King's Lynn railway station
Encyclopedia
King's Lynn railway station serves the town of King's Lynn
in Norfolk
. The station is the terminus of the Fen Line
from Cambridge
, which is electrified
at 25 kV AC overhead. It has been the only major railway station in the town since the closure of South Lynn railway station
in 1959.
. A spur connecting the harbour was opened in 1849, and at one point was a complicated network of lines, boasting two swing bridges, serving premises on and around the town's South Quay. Another short branch, about three-quarters of a mile long, connecting the docks was opened in 1862 by the King's Lynn Docks & Railway Company. The railway was initially not welcomed by the port authorities in King's Lynn; they predicted that sea-bound trade would decline, and were later proved correct when through-trains to London
ended up carrying the majority of freight to the capital.
Expansion followed with the opening of several branches. The Lynn & Dereham Railway, which weaved a 26 miles (41.8 km) route to East Dereham via Narborough
and Swaffham
, was given the Royal Assent
in 1845, opening in stages between 1846 and 1848; this later became part of the Great Eastern Railway
. A line running north to the seaside resort of Hunstanton
was opened in 1862, a journey celebrated by former Poet Laureate John Betjeman in a short BBC film
about the line.
The Hunstanton line included Wolferton station
, which served the Royal Family's Sandringham House
, and so became the route of hundreds of Royal Train
s. Since Royal services to London had to first pass through King's Lynn before heading south to King's Cross, crowds on King's Lynn station cheering the Royal Train became one of the town's cherished and memorable traditions.
King's Lynn also received services from the Midland and Great Northern Joint Railway
system, whose main station serving the town was in nearby South Lynn; a short shuttle service ran from King's Lynn to South Lynn as often as twenty times a day. The station opened in 1865, serving Sutton Bridge
and Spalding
to the west. The line later expanded eastwards, reaching Norwich in 1882.
King's Lynn's original station building was replaced by the current building in 1871, and has remained largely unchanged since; the original was a somewhat rudimentary timber
building on the site of the goods yards of the time.
on 28 February that year, depriving King's Lynn of services to Norwich
and Spalding
. The dubious safety of a bridge over the Ouse
, a very short way north-west of South Lynn station, was allegedly a significant factor in the closure of the whole route, and was demolished later that year. A section of this line about a mile and a half long was left open for freight into the 1980s, transporting materials like oil and limestone to the sugar beet factory (since closed).
Other services suffered a similar fate in the following years. Passenger services to Hunstanton
were discontinued in 1969, services to Wisbech (via Magdalen Road) ended in 1968, and the line to Dereham was closed in the same year, save for a three-mile section for sand
freight from King's Lynn to Middleton. The closure of these services left only one passenger route in operation—services to Ely and Cambridge on the Fen Line.
Freight services to King's Lynn were less swiftly, but even more extensively, affected by cutbacks. Campbell's made heavy use of rail transport after opening its factory in Lynn in 1959, its curtain-sided wagons being one of the more distinctive sights on the Fen Line; but with the withdrawal of Speedlink
services in the early 1990s, this traffic was lost to road transport. The branch to the harbour was progressively shortened before its final closure at around the same time, and the line to the docks closed as well (except for a short stub allowing the aforementioned freight trains from Middleton
to change direction), the last train passing over the line in June 1994. The station's once-extensive goods yard suffered the same fate, the site being taken over by the station's car park and two large shops.
Before electrification in 1992, InterCity (latterly Network SouthEast) locomotives operated most services, normally pulling British Rail Mark 2
b coaches. Many of these services featured full-service restaurant cars. The locomotives were usually Class 37
diesel-electrics, sometimes 47
s. Freight services were operated by a similar array of diesel locomotives, as well as Class 20
s, Class 31
s, and the occasional Class 08
shunter. Off-peak links were often provided by Metro-Cammell diesel multiple units, such as the Class 101
.
For many years after electrification, and the consequent removal of diesel locomotives from passenger services, Class 317
electrical multiple units monopolised services out of King's Lynn; while they were not as comfortable as the previous fleet of locomotive-hauled coaches, they quickly developed a reputation for reliability. Today's services are, for the most part, served by former-British Rail
Class 365
s, although Class 317s remain in use on the small number of Monday-Friday peak-hour services operated by National Express East Anglia between King's Lynn and London Liverpool Street
.
The few freight trains that visit King's Lynn today—sand trains from the Middleton Towers branch—are usually hauled by Class 66
locomotives, operated by DB Schenker
. Occasionally, enthusiast railtour
s operate on this branch as well.
