Robin Hood Line Sunday Service

Throughout 2007 and early 2008 Nottinghamshire County Council 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 will begin on Sunday 7th December 2008 with the first train arriving into Nottingham at around 9.15am and the last train departing Nottingham at around 8.30pm. Exact timetables are yet to be finalised but it is expected that there will be ten trains per day in each direction, with four of these travelling to/from Worksop and the other six to/from Mansfield Woodhouse.

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 on Friday 11th April, 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.