Editing Robin Hood Line (section)

==History==
The majority of the current Robin Hood Line re-uses the former [[Midland Railway]] (MR) route from [[Nottingham]] to [[Worksop]]. However, due to rationalisation leading to track removal in order to save the costs of maintaining the tunnel north of [[Annesley]], the through route was severed in the 1970s.<ref name="returntorobinhood">
{{cite magazine
  |title = Return to Robin Hood
  |first = Robin
  |last = Sisson
  |magazine = Today's Railways UK
  |volume = 63
  |publisher = Platform 5 Publishing Ltd
  |location = Sheffield
  |date = March 2007
  |pages = 48–55
}}</ref>

Northwards from Nottingham, the freight-only line remained intact as far as [[Newstead, Nottinghamshire|Newstead]], where it had served the now closed Newstead Colliery.<ref name="returntorobinhood" />

Southwards from Worksop, the line followed the old MR route as far as [[Sutton-in-Ashfield]]. Between Sutton-in-Ashfield and [[Kirkby-in-Ashfield]], the line was diverted in 1972 to take the former [[Great Northern Railway (Great Britain)|Great Northern Railway]] (GNR) route through the area.<ref name="anderson">
{{cite book
  |title = Forgotten Railways
  |volume = II The East Midlands
  |first = P. Howard
  |last = Anderson
  |publisher = David St John Thomas
  |location = Newton Abbott
  |edition = 2nd
  |year = 1985
  |page = 206
  |isbn = 0-946537-20-8
}}</ref>
This allowed [[British Rail]] to sell land right in the centre of Kirkby-in-Ashfield whilst keeping a freight route through the town. After crossing the town on the GNR route, the line re-joined the old MR route to Pye Bridge, near [[Ironville]] but the connection between Kirkby-in-Ashfield and Newstead was closed and the tunnel filled in.<ref name="returntorobinhood" />

When plans for the Robin Hood Line were drawn up, it was vital in the interest of keeping costs down to make as much use of the existing infrastructure as possible so, rather than trying to buy back the land to rebuild the line through the centre of Kirkby-in-Ashfield, the existing GNR diversion was kept and a new partly single track stretch of railway built to re-create the missing link between Kirkby-in-Ashfield and Newstead.<ref name="returntorobinhood" />

North of Newstead, at Annesley, both the [[Great Central Railway]] (GCR) and the Midland Railway had driven tunnels through the picturesque [[Robin Hood Hills, Nottinghamshire|Robin Hood Hills]] but, since both lines closed, both tunnels had been filled in.<ref name="anderson" /> The GCR's tunnel had been at a lower level than the MR's and so was much longer but it had previously been shared with the GNR and the elevation was a good match for the route through Kirkby. In the end it proved cheaper to re-excavate the MR's tunnel, which was found to be in excellent condition<ref name="returntorobinhood" /> and build the new connection on a gradient between the two levels.<ref name="andersoncupit">
{{cite book
  |title = An Illustrated History of Mansfield's Railways
  |first1 = Paul
  |last1 = Anderson
  |first2 = Jack
  |last2 = Cupit
  |publisher = Irwell Press
  |location = Bedfordshire
  |edition = 1st
  |year = 2000
  |pages = 70-76
  |isbn = 1-903266-15-7
}}</ref>
 
The new service from [[Nottingham railway station|Nottingham]] to [[Newstead railway station|Newstead]] opened in 1993, although [[Bulwell railway station|Bulwell]] station opened only in 1994.  It was extended to [[Mansfield Woodhouse railway station|Mansfield Woodhouse]] in 1995, with [[Kirkby-in-Ashfield railway station|Kirkby-in-Ashfield]] station opening in 1996. The through passenger route from Nottingham to [[Worksop railway station|Worksop]] opened in 1998.<ref name=bbc-hist/>

In 2004 the section between [[Bulwell]] and [[Hucknall]] was [[single-track railway|singled]] to allow space for the new [[Nottingham Express Transit]] tramway, which follows the route as far north as Hucknall and opened in March 2004.{{sfn |David |2017 |pp=159-160}}