The station is primarily served by First Capital Connect
as part of their service from London King's Cross to King's Lynn
. Outside peak hours services run non-stop between London and Cambridge
as part of a half-hourly Cambridge service; one train per hour then continues beyond Cambridge, stopping at all stations on the Fen Line
to King's Lynn. A small number of services, operated by National Express East Anglia during rush hours, travel to Liverpool Street instead; in the past, through-trains from London always started from Liverpool Street, but services were shifted to King's Cross in the 1990s.
On 8 November 2010, the Railway Cafe celebrated 100 years of being open.
It was originally intended that when the Thameslink Programme
is completed, King's Lynn would join the Thameslink
network of cross-London services. This would have meant that most trains for London from King's Lynn would have no longer terminated at King's Cross but instead they would be diverted onto the Thameslink route and on to St Pancras, Farringdon, and various destinations thereafter. The Thameslink programme is now expected to be finished in 2018 but it currently seems unlikely that Thameslink trains will go beyond Cambridge.
King's Lynn
King's Lynn is a sea port and market town in the ceremonial county of Norfolk in the East of England. It is situated north of London and west of Norwich. The population of the town is 42,800....
in Norfolk
Norfolk
Norfolk is a low-lying county in the East of England. It has borders with Lincolnshire to the west, Cambridgeshire to the west and southwest and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the North Sea coast and to the north-west the county is bordered by The Wash. The county...
. The station is the terminus of the Fen Line
Fen Line
The Fen Line is a railway in the United Kingdom that runs between the cities of Cambridge, Cambridgeshire and King's Lynn, Norfolk; the line is so called because it runs through The Fens. The line is part of the Network Rail Strategic Route 5 and comprises SRS 05.06 and part of 05.05...
from Cambridge
Cambridge
The city of Cambridge is a university town and the administrative centre of the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It lies in East Anglia about north of London. Cambridge is at the heart of the high-technology centre known as Silicon Fen – a play on Silicon Valley and the fens surrounding the...
, which is electrified
Railway electrification in Great Britain
Railway electrification in Great Britain started towards of the 19th century. A great range of voltages have been used in the intervening period using both overhead lines and third rails, however the most common standard for mainline services is now 25 kV AC using overhead lines and the...
at 25 kV AC overhead. It has been the only major railway station in the town since the closure of South Lynn railway station
South Lynn railway station
South Lynn railway station was a station located in King's Lynn, Norfolk, on the Midland and Great Northern Joint Railway.-History:The Lynn & Sutton Bridge Railway was authorised on 6 August 1861, to build a line between those points. It was opened between and in November 1864; passenger trains...
in 1959.
Early growth
The railway arrived in 1846, with the Ely and Lynn branch of the Great Eastern RailwayGreat Eastern Railway
The Great Eastern Railway was a pre-grouping British railway company, whose main line linked London Liverpool Street to Norwich and which had other lines through East Anglia...
. A spur connecting the harbour was opened in 1849, and at one point was a complicated network of lines, boasting two swing bridges, serving premises on and around the town's South Quay. Another short branch, about three-quarters of a mile long, connecting the docks was opened in 1862 by the King's Lynn Docks & Railway Company. The railway was initially not welcomed by the port authorities in King's Lynn; they predicted that sea-bound trade would decline, and were later proved correct when through-trains to London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
ended up carrying the majority of freight to the capital.
Expansion followed with the opening of several branches. The Lynn & Dereham Railway, which weaved a 26 miles (41.8 km) route to East Dereham via Narborough
Narborough, Norfolk
Narborough is a village of 1405 hectares in the Breckland district of Norfolk, England with a population of 1095 as of the 2001 census. It is situated in the Nar Valley, with the river Nar flowing through on its way to the River Great Ouse....
and Swaffham
Swaffham
Swaffham is a market town and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. The town is situated east of King's Lynn and west of Norwich.The civil parish has an area of and in the 2001 census had a population of 6,935 in 3,130 households...
, was given the Royal Assent
Royal Assent
The granting of royal assent refers to the method by which any constitutional monarch formally approves and promulgates an act of his or her nation's parliament, thus making it a law...
in 1845, opening in stages between 1846 and 1848; this later became part of the Great Eastern Railway
Great Eastern Railway
The Great Eastern Railway was a pre-grouping British railway company, whose main line linked London Liverpool Street to Norwich and which had other lines through East Anglia...
