Leicester railway station
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Leicester | |
 |
|
|---|---|
| Location | |
| Place | Leicester |
| Local authority | Leicester |
| Operations | |
| Managed by | Midland Mainline |
| Platforms in use | 4 |
| Annual entry/exit 04/05 | 4.456 million ** |
| History | |
| Key dates | Opened 1840 Rebuilt 1894 |
| National Rail - UK railway stations | |
| ** based on sales of tickets in 2004/05 financial year which end or originate at Leicester. Disclaimer (PDF) | |
Leicester station is a railway station in the City of Leicester, England. It is just east of the city centre, on the A6 road. The first station on this site was constructed by the Midland Counties Railway and was first used on 4 May 1840, when a train of four first and six second-class carriages, pulled by the 'Leopard' steam engine, arrived from Nottingham. All that remains of the first station are a pair of Egyptian-looking gateposts in Campbell Street. The station was subsequently operated by the Midland Railway, who rebuilt it in 1894.
Leicester used to have three other railway stations, including Leicester Belgrave Road (on the Great Northern Railway), Leicester West Bridge (Leicester's original station) and Leicester Central (on the Great Central Railway). Until the last of these others (Leicester Central) was shut down in 1969, the current Leicester station was known as Leicester London Road. The heritage Great Central Steam Railway operates a station in the suburb of Belgrave called 'Leicester North'.
Rail routes run north-south through Leicester, going south to London St Pancras and north to Nottingham station and beyond (this route being called the Midland Main Line). There are four platforms at Leicester. Junctions north and south of the city connect to other lines. Train operators using the station include Midland Mainline, and Central Trains. Due to a 15mph speed restriction to the south of the station, all passenger trains stop at the station with the exception of the Morning up The Master Cutler express from Leeds to London St Pancras.
The station frontage is a well-preserved late Victorian building, but the interior of the booking hall and the structures on the platforms were reconstructed by British Rail in the 1970s. The platforms, railway lines, and car park are well-hidden from the nearby area (unless in a tall vehicle).
Contents |
[edit] History
[edit] Early East Midlands railway schemes
After the building of the Stockton and Darlington Railway in 1825, a number of ambitious projects for long distance lines between cities had been mooted. Among these were a 'Grand Trunk railway' between London and Edinburgh, for both goods and passengers, via Bedford and Leeds, taking in the various cities in between and passing between Carlisle and Newcastle.
Meanwhile a number of short lines were built for specific purposes. Among these were the Mansfield and Pinxton and the Leicester and Swannington. Both these were feeders for canals, the former a wagonway, but were pivotal in later events. Possibly the longest was the Cromford and High Peak Railway, opened in 1833, to connect the Cromford Canal with the Peak Forest Canal. It attracted interest because it provided access to Manchester through the Peak District of Derbyshire, even today an obstacle to transport.
In the 1830s, lines were already in progress between Bristol and London and from each to Birmingham and thence to Liverpool and Manchester, and their promoters were looking ahead. Three schemes came to the fore for the East Midlands. The Grand Junction Railroad would connect Birmingham with Sheffield and Derby, with a branch to Nottingham and another branch from Sheffield to Manchester. There would also be a line to the East Coast at Goole. In 1824 the London Northern Railroad Company was formed to link Birmingham, Derby, Nottingham, Hull and Manchester with London. Two options were proposed. One would branch at Loughborough, with branches for Nottingham and Derby, and proceeding to Manchester by the Cromford and High Peak Railway. The other option would pass through Northampton, with a branch to Birmingham, go on to Derby, with a branch to Nottingham, and thence to the Cromford and High Peak. The Grand Midland Railway was a proposal to branch from the London to Birmingham railway, already under consideration, at Northampton, and bring it through Leicester, Loughborough and Derby to the Cromford and High Peak.
Towards the end of the 1820s, however, the economic climate of the country had deteriorated, and many investors were waiting to see how the new Liverpool and Manchester Railway would succeed. Moreover, not everyone shared the dream. For most people the canals were adequate for the carriage of goods, while few travelled very far. Most people lived their lives within a few miles of their birthplace. The later story of the railways was a classic one of a product generating a demand, rather than the other way around. Thus, what investment that was forthcoming was for ventures for which a need could be clearly perceived, with a reasonable expectation of a good, and rapid, return. Although the surveys were useful in the planning of later lines, the three were never built.
Derby investors, naturally, favoured the scheme by the Grand Junction Railway, to connect to the Cromford and High Peak Railway and Manchester, through Derby, (at what was to be called the Grand Central Station), since the London and Northern would pass through Sandiacre, some ten miles away. In the event, neither line was built. In addition, the Cromford and High Peak Railway was not ideally suited to passenger working, and an alternative via Bakewell and Chapel-en-le-Frith, would encounter very difficult terrain. (Manchester was not, in fact, reached until later in the century by the Manchester, Buxton, Matlock and Midlands Junction Railway and its extensions.)
[edit] Three railways
The Midland Counties Railway was originally proposed to connect the Mansfield and Pinxton Railway to Leicester because of competition to supply coal. However, with the existing canal network, and the navigability of the River Trent to Nottingham, there had been few people willing to invest.
