Transport in Lincolnshire
Contents |
Transport network
Roads
Being on the economic periphery of England, Lincolnshire's transport links are less well developed than many other parts of the United Kingdom. The road network within the county is dominated by single carriageway trunk roads (A roads) and minor roads (B roads) rather than motorways or dual carriageways - the administrative county of Lincolnshire is one of the small number of UK counties without a motorway (the M180, the principal link between South Yorkshire and the North Sea coast, runs exclusively within the boundaries of North East Lincolnshire). Following a north-south axis the most important route into and out of the county is the A1 (formerly the Great North Road) linking the county with London and south-east England as well as the important population centres of northern England and Scotland. The three main points where traffic enters the county from the A1 are Stamford, Grantham and Newark (A46). The volume of traffic on the A46 along with the extremely high accident rate forced the County Council to transform the road to a dual carriageway along its entire 20km (13 mile) length with this much needed upgrade being finally completed in 2004. Up until a few years ago, it was said that there was only approximately 35kms (22 miles) of dual carriageway in the whole of Lincolnshire
Partly because of its fast and flat (but deceptively undulating) roads, Lincolnshire has one of the worst road accident records of the UK counties (as measured in terms of road fatalities per head of population). In a national effort to cut the number of speed-related deaths and injuries, the county's residents became early 'guinea pigs' in a programme to roll-out speed cameras across the country and (much to the annoyance of many of its residents) Lincolnshire now has over 50 speed cameras installed on its road network.
Rail
The low population density of the county means that the number of railway stations and train services is rather low considering the county's large physical size. A large number of the county's railway stations were permanently closed following the Beeching Report of 1963. Lincoln retained its direct train service to London until the late 1980s, but it is now necessary to change trains in Newark, Nottinghamshire. However, the East Coast Main Line passes through the county and so it is still possible to catch direct trains to the capital from Grantham.
There is a local joke that Lincolnshire is the only county where most people's second car is a Massey Fergusson (a make of tractor).
Bus
Bus services within the county are also limited in number, due to the inherent economic feasibility of serving a scattered population living across an area with low population density. Many smaller villages in the county have no regular bus service, making access to a private vehicle the only practical means of living in many parts of the county. The services that do exist almost exclusively service the large population centres (e.g. Lincoln, Grantham, Boston, Skegness) and mid-sized market towns (e.g. Horncastle, Gainsborough) and a limited number of their dormitory and commuter villages.
Airports
Lincolnshire has it's own airport in the north of the county at Kirmington, between Scunthorpe, Grimsby and Lincoln. Several others are fairly easily accessable by either road or rail.
- [Humberside International] (HUY)[1]
- Doncaster 'Robin Hood' Airport (DSA)
- East Midlands Airport (EMA)
- Leeds/Bradford International Airport (LBA)
- Stansted Airport (STN)
- Manchester International Airport (MAN)
Canals
Lincolnshire is served by the Foss Dyke canal, an ancient waterway of Roman origin, which connects the River Trent and the River Witham.