. A line running north to the seaside resort of Hunstanton
Hunstanton
Hunstanton, often pronounced by locals as and known colloquially as 'Sunny Hunny', is a seaside town in Norfolk, England, facing The Wash....
was opened in 1862, a journey celebrated by former Poet Laureate John Betjeman in a short BBC film
John Betjeman Goes By Train
John Betjeman Goes By Train is a 1962 short documentary film made by British Transport Films and BBC East Anglia. The 10 minute long film features future poet laureate John Betjeman as he takes a memorable journey by train from King's Lynn railway station to Hunstanton railway station in Norfolk,...
about the line.
The Hunstanton line included Wolferton station
Wolferton railway station
Wolferton was a railway station on the King's Lynn to Hunstanton line which opened in 1862 to serve the village of Wolferton in Norfolk, England. The station was also well-known as the nearest station to Sandringham House, and royal trains brought the royal family to and from their estate until its...
, which served the Royal Family's Sandringham House
Sandringham House
Sandringham House is a country house on of land near the village of Sandringham in Norfolk, England. The house is privately owned by the British Royal Family and is located on the royal Sandringham Estate, which lies within the Norfolk Coast Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.-History and current...
, and so became the route of hundreds of Royal Train
Royal Train
A royal train is a set of carriages dedicated for the use of the monarch or other members of that particular royal family. Most monarchies with a railway system employ a set of royal carriages.-Australia:...
s. Since Royal services to London had to first pass through King's Lynn before heading south to King's Cross, crowds on King's Lynn station cheering the Royal Train became one of the town's cherished and memorable traditions.
King's Lynn also received services from the Midland and Great Northern Joint Railway
Midland and Great Northern Joint Railway
The Midland and Great Northern Joint Railway, was a joint railway owned by the Midland Railway and the Great Northern Railway in eastern England, affectionately known as the 'Muddle and Get Nowhere' to generations of passengers, enthusiasts, and other users.The main line ran from Peterborough to...
system, whose main station serving the town was in nearby South Lynn; a short shuttle service ran from King's Lynn to South Lynn as often as twenty times a day. The station opened in 1865, serving Sutton Bridge
Sutton Bridge
Sutton Bridge is a village and civil parish in southeastern Lincolnshire, England on the west bank of the River Nene in the district of South Holland.-Geography:...
and Spalding
Spalding, Lincolnshire
Spalding is a market town with a population of 30,000 on the River Welland in the South Holland district of Lincolnshire, England. Little London is a hamlet directly south of Spalding on the B1172 road....
to the west. The line later expanded eastwards, reaching Norwich in 1882.
King's Lynn's original station building was replaced by the current building in 1871, and has remained largely unchanged since; the original was a somewhat rudimentary timber
Timber
Timber may refer to:* Timber, a term common in the United Kingdom and Australia for wood materials * Timber, Oregon, an unincorporated community in the U.S...
building on the site of the goods yards of the time.
Closures
At their peak, the railways in and around King's Lynn employed hundreds of people, but Britain's extensive railway cutbacks in the late 1950s and the following decades badly affected King's Lynn's railway services. The 1959 closure of the former M&GN's lines resulted in the closure of South Lynn railway stationSouth Lynn railway station
South Lynn railway station was a station located in King's Lynn, Norfolk, on the Midland and Great Northern Joint Railway.-History:The Lynn & Sutton Bridge Railway was authorised on 6 August 1861, to build a line between those points. It was opened between and in November 1864; passenger trains...
on 28 February that year, depriving King's Lynn of services to Norwich
Norwich
Norwich is a city in England. It is the regional administrative centre and county town of Norfolk. During the 11th century, Norwich was the largest city in England after London, and one of the most important places in the kingdom...
and Spalding
Spalding, Lincolnshire
Spalding is a market town with a population of 30,000 on the River Welland in the South Holland district of Lincolnshire, England. Little London is a hamlet directly south of Spalding on the B1172 road....
. The dubious safety of a bridge over the Ouse
River Great Ouse
The Great Ouse is a river in the east of England. At long, it is the fourth-longest river in the United Kingdom. The river has been important for navigation, and for draining the low-lying region through which it flows. Its course has been modified several times, with the first recorded being in...
, a very short way north-west of South Lynn station, was allegedly a significant factor in the closure of the whole route, and was demolished later that year. A section of this line about a mile and a half long was left open for freight into the 1980s, transporting materials like oil and limestone to the sugar beet factory (since closed).
