MP campaigns for Robin Hood railway line extension

A Labour MP has said a railway line named after the folk hero Robin Hood should be extended to reach where the outlaw lived.

The Robin Hood Line, owned by Network Rail, connects Nottingham to Worksop but does not pass through the Sherwood Forest area.

Michelle Welsh, MP for Sherwood Forest in Nottinghamshire, raised the issue in a debate in Westminster on 10 February.

"We have a redundant train station with a train track that would need some work, but is essentially ready to go. For me this is low-hanging fruit for the government," she said following the debate.

A railway line served the villages of Warsop, Edwinstowe, and Ollerton near Sherwood Forest until the mid-1950s.

Nottinghamshire County Council published a report in 2015 on the potential reopening of those stations as part of a Robin Hood line extension but work never materialised.

Under those plans, the old stations in Warsop and Edwinstowe would need to be renovated, and a new station built in Ollerton.

The report was referenced as recently as 2024 in a document by Newark and Sherwood District Council detailing potential travel improvements.

Welsh said the extension would be important economically and culturally, because it would help connect residents with Nottingham and make it easier for tourists to visit.

"These communities deserve it. For far too long communities in this area have been neglected by governments of the past," she said.

"[And] Robin Hood and Sherwood Forest isn't lost on Hollywood... the magic is there, but we have to embrace that by inviting more people into the area."

The Department for Transport said it had invested more than £2bn into improving transport infrastructure in the East Midlands, but added it was up to the local transport authorities to determine how the money was spent.

A spokesperson for the East Midlands Combined County Authority said although it had taken some responsibility for transport in the region, this did not include trains.

Nottinghamshire County Council and Network Rail have been approached for comment.

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