Spooner Row railway station

Spooner Row National Rail
Location
Place Spooner Row
Local authority South Norfolk
Coordinates 52°32′06″N 1°05′10″E / 52.5351°N 1.0860°E / 52.5351; 1.0860Coordinates: 52°32′06″N 1°05′10″E / 52.5351°N 1.0860°E / 52.5351; 1.0860
Grid reference TM094975
Operations
Station code SPN
Managed by Greater Anglia
Number of platforms 2
DfT category F2
Live arrivals/departures, station information and onward connections
from National Rail Enquiries
Annual rail passenger usage*
2012/13 Decrease 264
2013/14 Increase 388
2014/15 Increase 490
2015/16 Increase 664
2016/17 Increase 1,256
History
30 July 1845 Opened
September 1847 Closed
1 December 1855 Reopened
13 July 1964 Closed to freight
National Rail – UK railway stations
* Annual estimated passenger usage based on sales of tickets in stated financial year(s) which end or originate at Spooner Row from Office of Rail and Road statistics. Methodology may vary year on year.
UK Railways portal

Spooner Row railway station is on the Breckland line in the east of England, serving the village of Spooner Row, Norfolk. The line runs between Cambridge in the west and Norwich in the east.

Spooner Row is situated between Attleborough and Wymondham, 111 miles 27 chains (179.2 km) from London Liverpool Street via Ely. The station is managed by Greater Anglia, which also operates all of the services calling at the station.

It is one of the least-used stations in the United Kingdom, with just 664 passenger entries/exits in 2015/16, according to Office of Rail and Road figures. On weekdays, there are two trains per day to Norwich and one to Cambridge booked to call on request only.

History

The Bill for the Norwich & Brandon Railway (N&BR) received Royal Assent on 10 May 1844. The line was to link with an Eastern Counties Railway (ECR) project of a line from Newport in Essex to Brandon in Norfolk. Once complete the line would enable trains to travel from Norwich to London. Work started on the line in 1844. The line and its stations were opened on 30 July 1845. Spooner Row station opened with the line and was, as now, situated east of Attleborough station and west of Wymondham station. The line ran from Ely to Trowse, in Norwich. The link into Norwich was delayed due to the need to build a bridge over the River Wensum that kept the river navigable.

One month before the N&BR opened a Bill authorising the amalgamation of the Yarmouth & Norwich Railway with the N&BR came into effect and so Spooner Row station became a Norfolk Railway asset.[1]

The NR closed Spooner Row station in September 1847.

In 1848 the NR was absorbed by the Eastern Counties Railway. The ECR reopened Spooner Row station on 1 December 1855.

The station closed for a second time on 1 August 1860.

An Act of Parliament on 7 August 1862 auhtorised the amalgamation the ECR and the Eastern Union Railway, which resulted in the formation of the Great Eastern Railway (GER). Subsequent to this, Spooner Row reopened for the third and final time on 1 March 1882.

The difficult economic circumstances that existed after World War 1 led the Government to pass the Railways Act 1921 which led to the creation of the Big Four. The GER amalgamated with several other companies to create the London and North Eastern Railway (LNER). Spooner Row became a LNER station on 1 January 1923.

On nationalisation in 1948 the station and its services came under the management of the Eastern Region of British Railways.

The original station buildings were destroyed by fire in the 1970s.

Upon privatisation the station and its services were transferred to Anglia Railways on 5 January 1997 on 2 March 1997.


On 1 April 2004 the station and its services were transferred to National Express East Anglia, then known as "one". On 5 February 2012 these were transferred to Abellio Greater Anglia.

Original wooden level crossing gates adjacent to the station used to be operated manually by a signaller based in the local signal box. However, in 2012 the signal box was closed and the crossing gates were renewed with automatic barriers and warning lights. The signal box is due to be relocated to Wymondham Abbey railway station on the heritage Mid-Norfolk Railway.

Last year (2015) the Government nationalised Network Rail so only the Train Operating Companies remained private.

Today the station is unstaffed and has only a small shelter on each platform. The eastbound (Norwich) platform is considerably lower in height than is usual on the British railway network.

Services

Spooner Row is a request stop. As of December 2015, on weekdays there are two trains each morning to Norwich, also calling at Wymondham. There is one train each afternoon to Cambridge, also calling at Attleborough, Thetford, Brandon, and Ely.

On Saturdays the station is served by one train in each direction, with the same calling patterns. There is no Sunday service.

References

  1. ↑ C.J. Allen
Preceding station   National Rail   Following station
Greater Anglia
Monday-Saturday only


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