Other services suffered a similar fate in the following years. Passenger services to Hunstanton
Hunstanton railway station
Hunstanton was a railway station which served the seaside town of Hunstanton in Norfolk, England. Opened in 1862, the station was the northern terminus of the King's Lynn to Hunstanton line immortalised by John Betjeman in the British Transport Film John Betjeman Goes By Train...
were discontinued in 1969, services to Wisbech (via Magdalen Road) ended in 1968, and the line to Dereham was closed in the same year, save for a three-mile section for sand
Sand
Sand is a naturally occurring granular material composed of finely divided rock and mineral particles.The composition of sand is highly variable, depending on the local rock sources and conditions, but the most common constituent of sand in inland continental settings and non-tropical coastal...
freight from King's Lynn to Middleton. The closure of these services left only one passenger route in operation—services to Ely and Cambridge on the Fen Line.
Freight services to King's Lynn were less swiftly, but even more extensively, affected by cutbacks. Campbell's made heavy use of rail transport after opening its factory in Lynn in 1959, its curtain-sided wagons being one of the more distinctive sights on the Fen Line; but with the withdrawal of Speedlink
Railfreight Distribution
Railfreight Distribution was a subsector of British Rail created by the division in 1987 of British Rail's previous Railfreight sector. It was responsible for non-trainload freight operations, as well as Freightliner and Intermodal services. In its early years the division was occasionally...
services in the early 1990s, this traffic was lost to road transport. The branch to the harbour was progressively shortened before its final closure at around the same time, and the line to the docks closed as well (except for a short stub allowing the aforementioned freight trains from Middleton
Middleton, Norfolk
Middleton is a civil parish in the English county of Norfolk.It covers an area of and had a population of 1,516 in 621 households as of the 2001 census.For the purposes of local government, it falls within the district of King's Lynn and West Norfolk....
to change direction), the last train passing over the line in June 1994. The station's once-extensive goods yard suffered the same fate, the site being taken over by the station's car park and two large shops.
To the present
British Rail Mark 2
The Mark 2 family of railway carriages were British Rail's second design of carriages. They were built by British Rail workshops between 1964 and 1975...
b coaches. Many of these services featured full-service restaurant cars. The locomotives were usually Class 37
British Rail Class 37
The British Rail Class 37 is a diesel-electric locomotive. Also known as the English Electric Type 3, the Class was ordered as part of the British Rail modernisation plan....
diesel-electrics, sometimes 47
British Rail Class 47
The British Rail Class 47, is a class of British railway diesel-electric locomotive that was developed in the 1960s by Brush Traction. A total of 512 Class 47s were built at Crewe Works and Brush's Falcon Works, Loughborough between 1962 and 1968, which made them the most numerous class of British...
s. Freight services were operated by a similar array of diesel locomotives, as well as Class 20
British Rail Class 20
The British Rail Class 20, otherwise known as an English Electric Type 1, is a class of diesel-electric locomotive. In total, 228 locomotives in the class were built by English Electric between 1957 and 1968, the large number being in part because of the failure of other early designs in the same...
s, Class 31
British Rail Class 31
The British Rail Class 31 diesel locomotives, also known as the Brush Type 2 and originally as Class 30, were built by Brush Traction from 1957-62.- Description :...
s, and the occasional Class 08
British Rail Class 08
The British Rail Class 08 is a class of diesel-electric shunting locomotive. From 1953 to 1962, 996 locomotives were produced, making it the most numerous of all British locomotive classes....
shunter. Off-peak links were often provided by Metro-Cammell diesel multiple units, such as the Class 101
British Rail Class 101
The British Rail Class 101 diesel multiple units were built by Metro-Cammell at Washwood Heath in Birmingham from 1956 to 1959, following construction of a series of prototype units. This class proved to be the most successful and longest-lived of all BR's First Generation DMUs, with the final five...
.
For many years after electrification, and the consequent removal of diesel locomotives from passenger services, Class 317
British Rail Class 317
The British Rail Class 317 alternating current electric multiple units were built by BREL York in two batches, from 1981-82 and 1985-87. They were the first of several classes of British Rail EMU to be based on the all-steel Mark 3 bodyshell, departing from the "PEP"-aluminium design which had...
electrical multiple units monopolised services out of King's Lynn; while they were not as comfortable as the previous fleet of locomotive-hauled coaches, they quickly developed a reputation for reliability. Today's services are, for the most part, served by former-British Rail
British Rail
British Railways , which from 1965 traded as British Rail, was the operator of most of the rail transport in Great Britain between 1948 and 1997. It was formed from the nationalisation of the "Big Four" British railway companies and lasted until the gradual privatisation of British Rail, in stages...
