Long Eaton - should it get a new station?

[WideRanger]

The current station with the name Long Eaton is not really ideal. It has short, and not easily extendable, platforms. It is quite a long way from the economic centre of Long Eaton (it was called Sawley Junction for most of its life). And even though located near a number of lines, only can be used by trains heading to or from Derby. When (if) East Midlands Hub gets built, that will be closer to much of Long Eaton. But the HS2 trains won't stop in Long Eaton, even thought they pass through the centre (understandable), and the possible shuttle trains from Norttingham are likely to pass through too (particularly odd, given that Long Eaton is a large town in the Nottingham Urban Area.

In the past, there were lots of Stations in the Long Eaton area, including odd ones such as Trent Junction. Rationalisation made sense then. But what we have now doesn't seem to reflect current and future needs.

I wonder whether there is much scope for re-siting a station on, say, Station Street, so that it is close to where the action is? Some there could also be useful to feed into Toton. Or even back on to the location of the original Long Eaton Station on the MML spur to Nottingham. Which would mean Nottingham - Derby trains could still call, plus trains from Nottingham down the Castle Donnington Line (in case we ever get Nottingham - Birmingham missing out Derby. Or both...

 

[Philip Phlopp]

Yes. Long Eaton should get a new station.

 

[Merthyr Imp]

But the original Long Eaton station wasn't on 'the MML spur to Nottingham' - it was on the direct line from Leicester/Loughborough to Alfreton, Sheffield etc (the Erewash Valley Line). See map.

For Nottingham to Derby or Castle Donington trains to call there the spur line shown on the map just below Long Eaton would have to be reinstated (assuming not built on by now) and trains from Attenborough would have to go that way and then reverse before proceeding via Trent. Which would be possible of course.

 

[London Trains]

But the original Long Eaton station wasn't on 'the MML spur to Nottingham' - it was on the direct line from Leicester/Loughborough to Alfreton, Sheffield etc (the Erewash Valley Line). See map.

Is that not exactly where Toton HS2 station will be in the future?

 

[MarkyT]

Is that not exactly where Toton HS2 station will be in the future?

East Midlands hub is a little further north than the old Long Eaton station site, not far from the town centre though. I suggest the best way to serve the town better would be to extend the NET tram line beyond the hub via street track into the centre.

 

[Merthyr Imp]

Is that not exactly where Toton HS2 station will be in the future?

I thought it was going to be where Toton sidings are.

 

[Ianno87]

East Midlands hub is a little further north than the old Long Eaton station site, not far from the town centre though. I suggest the best way to serve the town better would be to extend the NET tram line beyond the hub via street track into the centre.

Agreed.

Plus some "town" bus routes to connect the local estates to the HS2 station.

 

[edwin_m]

The previous Long Eaton station was closed mainly because there were no longer any passenger trains passing through it and still aren't. Toton suffers from the same problem, so there are plans by Midlands Connect to introduce or divert a range of services to connect it to surrounding towns. Most of these would pass through the centre of Long Eaton (where the station isn't), removing one of the obstacles to providing a station.

However several other problems would remain. HS2 runs on a high viaduct along the course of the "low level" lines from Trent including the previous station site (see plan link below) and it's not clear whether the connecting services will use the existing line underneath the viaduct or the High Level lines a short distance to the east, or even both. The station might be on Station Street (so right next to a level crossing if on the low level) or on the A6005 which would better serve the centre of Long Eaton but might be challenging on either route due to limited space. I'm not sure what happens to the existing Low Level route - possibly singled with viaduct piers on the formation, which might rule out a station. So there are actually four sites to be considered.

There's also the question of whether the connecting services would actually stop there, as this would slow down the important connections from HS2 to other places (the need to change at Toton already makes some HS2 journey times such as London-Derby/Nottingham only slightly quicker than via existing routes). The official view would probably be that using the proposed tram extension to connect to a classic train at Toton would be a better option - or just get the very frequent bus service.

Whatever happens I would suggest retaining not replacing the current Long Eaton (formerly Sawley Junction) station. It's next to a major road junction with good bus connections, and the housing to the west is within walking distance but would be far enough from the proposed site that people would need to cycle or drive instead. Train journeys would be no faster into Nottingham from the new site, and probably slower into Derby. Including closure of a station which does good business would most likely kill any proposal for a new station elsewhere.

https://assets.publishing.service.g...ta/file/629073/C321-MMD-RT-DPP-110-590903.pdf (drawing, not quoteable)

 

[Meerkat]

Blimey! If that viaduct is going over the A road which goes over the ground level railway then it’s going to be pretty high and intrusive - the locals can’t be too happy!

 

[Ianno87]

Blimey! If that viaduct is going over the A road which goes over the ground level railway then it’s going to be pretty high and intrusive - the locals can’t be too happy!

On the flip side, they get a brand new high speed and conventional rail station right on their doorstep.

 

[Meerkat]

On the flip side, they get a brand new high speed and conventional rail station right on their doorstep.

What percentage of people use trains? The rest get an ugly, noisy, viaduct, more traffic, and their kids won’t be able to afford houses in their own area!

 

[edwin_m]

I believe there's quite a lot of concern in Long Eaton.

 

[MarkyT]

Blimey! If that viaduct is going over the A road which goes over the ground level railway then it’s going to be pretty high and intrusive - the locals can’t be too happy!

It's over 400m between the A6005 Nottingham Rd overbridge and Station St level crossing. I suggest that might be far enough to go under the A road and climb over the crossing, especially if that was reduced in status to pedestrian/cycle status, or if the low level railway was removed the road might be sunk a metre or so to create greater headroom. What strikes me about the map is the scale of demolition required for a viaduct solution, removing the whole of one side of Bonsal St and New Tythe St. Not surprising really on reflection, but I hope people will be well compensated for their compulsory purchase. Another solution if the low-level railway was removed would be for the A6005 bridge to be removed and the road lowered to ground level.

 

[joenffc]

There isn't room really at a more suitable location I would say. I do think crosscountry should serve attenborough more though