Helpston railway station was a station in Helpston, Cambridgeshire, on the Midland Railway's Syston and Peterborough Railway. It was closed in 1966. The Great Northern Railway main line runs adjacent to the Midland Railway at this point, but the Great Northern never had a station in Helpston. This was due to an agreement whereby the Midland carried materials to the site during construction of the Great Northern, and in return the Great Northern offered no competition for services on this section.[2]
Helpston | |
|---|---|
 Remains of the station in 1995 | |
| General information | |
| Location | Helpston, City of Peterborough England |
| Grid reference | TF131055 |
| Platforms | 2 |
| Other information | |
| Status | Disused |
| History | |
| Pre-grouping | Midland Railway |
| Post-grouping | London, Midland and Scottish Railway Eastern Region of British Railways |
| Key dates | |
| 2 October 1846 | Opened as Helpstone [1] |
| 1 July 1858 | Renamed Helpstone for Market Deeping |
| 1 May 1877 | Renamed Helpston for Market Deeping |
| 1 May 1912 | Renamed Helpston |
| 6 June 1966 | Closed |
The goods shed survives, as does the Great Northern Railway signal box, which is now used only to monitor a number of level crossings in the vicinity.
Helpston level crossing
editHelpston level crossing itself carries the Helpston to Glinton road over the four tracks of the ex-GNR line and the two tracks of the ex-MR line. This was previously two separate level crossings, controlled by two separate signal boxes. There was space for two cars between the level crossings. The crossings were merged and converted from gates to full barriers in the 1970s.
Out of all level crossings in the United Kingdom, this has the longest stretch of road between the barriers, crossing six tracks (grouped as four tracks of the 125 mph East Coast Mainline, and two tracks of the Birmingham–Peterborough line). As of January 2021[update], the crossing was assessed to have a "very high" collective risk rating.[3][4]
In 2015, Network Rail proposed to close 73 level crossings between Doncaster and London, including the Helpston level crossing.[5] This was part of a larger initiative started in 2010.[6] However, later the same year, Network Rail backtracked on the programme.[7]
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References
edit- ^ Butt, R.V.J., (1995) The Directory of Railway Stations, Yeovil: Patrick Stephens
- ^ Robin Leleux, A Regional History of the Railways of Great Britain. Volume 9 The East Midlands.
- ^ "Behind the scenes peek at Helpston signal box helps community understand level crossing safety". Network Rail Media Centre. 7 October 2019.
- ^ "Helpston Level Crossing". The ABC Railway Guide.
- ^ https://democracy.peterborough.gov.uk/documents/s22928/5.5%20Level%20Crossing%20Closures.pdf
- ^ https://www.networkrail.co.uk/communities/living-by-the-railway/level-crossing-closures/
- ^ "Network Rail backtracks on crossings closures". The Times. 2015. Archived from the original on 24 November 2015. Retrieved 2 August 2015.
| Preceding station | Historical railways | Following station | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bainton Gate | Midland Railway Leicester to Peterborough |
Walton | ||