The Derwent Valley Line is a railway line from Derby to Matlock in Derbyshire.
The line follows the Midland Main Line as far as Ambergate Junction, which is just south of Ambergate railway station, continuing to Matlock, following the course of the River Derwent.
- Derby
- Duffield
- Former branch line diverges to Wirksworth. This route has been sold and is disconnected from the mainline, but has reopened as the Ecclesbourne Valley Railway heritage railway.
- Belper
- Ambergate
- Route diverges away from the Midland Main Line just to the south of Ambergate station.
- Whatstandwell
- Cromford
- Matlock Bath
- Matlock
Local passenger services are operated by East Midlands Trains from Nottingham via Derby to Matlock. Services are approximately hourly Monday to Saturday (with a reduced service on Sundays). Two trains per day start/terminate at Derby rather than Nottingham.
The line is operated as one single line block section from Ambergate, using the No Signalman Key Token system under the supervision of Derby PSB. The driver of each train heading for Matlock must collect a token from the machine at Ambergate station before proceeding, and return it prior to leaving the branch.
In addition to the local passenger services, the line between Derby and Ambergate Junction is also used by East Midlands Trains and CrossCountry fast services along with freight services operated by various companies.
The Matlock branch lost its through services to London St Pancras in 2004 when (the former mainline operator) Midland Mainline replaced its Class 170 Turbostar diesel units with Class 222 Meridian sets. The Meridians are not yet cleared to work on the branch.
Read more about Derwent Valley Line: History
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Began in joy to found the breed of men.”
—Alec Derwent Hope (b. 1907)
“I will frankly declare, that after passing a few weeks in this valley of the Marquesas, I formed a higher estimate of human nature than I had ever before entertained. But alas! since then I have been one of the crew of a man-of-war, and the pent-up wickedness of five hundred men has nearly overturned all my previous theories.”
—Herman Melville (1819–1891)
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—Ruth Davidson Bell. Ourselves and Our Children, by Boston Women’s Health Book Collective, ch. 3 (1978)