A new two-hourly Brigg shuttle passenger train service is now being proposed to serve the town - running most days of the week.
It will make trips to London and other cities possible via connections at Retford, and also offer early morning direct trains to Grimsby and Cleethorpes. Sheffield will also be within easy reach.
Following the proposal announced very recently by North Lincolnshire Council to improve the passenger train service at Brigg station, we can today outline an alternative way to put our local railway line back on track after being restricted to a spasmodic Saturdays-only timetable for the past 27 years.
The aim of both plans is the same - to increase the number of trains picking up passengers in the town and extend the service beyond Saturdays when only three are currently timetabled towards Sheffield and three more head for Cleethorpes.
FROM THE INDEPENDENT BRIGG LINE RAIL GROUP
The people on the Brigg line are realistic; they are not expecting a gold-plated service, but they are expecting some form of improvement that can connect communities and, from the exchequer's point of view, put 'bums on seats' and cash in the till.
Our proposal is to run a 2-hourly Cleethorpes to Worksop shuttle service.
This would take 2 units, and the journey time between each destination is 1 hour and 30 minutes. Each unit could have a 15-minute 'stack' at either end.
The units we would use would be from Vivarail, the company transforming ex- London Underground stock into high quality but low maintenance diesel units. (See pictures here).
A small maintenance facility would be needed at Cleethorpes; this would not be a problem as these units currently work on the Bedford to Bletchley line and a similar situation has been met there.
The trains will be operated by a TransPennine Express crew, meaning a train heading towards Worksop could realistically leave Cleethorpes at just after 0530 in the morning; and with the service calling at Retford low-level and Worksop, it would mean customers in Brigg could be in places like London for, or before, 9am - and in Sheffield between 0730am to 8am.
The return working would also mean that customers travelling east would get to places like Grimsby Town and Cleethorpes between 08.30am - 9am.
STATIONS
Due to the fact that the present train service has run a 1 day-a-week operation since 1st October 1993, some of the stations and the surrounding areas are not 'up to purpose.'
Brigg station is in rather a poor state.
It has a non-ramp footbridge; this will either need to have these fitted or a lift.
Regrettably, the section between the station and the end of Station Road is in very poor condition and a request has gone in many times for a temporary footpath to be constructed so customers coming off the train don't have to walk through the mud on wet days.
Kirton in Lindsey station is not in bad condition. Like Brigg, it could do with real-time information on the platforms; the waiting shelter is around 40 years old; there are no designated parking spaces, despite the fact there is a railway car park; lighting in this area and on the approach road could be improved, as well as poster boards which have become life expired.
INFORMATION
The Brigg Line group, in partnership with the Gainsborough Rail & Bus Group, produced a Brigg Line guide which became incredibly popular but was sadly discontinued. Copies could be found in libraries, social meeting places, town councils and main railway stations up and down the line.
Any future improvements to the service will require this to be published again, as a 'back to basics' campaign will have to be implemented and people will have to be told about their new train services and where they can travel to and from.
The Brigg Line group has a Facebook page, which comes under the Manchester Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/TMSLRG/