Throughout 2007 and early 2008 we encouraged local people to back a campaign asking the Government to support a Sunday service on the Robin Hood Line from Worksop and Mansfield Woodhouse to Nottingham.
Over 10,000 local people responded to the campaign and due to this significant response, the Government have agreed to support a Robin Hood Line Sunday Service. Nottinghamshire County Council are funding this service for the first two and a half years, up to May 2011, and if the service is used as much as expected, it is hoped the Department for Transport (DfT) will fund it on a permanent basis after this time.
The service began on 14 December 2008. Local celebrity Robin Hood was joined by MPs, Councillors, East Midlands Trains Directors, rail user groups, the Newstead Brass Band and Citybound Christmas shoppers when he officially launched the first Sunday train service from Mansfield since the 1960s.
It is hoped that the Sunday service will carry an average of 1,800 passengers by 2010, which should confirm the long-term DfT funding for the service.
Benefits of a Sunday service:
- Great for local businesses by bringing in customers
- Enables people without access to a car or bus to get to and from work
- It gives better access to the countryside – people will be able to easily visit places like Newstead Abbey
- It will give direct links to bus services in Mansfield, Worksop and Nottingham
- Mansfield is getting a great new bus station linking directly to the train station. The town centre is undergoing massive regeneration that will attract more visitors and jobs. A Sunday service will support this regeneration programme
- Over a million people use the existing service every year - there is no reason why a Sunday service should not be as successful and popular.
We would like to thank everyone who supported this campaign and also thank the Government for their positive response.
The new service was officially announced at an event held at Mansfield train station in April 2008, which was attended by Alan Meale MP, Member of Parliament for Mansfield along with representatives from Nottinghamshire County Council, Nottingham City Council and East Midlands Trains.
A Robin Hood Line timetable is available in PDF format on the timetable page of the East Midlands Trains website
