Newark North Gate railway station

The station is on the Great Northern Railway Towns Line from Peterborough to Doncaster which opened on 15 July 1852,[4] the easier to construct Fens Loop Line via Boston and Lincoln had opened two years earlier.[5]

The station opened without any ceremony. The first train of passengers from the north arrived at 6.38 am and those from the south arrived at 8.05 am.[6] The buildings comprised a booking-office, cloak room, first and second class ladies’ and other waiting rooms, and a large refreshment room 51 feet (16 m) by 21 feet (6.4 m), and a smaller one 21 feet (6.4 m) by 14 feet (4.3 m). The platforms were 435 feet (133 m) long, with awnings provided for 50 feet (15 m) of their length. There was a coal depot, goods warehouse and sheds to accommodate 4 locomotives.

The station became a junction in 1879 with the opening of the Great Northern Railway branch to Bottesford, built as a northern extension of the Great Northern and London and North Western Joint Railway which opened at the same time. Services from Newark were provided to Northampton or Leicester and also to Nottingham. Services onto the joint line from Newark were withdrawn by 1922.[7] The line was much used for through goods, especially between Newark and Northampton. The joint line closed in 1962 except for isolated fragments, but the Newark to Bottesford Junction section survived until 1988.

On 9 July 1928, King George V and Queen Mary arrived at the station from King's Cross where they were received by the 6th Duke of Portland.[8]

The short connection to the Newark Castle to Lincoln line was opened in 1965 by British Rail to maintain a link between the East Coast Main Line and Lincoln following the closure of the branch from the latter to Grantham. This remains in use today by trains to Lincoln and Grimsby.[9]

The station is just south of the Newark Crossing,[15] one of the few remaining flat railway crossings in the UK. The East Coast Main Line is crossed by the Nottingham-Lincoln line. Trains on the East Coast Main Line not calling at Newark North Gate have to slow from 125 miles per hour (201 km/h) to 100 miles per hour (160 km/h) at the crossing. There are plans to grade-separate the crossing by providing a flyover for east-west services, with a shallow enough gradient to accommodate freight trains. A key geographical constraint on the construction of a flyover will be the proximity of the site to the River Trent and the A1 trunk road. The benefits of a flyover would include higher capacity on both the East Coast Main Line and the Nottingham-Lincoln line, for both passengers and freight; journey time improvements; and a more reliable timetable. Network Rail's final Route Utilisation Strategy for the East Midlands estimated that a flyover would have a benefit:cost ratio of 1.4, with further benefits which could not be taken account of in the standard project appraisal procedures. The RUS recommended that the provision of a flyover at Newark was further developed in Control Period 4 (2009–2014) to refine the infrastructure costs and potential benefits, with the possibility of constructing it in Control Period 5 (2014–2019).[16]

Virgin Trains East Coast service to London

East Midlands Trains service for Grimsby

Platforms 1 and 2, for London North Eastern Railway run intercity trains south for stations to London King's Cross, as well as to the North for stations to Leeds, Newcastle upon Tyne and Scotland. From platform 3 services continues to Lincoln Central. East Midlands Railway also runs a service to Lincoln Central and Grimsby. Occasional trains on the Nottingham to Lincoln Line also call additionally at Newark North Gate, which involves a cumbersome double reversal. This is currently practised by 2 trains a day Monday–Saturday & 5 on Sundays.[17]

The current off-peak Service pattern is the following:

London North Eastern Railway

• 2tph to London King's Cross
• 1tp2h to York
• 1tp2h to Lincoln
• 1tph to Newcastle; some continue to Edinburgh Waverley.
• 1 train a day to Hull Paragon.

Preceding station	National Rail			Following station
Grantham		London North Eastern Railway London- Newcastle/Edinburgh/York		Retford or Doncaster
Grantham		London North Eastern Railway London-Leeds		Retford or Doncaster
Grantham		London North Eastern Railway London-Hull Limited Service		Doncaster
Peterborough		London North Eastern Railway London-Newcastle/York/Edinburgh/Scotland		Doncaster
Grantham		London North Eastern Railway London-Doncaster		Retford or Doncaster
Grantham or Peterborough		London North Eastern Railway London-Lincoln		Lincoln Central
Terminus		East Midlands Railway Newark-Grimsby Line		Collingham

There is significant ambiguity about the correct form of the station's name. Different station name signs on the platforms say "Newark North Gate" or "Newark Northgate". On exiting the station, the old British Rail sign says just "Northgate" and road signs towards the station say 'Northgate'. National Rail timetables show Newark North Gate.

There are three car parks in the immediate area for the railway station. They are operated by the railway car parks and National Car Parks (NCP).

Railway Northgate Car Park - 289 spaces

NCP Northgate Car Park - 371 Spaces

Of the three main car parks in the area, the NCP and the Railway car parks are the most conveniently situated for the railway station facilities.

• Body, G. (1986), PSL Field Guides - Railways of the Eastern Region Volume 1, Patrick Stephens Ltd, Wellingborough, ISBN 0-85059-712-9
• National Rail
• NCP Newark Northgate Station Car Park

• Media related to Newark North Gate railway station at Wikimedia Commons
• NCP Newark Northgate Station Car Park