !