Harpenden railway station
Harpenden  |
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| Exterior of main station building at Harpenden, with the modern covered footbridge behind | |
| Location | |
| Place | Harpenden |
| Local authority | St. Albans |
| Coordinates | 51°48′54″N 0°21′07″W / 51.815°N 0.352°WCoordinates: 51°48′54″N 0°21′07″W / 51.815°N 0.352°W |
| Grid reference | TL137142 |
| Operations | |
| Station code | HPD |
| Managed by | First Capital Connect |
| Number of platforms | 4 |
| Live arrivals/departures and station information from National Rail Enquiries |
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| Annual rail passenger usage* | |
| 2004/05 | 2.534 million |
| 2005/06 |  2.612 million |
| 2006/07 | 2.806 million |
| 2007/08 |  2.300 million |
| 2008/09 | 2.939 million |
| 2009/10 | 2.772 million |
| 2010/11 | 2.885 million |
| History | |
| Opened 1868 | |
| National Rail – UK railway stations | |
| A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z | |
| * Annual estimated passenger usage based on sales of tickets in stated financial year(s) which end or originate at Harpenden from Office of Rail Regulation statistics. Methodology may vary year on year. | |
 UK Railways portal |
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Harpenden railway station serves the town of Harpenden, Hertfordshire, England. It is situated on the Midland Main Line. The station is managed by First Capital Connect and is served by its Thameslink route service.
History
The second station in Harpenden, it was built by the Midland Railway in 1868 on its extension to St. Pancras, however nothing remains of the original station buildings. Although located on Station Road, the road is actually named after the first station, Harpenden East, now closed.
A branch line, built by the Hemel Hempstead Railway Company in 1877, known as the Nicky Line but operated by the Midland, formerly diverged from the main line north of the station. The intention had been to meet the LNWR at Boxmoor but the section from Hemel Hempstead never had a passenger service. In 1886 a south curve was added to the junction allowing passengers to join the London trains at Harpenden rather than Luton.[1] The branch was closed in 1964. The route remains in use as a cycleway, passing under the M1 in a tunnel.
A row of five brick built former coal merchant's offices along the station approach are now used as small retail and office units.
Facilities
The station has facilities of toilet, newsagent, dry cleaner, taxi office and rank, and a coffee shop.
The station has a PlusBus scheme where train and bus tickets can be bought together for a cheaper price.
Work is complete on extending the platforms to support 12-carriage trains which also required widening a road bridge. Ticket gates have been installed on platforms 1 & 4 (and in the case of platform 1 it required moving the old entrance 38 yards (35 m) south). Work on these started on 21 November 2010 and was completed in May 2011.[2] A second footbridge with lifts is due to be built to the north end of the station and this will be funded by the Department for Transport’s Access For All scheme.[3] The ticket gates are due to be moved to the location of this new footbridge (when it opens).
Services
2006/07 services
The typical off-peak service pattern saw six trains per hour in each direction operated by First Capital Connect. Four of these were fast trains between Bedford and Brighton, via Kings Cross Thameslink station in central London and Gatwick Airport. The remaining two trains called at all stations between Luton and Sutton (in South London).
December 2007
Following the closure of Kings Cross Thameslink, First Capital Connect now operate trains on the Thameslink route between Bedford, Luton, Sutton and Brighton calling at the new low level platforms at St Pancras.
East Midlands Trains operate trains on the Midland Main Line route from St Pancras International to/from Leeds, Sheffield, Derby, Nottingham and Leicester through the station, but do not stop. Interchange with these trains can be made 1 or 2 stops to the north, either at Luton or Luton Airport Parkway, dependent on the service.
2009
From March 2009, First Capital Connect, in partnership with Southeastern began running a new Luton-Sevenoaks service. These trains call at Harpenden.
Future
From 2015, Wimbledon trains are likely to be withdrawn.[4]
Service pattern
| Preceding station |  National Rail |
Following station | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| First Capital Connect | ||||
| First Capital Connect
Bedford-Sevenoaks
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References
- ^ Radford, B., (1983) Midland Line Memories: a Pictorial History of the Midland Railway Main Line Between London (St Pancras) & Derby London: Bloomsbury Books
- ^ http://www.firstcapitalconnect.co.uk/about-us/media-centre/news/2010/Better-security-for-Harpenden-station/
- ^ http://www.thameslinkprogramme.co.uk/cms/pages/view/59/62
- ^ "Thameslink Programme - FAQ". Retrieved 21 November 2008.
Sources
- Butt, R. V. J. (1995). The Directory of Railway Stations: details every public and private passenger station, halt, platform and stopping place, past and present (1st ed.). Sparkford: Patrick Stephens Ltd. ISBN 1-8526-0508-1. OCLC 60251199.
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Harpenden railway station |
- Train times and station information for Harpenden railway station from National Rail
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