Finningley railway station

Finningley railway station was a railway station built to serve the villages of Finningley and Blaxton, South Yorkshire, England.[2]

Finningley
General information
LocationFinningley and Blaxton, Doncaster
England
Coordinates53°29′26″N 0°59′25″W / 53.49064°N 0.99014°W / 53.49064; -0.99014
Grid referenceSK670997
Platforms2
Other information
StatusDisused
History
Pre-groupingGreat Northern and Great Eastern Joint Railway
Post-groupingLondon and North Eastern Railway
British Railways
Key dates
15 July 1867[1]opened
11 September 1961closed for regular passenger service
6 September 1965closed completely

History

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The first railway station to be built was some 500 yards (460 m) to the west of the level crossing on the main Bawtry to Thorne road (A614). The second station, still in South Yorkshire, was on the east of the level crossing, some 2 miles (3 km) west of the county boundary. It was located on the Doncaster to Lincoln Line approximately 1 mile (1.6 km) from RAF Finningley (now Doncaster Sheffield Airport). Although the station closed to passengers on 11 September 1961[3] it was opened specially for trains from Doncaster to the Finningley Air Show until 1965 and on one occasion to serve the Royal Train when H.M. The Queen visited the Royal Air Force airfield.[1]

Nowadays only the derelict platforms remain, along with the former station buildings (which are a private residence) and the signal box, which remains in use to operate the adjacent level crossing.

Future

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Planning permission for a new station further north to serve the airport was granted by Doncaster Council in 2008[4] and discussions regarding station design and service levels took place between the local authority, Network Rail and the various TOCs with a view to opening the new station in 2012. However, there was no progress on building a new station by June 2016. A 2012 report by Network Rail stated that more trains on the line would be required to make the station viable.[5] The service over the line was sparse, with just five Doncaster to Lincoln Central trains each way from Monday to Saturday in the May 2017 timetable.[6] There has been a call from Sheffield Chamber of Commerce[7] to provide a rail link to the Doncaster Sheffield airport and a new railway station for the air terminal.[8]

The council applied for the station in the New Stations Fund 2 in 2017 but was unsuccessful.[9]

Preceding station Historical railways Following station
Bessacarr
Line open, station closed
  Great Northern and Great Eastern Joint   Park Drain
Line open, station closed
Doncaster–Lincoln line
 
 
 
 
 
Doncaster   
 
Bessacarr Halt
 
Finningley
 
Park Drain
 
 
 
 
 
 
Haxey Junction
 
Haxey and Epworth
 
 
 
Misterton
 
 
 
 
Misterton Petroleum
storage depot
 
Walkeringham
 
Beckingham
 
 
 
 
West Trent Junction
 
 
 
East Trent Junction
 
 
 
Gainsborough Lea Road  
 
Lea
 
Stow Park
 
 
 
Saxilby
 
 
 
Skellingthorpe
 
 
 
Lincoln   
 
 
 

References

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  1. ^ a b "Disused stations: Finningley".
  2. ^ Historic England. "Monument No. 509007". Research records (formerly PastScape). Retrieved 2 January 2011.
  3. ^ Subterranea Britannica - Finningley
  4. ^ "Take-Off For Airport Station Plans". Railnews.co.uk. 2 July 2008. Retrieved 15 September 2010.
  5. ^ Network Rail, Route Specifications 2012 – London North Eastern, p76
  6. ^ Table 18 National Rail timetable, May 2017
  7. ^ "Calls for rail link to Doncaster’s Robin Hood Airport Peace, Lee, Doncaster Free Press 8 August 2014; Retrieved 13 June 2016
  8. ^ Dyson, Andrew, ed. (September 2017). "Feasibility study to belaunched into Doncaster Airport link". Today's Railways. No. 189. Sheffield: Platform 5. p. 20. ISSN 1475-9713.
  9. ^ "Proposed Railway Schemes". trundleage.co.uk. 22 August 2017.