
19th June 2024 – Train Service in Burton Joyce
The Village Society has supported the Burton Joyce Train Action Group (BJTAG) since its formation two years ago. The village has been represented on the Nottingham Lincoln Stakeholder Board (NLSB) since we became aware of its existence in October 2021. The quarterly meetings of the NLSB are attended by senior representatives of East Midlands Railway (EMR), Network Rail, Midlands Connect and representatives of the various Councils and communities along the line.
The NLSB has apparently been in existence since around 2010. In 2018, when the rail franchise was due to be renewed, it produced a strategy document which assessed all the stations between Nottingham and Lincoln based on the historic passenger numbers using each station. Using somewhat arbitrary criteria, this concluded that Burton Joyce only qualified for a 2-hourly service and until recently, the Board has not deviated from this assessment.
East Midlands Railway (EMR) took over the franchise in 2019 and recast the East Midlands network to comply with the ‘Train Service Requirement’ (TSR) set out by the DfT, which effectively required a roughly 2-hourly service for Burton Joyce, but more frequent services at other intermediate stations including Carlton, Lowdham, Fiskerton, Collingham, Swinderby and Hykeham. The TSR appears to have been based on historical train usage patterns, with limited account taken of population within a station attachment area.
In the EMR timetables, trains that stop in Burton Joyce run on the Newark to Crewe route. Trains on the Lincoln to Leicester route do not generally stop in BJ – this is intended to offer a fast service between Lincoln and Nottingham, although these trains do stop at intermediate stations between Lincoln and Newark and some stop at Carlton, Lowdham or Fiskerton.
The 2018 NLSB Strategy document acknowledged that Burton Joyce is the largest village community on the line, yet we have historically had a considerably worse train service than Lowdham, Fiskerton, Collingham and Swinderby, all smaller communities than ours.
The Parish Council has held meetings in the village with senior managers of EMR stating the case for a better service and with support from our Borough Councillors, Tom Randall instigated a debate in Westminster highlighting the poor level of funding from the DfT that rail in the East Midlands generally and on the Castle Line in particular receives. No significant action followed.
In November 2021 and April 2022 we submitted papers to the NLSB outlining the case for an improved service. The papers were received sympathetically but no action was taken – the emphasis at the time was on recovering services nationwide following the pandemic. At the time, the Newark to Crewe route appeared to be the lowest priority for recovery in the EMR network.
EMR proudly announced more trains on the Newark to Crewe route in the December 2023 timetable, but the extra trains only run from Nottingham to Crewe, so we still do not get the regular 2-hourly service that the NLSB strategy proposed and that was reiterated by NLSB as a short term aim following the pandemic. We have consistently been told that there is not enough time in the timetables for trains to make extra stops between Newark and Nottingham, due to tight turn-round times at both ends of the route, complications with platform allocations at Nottingham and irregular crossing patterns over the East Coast Main Line at the Newark flat crossing.
At the June 2023 meeting the NLSB, Simon Pready, EMR Commercial Director, specifically asked us to present a paper to the September meeting setting out all the arguments for the hourly service that we have consistently argued we deserve. This paper, which included updated population figures based on the 2021 census, was received sympathetically but there was no indication that anything was likely to change in the foreseeable future for the reasons stated above together with financial constraints and considerable bias in the NLSB membership towards the Lincoln end of the line.
However, at the December 2023 NLSB meeting, EMR’s presentation included their own assessment of ‘catchment areas’ of the all stations on the line and compared it with the number of stops. This demonstrated that BJ has the second largest population within the catchment area of any of the intermediate stations on the line, yet under the current timetable, we receive only 21 stops per day compared with 36 at Carlton and Fiskerton, 40 at Swinderby, 41 at Lowdham and 47 at Collingham and Hykeham. EMR accepted that we are an ‘outlier’.
A meeting of a sub-group of NLSB was held in March to reassess the group’s short-term aims. As a result of the September BJTAG paper, this meeting agreed to move Burton Joyce from the 2 hourly service group to join Carlton, Lowdham, Fiskerton, Collingham and Hykeham in the one hourly service group. This was endorsed by the March meeting of the full group (although, unfortunately, we were not able to be represented at this meeting).
A further sub-group meeting was held earlier this month to assess its long-terms aims. At this meeting EMR’s timetable manager reported that they are working on ‘recasting’ the Newark to Crewe timetable this December to provide a regular 1-hourly service to all stations except Thurgarton, Bleasby and Rolleston – i.e. including Burton Joyce. This has yet to be formally confirmed and we have been disappointed before, but we are extremely hopeful – watch this space!
