New footbridge but Brigg station needs some extra attention

There has been positive and negative news on the state of Brigg's railway station circulating in the town over the past week.
The new footbridge at Brigg Station EMN-160330-215025001The new footbridge at Brigg Station EMN-160330-215025001
The new footbridge at Brigg Station EMN-160330-215025001

The new footbridge is now in place and is being used by passengers disembarking towards Gainsborough on the west-bound platform.

The cost of the bridge is reportedly in the region of £400,000. It replaces the 100- year-old structure that had been in poor repair.

The new bridge, like the old one, is not user-friendly for pushchairs and wheelchair-users, as it is without ramps, but it can be adapted at a later stage.

The old bridge is believed to be finding a new home on the Weardale Heritage Railway in County Durham, where it will be reconstructed.

It is unlikely at the present time that the Saturday-only service through Brigg will be extended to midweek.

Passenger numbers were 400 in 2009, according to Friends of the Brigg Line but they were put at 1,000 in 2015.

However, these figures compare with 60,000 for Market Rasen station, which has a daily service.

The Brigg and Kirton line is fighting for greater use alongside the established Barnetby to Grimsby or Sheffield and Manchester Airport Trans-Pennine line.

Bad news for Brigg station comes in reports received by Brigg Council from the Friends of the Brigg Line, ahead of the March Town Council meeting.

An email to the clerk describes “an appalling state of affairs, with caravans on the site, litter and excrement all around the station”, and of someone allegedly being bitten by a dog.