Boston railway station

This article is about a railway station in England. For the main stations in Boston, Massachusetts, see North Station and South Station. For the LRT station in the Philippines formerly called as Boston Station, see Betty Go-Belmonte station.

Boston railway station serves the town of Boston in Lincolnshire, England. It is on the Poacher Line.

Boston
General information
Location	Boston, Boston England
Coordinates	52°58′41″N 0°01′52″W / 52.978°N 0.031°W / 52.978; -0.031Coordinates: 52°58′41″N 0°01′52″W / 52.978°N 0.031°W / 52.978; -0.031
Grid reference	TF323441
Managed by	East Midlands Railway
Platforms	2
Other information
Station code	BSN
Classification	DfT category E
History
Opened	17 October 1848^[1]
Passengers
2017/18	0.218 million
2018/19	0.227 million
2019/20	0.211 million
2020/21	59,220
2021/22	170,976
Notes
Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road

View southward, towards Sleaford in 1964

View northward, towards Firsby and Grimsby in 1964

The station is now owned by Network Rail and managed by East Midlands Railway who provide all rail services.

History

The station opened for service on 17 October 1848 with the opening of the Great Northern Railway East Lincolnshire line.^[1]

The station has declined in importance since the 1960s. In its heyday the station employed over 50 staff and had two through tracks and cover over the platform tracks. The Skegness bound platform had classic Great Northern Railway architecture buildings as well, now replaced with plastic shelters. The station frontage remains, albeit altered, in partially reconstructed manner, and some of the buildings have found new uses.

Boston station was once an important junction, with two lines diverging in either direction. Today, only the eastbound line to Skegness, and the westbound line towards Sleaford remain in use. There was previously a southbound line to Spalding (closed in October 1970) that joined the line to Peterborough (and formed part of the original GNR main line from London to York), and a north-westbound line to Woodhall Junction (closed in June 1963) and thence on towards Lincoln, Horncastle, or Louth. Both surviving routes are single line, with a passing loop at the station.

To the south of the station the access to Boston Docks via the swing bridge and the site of the Broadfield Lane depot remain (the rail link into the docks still sees occasional use). To the north along the old Lincoln to Boston and Horncastle route, about 2 miles north of the town is the old Hall Hills sleeper depot.

Station Masters

• Mr. Carruthers ca. 1849
• George Waghorn 1851 - 1855
• George R.H. Mullins 1855^[2] - 1871 (formerly station master at Doncaster)
• John James Reading 1884 - 1899^[3] (afterwards station master at Lincoln)
• David J. Halliday 1899 - 1920
• J.W. Malkinson 1920 - 1928
• T. Day 1928^[4] - 1933
• Clifford G. Turner 1933 - 1937 (afterwards station master at Ardsley)
• T.W. Croot 1937 - 1938 (afterwards station master at Spalding)
• William P. Spinks 1939 -1949^[5]
• H.B. Onyon 1949^[6] - 1951 (afterwards station master at Peterborough East)
• Charles Morris 1951 - 1955^[7]

Services

All services at Boston are operated by East Midlands Railway.

On weekdays and Saturdays, The station is served by an hourly service westbound to Nottingham via Grantham and eastbound to Skegness.^[8]

On Sundays, the service is served by a limited service in each direction, with additional services during the summer months. Enhancements to the Sunday service are due to be made during the life of the East Midlands franchise.^[9]

Preceding station	National Rail			Following station
Heckington		East Midlands Railway Poacher Line		Wainfleet
Hubberts Bridge Limited Service				Thorpe Culvert Limited Service
	Historical railways
Sibsey		Great Northern Railway East Lincolnshire Line		Terminus
	Disused railways
Langrick		Great Northern Railway Lincolnshire Loop Line		Kirton

References

1. "Opening of the Great Northern Railway". Northampton Mercury. England. 21 October 1848. Retrieved 28 June 2017 – via British Newspaper Archive.
2. "Changes in the Situation of Station-master at the Boston Station". Lincolnshire Chronicle. England. 28 September 1855. Retrieved 2 September 2017 – via British Newspaper Archive.
3. "Mr. J.J. Reading's Departure from Boston". Boston Guardian. England. 16 December 1899. Retrieved 2 September 2017 – via British Newspaper Archive.
4. "Boston in 1928". Lincolnshire Standard and Boston Guardian. England. 29 December 1928. Retrieved 2 September 2017 – via British Newspaper Archive.
5. "Stationmaster Retires". Lincolnshire Standard and Boston Guardian. England. 29 January 1949. Retrieved 2 September 2017 – via British Newspaper Archive.
6. "New Station Master for Boston". Lincolnshire Echo. England. 27 January 1949. Retrieved 2 September 2017 – via British Newspaper Archive.
7. "Railways now lack personal touch". Lincolnshire Standard and Boston Guardian. England. 5 March 1955. Retrieved 2 September 2017 – via British Newspaper Archive.
8. Table 19 National Rail timetable, May 2022
9. "East Midlands Rail Franchise". Department for Transport. Retrieved 18 January 2021.

External links

• Train times and station information for Boston railway station from National Rail

 

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