Further potentially good news is that the East Coast Mainline timetable is being recast for this December and it would appear that the gaps at the Newark flat crossing will be more regular. EMR is applying to the Office for Road and Rail for changes to the crossing permits so that in December 2025 the Newark to Crewe trains can be extended to Lincoln. This is primarily to ease overcrowding on Lincoln to Nottingham trains by offering two trains per hour, but it also means that we should be able to get hourly trains from Burton Joyce to and from Lincoln without having to change in Newark. We live in hope!
If anyone would like copies of the papers referred to above, please let me know.
Chris Helmore,
Burton Joyce Train Action Group
18th June 2022 – Update on Campaign for Better Rail Services: Burton Joyce Village Society
Campaigning over a Long Period
A lot of campaigning has been done over a long period especially over the past year – I have been involved in this for over 20 years. In this period, Burton Joyce train station has achieved a much higher profile, being brought to the attention of the Department for Transport, East Midlands Railway, and Network Rail, among others. However, despite all the attention and publicity, the frequency of the train service has not really improved. If anything, it has become worse due to the pandemic and shortages of stock and staff.
Campaigning Personages and Groups
Numerous people and groups have become involved in the campaigning effort, including Tom Randall, our Member of Parliament, Mike Adams and Sam Smith, our Gedling Borough Councillors, Laurence King (Chair) and other members of Burton Joyce Parish Council, the NottIngham to Lincoln Stakeholders Board, and our very own, beloved Village Society. All credit to those involved.
Practical Viewpoints
- The station infrastructure and platforms are expertly maintained
- The station appearance in terms of plants, herbs and flowers presents a very pleasing aspect, thanks to the Friends of Burton Joyce Station
- There is actually a good service of passenger trains passing through Burton Joyce – it’s just that they do not stop at the station
- There are even two through passenger trains to London St Pancras, although, again, they do not stop at Burton Joyce, despite having previously stopped at such stations as Fiskerton and Lowdham on the way through
- A Park & Ride Facility, to be known as BJ Park & Ride, would be a useful addition to the range of village services, and would improve travel opportunities into Nottingham by rail and resolve any station car parking problems
Carlton Station
It is clear that Carlton, which is the next station on the line towards Nottingham, has a distinctly more frequent service than Burton Joyce. It would improve the prospects of Burton Joyce Station if more people were to use it. Carlton Station has about an hourly train service to Nottingham, compared with an infrequent spasmodic service from Burton Joyce to Nottingham. Consequently, at Carlton more people are inclined to use the train service.
Fare Inequities
Some of the particular problems at Burton Joyce are the infrequency of the train service, and the inequity of the train fares. E.g., a single from Burton Joyce to Nottingham is £5.10, and a return is £5.40 (off-peak) or £5.50 (anytime return). The trouble is that if you buy a return ticket it can be difficult to get there and back on the same day. They are giving a discount if you buy a return ticket, but the poor service makes it very difficult or impossible to use a return ticket to Nottingham for any practical purpose.
Electrification of Local Train Services relating to Burton Joyce
In the Spring of 2021, it was announced that the railway from London to Nottingham, Derby and Sheffield was to be electrified in its entirety. This work was originally stopped indefinitely in 2017, but is now apparently progressing at the usual slow pace (or speeding ahead in the words of Network Rail). With the electrification of the line from London to Nottingham and Derby, there clearly emerges the benefit of electrifying the Derby / Nottingham / Lincoln line.
Environmental Problems
People are becoming increasingly aware of the huge environmental problems caused by the use of diesel and petrol engines for transport, especially on the roads. There is a similar problem on the railways, and the continuing use of diesel-engine trains in this part of the East Midlands cannot be ignored. On the railways, electrification schemes are better viewed as a linked-up network, and it makes sense to view the electrification of the Midland Main Line as part of an electrification system which includes most parts of the East Midlands. Conversely, there is a cost penalty for having small parts of the network outside the electrification scheme, and requiring their own separate infrastructure for operations and maintenance.
East-West Connectivity
The major difficulty with the current electrification plan for the Midland Main Line from London to the East Midlands and Sheffield is the timescale, which was originally aimed for completion in December 2023, and is now planned for 2030. That is why it is essential to make an immediate start on linked electrification projects in the East Midlands, such as the Derby, Nottingham and Lincoln line, which would do much to improve east-west connectivity.
Levelling Up the Railway System in the Backwaters of the East Midlands
So many promises have been made, and so little delivered, that it is now essential to start levelling up the railway system in the backwaters of the East Midlands, and this is with reference to Burton Joyce.
Summary of Update
We are approaching a turning point in the survival of Burton Joyce as an operational train station. Despite the infrequent and spasmodic train service, and the inequity of fares, we are now talking about the survival of Burton Joyce as an operational train station. Despite the infrequent train service and the inequity of fares, it really is a case of
‘Use it or Lose it’.