Friday, December 02, 2016

LEAVES ON THE LINE: BRIGG STATION TREE REMOVAL WILL HELP


FROM PAUL JOHNSON, BRIGG RAILWAY LINE CAMPAIGNER

We were delighted to see the Network Rail team at Brigg on Saturday (November 26) cutting down the trees on the Sheffield platform.
For a number of years we have been asking for this, as leaves cause problems on the rails and the trees damage  the platform surface.
Sadly, for the second week in a row, Brigg, Kirton In Lindsey and Gainsborough Central stations had not been gritted. This has been logged via the customer service department at Northern.
The new bin on the Sheffield platform still awaits a bin-bag but  the problem of flooded platforms  had gone due to a dry week.
The platform lights have now been fixed and came on at 15:55 - just as the late-running 15:20 Cleethorpes to Sheffield train arrived. 
Sadly,  the condition of the track due to leaf fall and lack of use caused delays again.
2H03, the 08:03 Sheffield to Cleethorpes train via Brigg, struggled yet again to get to track speed between Gainsborough and Brigg.
This meant  the connection at Barnetby with 2T30, the 09:39 to Lincoln and Newark, was lost as one train left as the other  arrived!
A delay of up to 10 minutes seems to be  normal now on all services and until extra trains run, or the track is cleaned, I think this will remain for some time.
Passenger numbers were encouraging as a number of customers came to Brigg and Gainsborough for shopping.
Brave travellers went to "Igloo" Cleethorpes!

Paul has supplied this picture, taken from the footbridge at Brigg station, showing work being undertaken on trees near one of the platforms (left) as a freight train approaches on the other line. 

2 comments:

Ken Harrison said...

Leaves on the line is an evolved problem.....in the olden days of steam, the odd and no so odd spark from the puff-puff set fire to trackside vegetation to the extent that saplings were destroyed and anything more than a charred twig was a rare sight.

NIGEL FISHER said...

A great shame there are no trains running today to bring folk to the Brigg Christmas lights switch on, fair and late night shopling event