The first portion of the Great Northern Railway was opened on 1 March 1848. It was actually on the leased East Lincolnshire Railway line, from Great Grimsby to Louth. Five trains ran each way every weekday, and on from Grimsby to New Holland on the River Humber, by alliance with the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway. This was followed by the opening from Louth to Firsby on 3 September 1848. On 2 October 1848, the line was opened from Firsby to a temporary station at Boston.