The first railway into Retford was the Sheffield and Lincolnshire Junction Railway which opened on 16 July 1849 on their line between Sheffield and Gainsborough. The Great Northern Railway line from Doncaster arrived on 4 September 1849 crossing the S&LJR on the level. It used the latter's station until its own was completed on 1 August 1852. On 1 July 1859, the S&LJR began using the GNR station via a short connecting curve, and closed its original station. The higher-level platforms respectively serve southbound and northbound East Coast Main Line trains operated byLondon North Eastern Railway which call at Retford. Platform 1 adjoins the main station building. Between the two platforms tracks there are two further lines, used by fast trains not booked to call here. Prior to the remodelling of the station, the two lines crossed at a flat crossing with a curve connecting the northern and eastern tracks, allowing trains on the Sheffield-Gainsborough line to call at the station. There were two northbound platforms - platform 2 was on the eastern side of an island platform and platform 3 on the opposite side. Platform 1 handled southbound and eastbound trains. In addition, there was a single southbound line which passed in between platforms 1 and 2, rather than the two lines in place today. To relieve congestion on platform 1, there was a timber-built extension on the south curve to allow Lincoln-bound trains to clear platform 1 proper. The new lower-level platforms were added when the flat crossing between the two lines was removed and replaced with a bridge in 1965 and the Sheffield-Gainsborough tracks lowered to pass beneath the main line. These works also necessitated the removal of the direct north-to-east curve, meaning that trains between Sheffield and Lincoln could no longer call at the original platforms without a reversal. The former Buffet and First Class Dining room on platform 1 are currently used as clubrooms by . The club has installed an interesting display of local railway images in the windows of the rooms.
Facilities
The station is staffed throughout the week, with most amenities in the main building on platforms 1. The ticket office is manned Monday - Friday 05:35 - 18:00, Saturday 05:35 - 16:10 and Sunday 08:20 - 16:10. A self-service ticket machine is also provided for use when the booking office is closed and for collecting pre-paid tickets. Train running information is offered via automated announcements, CIS displays and timetable posters. There are also customer help points on both low-level platforms, along with waiting shelters. All platforms are fully accessible for disabled passengers via lifts and a subway, although platform 3 can only be reached via a barrow crossing and requires staff assistance.
The station's High Level platforms are served by London North Eastern Railway on a basic two-hourly frequency each way Mon-Fri, northbound to and southbound to London King's Cross. Additional peak period services run to/from, Edinburgh and. A similar basic frequency also operates on Saturdays, but trains run through to Edinburgh or Leeds. Most services run by open access operatorHull Trains also call here.
Low Level
The new Northern franchise agreement came into effect in April 2016 and significant improvements were made on the Sheffield to Lincoln Line with effect from the May 2019 timetable change. The service frequency to and from Sheffield has been doubled to 2 trains per hour on weekdays. A new hourly stopping service to and from runs six days per week until early evening, whilst the hourly service from Lincoln to now runs fast between Worksop and Sheffield during the daytime. On Saturdays only, there are also three trains to and via. A small number of trains from Sheffield start/terminate here, including two that use the surviving connection via Whisker Hill Junction to reach platform 2 at High Level.
