Elton & Orston: Least used station in Nottinghamshire

Elton & Orston,
25th May 2018

Yesterday I visited a station that I have been past numerous times but never explored, Elton & Orston. With just 128 journeys being recorded in 2016/17, Elton & Orston is the least used station in the county of Nottinghamshire. The station has limited facilities, but there is something fascinating by Britain's quiet rural railway stations such as Elton & Orston.

A Class 156 train passing
through Elton & Orston,
25th May 2018

Elton & Orston is located on the Nottingham-Skegness railway line, operated exclusively by East Midlands Trains. Despite being roughly two trains an hour in each direction using the line, Elton & Orston only receives two services a day; one towards Nottingham at 06:25, and one towards Skegness at 17:10. There are no services on Sundays from this station either. National Rail actually states "This station is served by a very sparse train service, currently only one train a day in each direction. The nearest stations with a more frequent service are Bottesford or Aslockton". 

Both Bottesford and Aslockton are located on the same line as Elton & Orston, the Nottingham-Skegness line. Firstly, Bottesford is slightly under 4 miles from Elton & Orston by road and receives roughly one train in each direction every two hours. With 65,465 journies being recorded in 2016/17, Bottesford, despite being considerably busier than Elton & Orston, is the least used station in Leicestershire. Furthermore, Bottesford is the only station in Leicestershire to not have a direct service with Leicester. Secondly, Aslockton receives a slightly more frequent service than Bottesford and is 3 miles from Elton & Orston by road. Aslockton saw 30,572 journies in 2016/17, despite having more services than Bottesford. 

A view of Elton & Orston
from the barrow crossing,
25th May 2018

Elton & Orston is the joint 10th least used station in the country, alongside Stanlow & Thornton in Cheshire. There are limited facilities at Elton & Orston, there are two shelters, litter bins, a help point, a car park and bicycle storage, other than that, there is not much going on. There are two platforms at the station, and in order to change between the two, you have to use a barrow crossing over the tracks. There are no ticketing facilities at this station, however, you can purchase tickets with the train guard at no extra cost. 

Station sign on the platform,
25th May 2018

The station code for Elton & Orston is ELO. Hold On Tight, a few Electric Live Orchestra references are coming up. There was no Mr. Blue Sky on my visit to the station. If you need assistance at Elton & Orston, you will need to use the Telephone Line at the Help Point. I waited for the 17:10 towards Skegness and got off at Grantham in order to make the Last Train to London. Please Don't Bring Me Down, I promise this is the end of ELO. 

What makes Britain's railways so special? Partly it is stations such as Elton & Orston. There are over 2500 railway stations in Britain with millions of daily journies, however, there are small stations that only serve a handful of journies. Despite just 128 annual journies, Elton & Orston, like every station, plays an important role in building communities and connections. 

News: UK government to take over rail services on the East Coast Main Line

Class 91 Virgin Trains East Coast
locomotive at London King's Cross
16th May 2018

There was huge railway news this afternoon as Transport Secretary Chris Grayling announces the state takeover of the East Coast Main Line.

The current operators, Virgin Trains East Coast (owned by Stagecoach and Virgin Trains), will hand over services to the government on 24 June 2018. This is the third time in over a decade that the government have felt the need to intervene with an East Coast franchise. Taking over services in March 2015, Virgin Trains East Coast was initially intended to operate services until 2023, however, the news today comes as no surprise.

The Transport Secretary, Chris Grayling, addressed the House of Commons today stating "we will start with the launch of a new long-term brand for the East Coast mainline through the recreation of one of Britain's iconic rail brands, the London and North Eastern Railway" (LNER). Whilst this decision is highly politically, I will let you decide for yourselves whether the railways should be nationalised. 

London King's Cross
16th May 2018

The LNER operated services along the East Coast Main Line from 1923 until 1948. The East Coast Main Line connects London with many northern cities such as Leeds, York, Newcastle and Edinburgh, with other operators using the track, such as Hull Trains and Great Northern. There are numerous questions that have arisen today that need to be answered. 

Short-term issues for passengers

Virgin Trains East Coast stated on Twitter earlier "Following today's franchise announcement, please be assured services are unaffected. You can continue to make bookings and travel with us as normal." For regular Virgin Trains East Coast passengers, such as myself, services should not be affected up to and beyond the 24 June. The Transport Secretary today has also stated that season tickets, timetables and employment conditions would remain unchanged. 

Long-term plans

Despite short-term questions being addressed, some of Virgin Trains East Coast stakeholders have long-term concerns. Under Virgin Trains East Coast, there has been an increase in services of 11%, and there have been plans put in place to further increase services. Passengers to and from Lincoln have been concerned today, as there is currently one train in each direction (07:30 from Lincoln Central and 19:06 from London King's Cross*), however, there have been long plans under Virgin Trains East Coast to increase services to one every two hours along this route. Whether these plans will be enforced under LNER is yet to be seen.

Furthermore, many Virgin Trains East Coast passengers have been excited ahead of the launch of Azuma on the network. Class 800s, Intercity Express Trains, have been introduced across Britain since October 2017, with 23 of them planned to be slowly introduced on the East Coast by the end of this year, with the nickname Azuma, which is Japanese for East. Will these be making an appearance for passengers under LNER? It is likely the Class 800s will be replacing the Class 43s and Class 91s currently used as planned, however, it is unclear whether the 'Azuma' name will still be present. 

Is this the beginning of the state taking control of the entire rail network? Perhaps not, as it is likely a new process to find a next franchise will begin in 2020. Whilst there are numerous questions that are not yet answered, in the short term passengers should not be affected. 

*From Lincoln Central 07:30 Monday-Friday, 07:33 Saturday and none on Sunday. From London King's Cross 19:06 Monday-Friday, 18:08 Saturday and 19:08 Sunday. 

I am back!

North Ealing

Wow, so 2017 and 2018 have been really busy years for me. I have not had much time to keep you updated with this blog, until now!

I have been busy with coursework, dissertation and exams, but finally, they are all over. So what does this mean? This means I will be back to blogging all things about the London Underground. However, one thing has changed since I last posted a blog entry, I now no longer live in London (for now?). I will keep on posting about the London Underground, but I will also, as some of you may have seen on my Instagram, be posting more generally about railways in Britain.

So just a reminder;

I have always been fascinated by the railways of Britain. That is probably because I come from an area, ironically, with little railways, Lincolnshire. Growing up I hardly ever used railways, because my parents drove everywhere as we had no services near where I live. When I turned fourteen, however, I started using railways and my love for them has grown ever since. Most weekends, and indeed weekdays I am travelling around Britain's railways and I thought it was about time I shared some of my personal highlights with you.

From quirky least used stations, to gorgeous Victorian architecture, to film locations and interestingly named stations, there is plenty to discover and enjoy from over 2500 stations. Many people see travelling by train as a chore, if this is you, welcome. I may convince you to experience something exciting on your next journey. I may even reveal a secret about a journey you do regularly that you thought you knew like the back of your hand.

Perhaps most exciting of all, is Britain's railways are going to become more accessible, more frequent and hopefully more popular in the near future, with more services and stations being introduced.

King's Cross St. Pancras

My interest in railways does not stop at National Rail, I am also fascinated by the London Underground and heritage railways. This blog is not a trainspotting blog. I have never written down a train's number, and nor do I have any desires to spot every train, but what I am interested in is the railways that help connect us all.

So sit back, relax and enjoy. You never know, the next time you go a train journey you might be inspired to experience something new.