Class 365
British Rail Class 365
The British Rail Class 365 "Networker Express" are dual-voltage 25 kV AC and 750 V DC) electric multiple units built by ABB at York from 1994 to 1995. These were the last units to be built at the York factory before it closed...
s, although Class 317s remain in use on the small number of Monday-Friday peak-hour services operated by National Express East Anglia between King's Lynn and London Liverpool Street
Liverpool Street station
Liverpool Street railway station, also known as London Liverpool Street or simply Liverpool Street, is both a central London railway terminus and a connected London Underground station in the north-eastern corner of the City of London, England...
.
The few freight trains that visit King's Lynn today—sand trains from the Middleton Towers branch—are usually hauled by Class 66
British Rail Class 66
The Class 66 is a six axle diesel electric freight locomotive developed in part from the British Rail Class 59, for use on the railways of the UK. Since its introduction the class has been successful and has been sold to British and other European railway companies...
locomotives, operated by DB Schenker
EWS
DB Schenker Rail , before 2009 known as English, Welsh and Scottish Railway is a British rail freight company. EWS was established by a consortium led by Wisconsin Central Transportation Corporation in 1996 by acquisition of five of the six freight companies created by the privatisation of British...
. Occasionally, enthusiast railtour
Railtour
A railtour is a special train which is run in order to allow people to experience rail travel which is not available using timetabled passenger services...
s operate on this branch as well.
The station is primarily served by First Capital Connect
First Capital Connect
First Capital Connect is a passenger train operating company in England that began operations on the National Rail network on 1 April 2006...
as part of their service from London King's Cross to King's Lynn
King's Lynn
King's Lynn is a sea port and market town in the ceremonial county of Norfolk in the East of England. It is situated north of London and west of Norwich. The population of the town is 42,800....
. Outside peak hours services run non-stop between London and Cambridge
Cambridge
The city of Cambridge is a university town and the administrative centre of the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It lies in East Anglia about north of London. Cambridge is at the heart of the high-technology centre known as Silicon Fen – a play on Silicon Valley and the fens surrounding the...
as part of a half-hourly Cambridge service; one train per hour then continues beyond Cambridge, stopping at all stations on the Fen Line
Fen Line
The Fen Line is a railway in the United Kingdom that runs between the cities of Cambridge, Cambridgeshire and King's Lynn, Norfolk; the line is so called because it runs through The Fens. The line is part of the Network Rail Strategic Route 5 and comprises SRS 05.06 and part of 05.05...
to King's Lynn. A small number of services, operated by National Express East Anglia during rush hours, travel to Liverpool Street instead; in the past, through-trains from London always started from Liverpool Street, but services were shifted to King's Cross in the 1990s.
On 8 November 2010, the Railway Cafe celebrated 100 years of being open.
It was originally intended that when the Thameslink Programme
Thameslink Programme
The Thameslink Programme, originally Thameslink 2000, is a £6 billion project in south-east England to upgrade and expand the Thameslink rail network to provide new and longer trains between a wider range of stations to the north and to the south of London without requiring passengers to change...
is completed, King's Lynn would join the Thameslink
Thameslink
Thameslink is a fifty-station main-line route in the British railway system running north to south through London from Bedford to Brighton, serving both London Gatwick Airport and London Luton Airport. It opened as a through service in 1988 and by 1998 was severely overcrowded, carrying more than...
network of cross-London services. This would have meant that most trains for London from King's Lynn would have no longer terminated at King's Cross but instead they would be diverted onto the Thameslink route and on to St Pancras, Farringdon, and various destinations thereafter. The Thameslink programme is now expected to be finished in 2018 but it currently seems unlikely that Thameslink trains will go beyond Cambridge.
See also
- Railways in NorfolkRailways in NorfolkRailways have played an important part in the history and development of the English county of Norfolk. It currently has thirty open National Rail stations, through there were once well over a hundred....
- Fen LineFen LineThe Fen Line is a railway in the United Kingdom that runs between the cities of Cambridge, Cambridgeshire and King's Lynn, Norfolk; the line is so called because it runs through The Fens. The line is part of the Network Rail Strategic Route 5 and comprises SRS 05.06 and part of 05.05...
- King's LynnKing's LynnKing's Lynn is a sea port and market town in the ceremonial county of Norfolk in the East of England. It is situated north of London and west of Norwich. The population of the town is 42,800....
- South Lynn railway stationSouth Lynn railway stationSouth Lynn railway station was a station located in King's Lynn, Norfolk, on the Midland and Great Northern Joint Railway.-History:The Lynn & Sutton Bridge Railway was authorised on 6 August 1861, to build a line between those points. It was opened between and in November 1864; passenger trains...