On the other hand, although the River Derwent flowed from Derby into the Trent, navigation was not easy. The Derby Canal had been opened in 1793 but, due to financial restrictions placed on it by Parliament, and the complex local politics of the day it had not been a resounding success. Thus the financiers in Derby vigorously supported any scheme which would bring a railway to the town.
George Hudson was chairman of the York and North Midland Railway, a proposed line from York towards the industrial markets of Manchester and Liverpool. He was interested in a southwards route and encouraged the building of North Midland Railway, later becoming its chairman. Meanwhile financiers in Birmingham, including G.C.Glyn, a banker and chairman of the London and Birmingham Railway, were looking to expand their system. Derby was in between. The Birmingham and Derby Junction Railway would it give a link from Yorkshire to London, and access to the coalfields, as well as other minerals.
Meanwhile the promoters of the Midland Counties Railway found investors further afield, who suggested a line linking Nottingham, Derby and Leicester, with an extension to Rugby for London. Their original plan in 1833 had been to bring their line to Derby at Darby's Yard and Exeter Gardens, at the east side of the present Market Place, with a bridge over the Derwent. Following Vignoles's reassessment in 1835 a new route was proposed, either North or South of the Derby Canal to a terminus near St. Mary's Bridge with a branch to Full Street near to John Lombe's Silk Mill. Both options would cross the North Midland lines north of the other station.
The North Midland planned to build their station near Nottingham Road, avoiding a river bridge, while the Birmingham and Derby planned to build theirs nearby. Possibly with encouragement from the Derby financiers, they realised the value of a link with the North Midland, and decided to bridge the river and share its station. It was usual in those days for new railways to build their own termini, but, while Derby people were enthusiastic about railways, they were less so about a multiplicity of stations. In 1836 the Town Council suggested a single station for all three companies. The Midland Counties engineer pointed out to his financiers that a good deal of money would be saved by joining the other two railways on a single site.
An alternative that was considered was an island bounded by the River Derwent and the canal, called The Holmes, now Bass's Recreation Ground. Not only was the space restricted and susceptible to flooding, the necessary trackwork would be complicated. Eventually, the present site was chosen, further south on the west bank, Borough's Fields, in the neighbouring hamlet of Litchurch, at the southern side of the Castlefields estate. It was a mile from the town, but the Council agreed to build a carriageway to the town centre, along Siddals Lane, now Siddals Road. The whole arrangement was confirmed by the North Midland Railway Act of 1839.
[edit] Midland Railway
[edit] London, Midland and Scottish Railway
Until the line through Buxton was closed in the Beeching era, the 'main line' was that from London to Manchester, carrying named expresses such as the 'Palatine' and the 'Peaks', while trains to Leeds and Scotland tended to use the Erewash Valley Line and expresses to Edinburgh, such as the 'Waverley' travelled through Corby and Nottingham.
[edit] British Railways
With the advent of power signalling in 1969, the signal box and the crossovers disappeared, and the tracks approaching the station were relaid to allow trains from any direction to enter or leave any platform.
[edit] Midland Mainline
Upon the privatisation of British Rail, the station became owned by Railtrack and later Network Rail, though, in common with most British railway stations, the day-to-day operation has been contracted out to the largest user of the station, in this case Midland Mainline. Midland Mainline have continued to refurbish the station with the installation of a large electronic departure board in the station entrance hall and smaller boards on all platforms.
In 2006, work was started on the installation of automatic ticket gates, this work is expected to be complete by December, however problems with the manafacturer in Germany may delay this. Leicester City Council issued plans for the redevelopment of the station area but these are not expected to start until 2010 by which time the station will have a new occupant, as Midland Mainline's franchise is due to expire at the end of 2007. Currently, little in the way of remedial work appears to be taking place.
[edit] Future
[edit] Passenger Opperators
Two new passenger rail franchises will commence in November 2007 and the effect these have on passenger numbers and train service remains to be seen.
[edit] London St. Pancras
St. Pancras railway station in London will be oppend as the new home of Eurostar International services in 2007, when these commence Leicester will be the first major city with direct links to the continent.
[edit] The Midland Mainline
The Midland Mainline has for many years been thaught of as a 'cinderella' line and with the increasing capacity constraints on other lines it is inevitable this route will be upgraded in the not to distant future.
[edit] Ivanhoe Line
After the Ivanhoe Line was reoppend in the mid 1990s it was originally planned to extend the line west to Burton upon Trent on the freight-only line via Coalville and Ashby-de-la-Zouch. However this development now looks unlikely, in the short term at least. One station on the Derby - Birmingham line which would benefit tremendously is Willington. Willington railway station was constructed in the mid 1990s with Ivanhoe branding and painted in the according blue livery. However, as a result of the failure of the Burton upon Trent - Leicester development to go ahead, it is a curious anomaly, deprived of a good service and separated from the Ivanhoe Line scheme.
[edit] Facilities
- Cash point
- WH Smith
- Upper Crust
- Pumpkin Cafe Shop
- AMT Coffee
- Lemon Tree Cafe
- Business Card Machines
- First Class Lounge
- Lost Property and Lockers
- Taxi Rank
- Photo booths
- Ticket Machines
- FastTicket machine
[edit] External links
- Train times and station information for Leicester railway station from National Rail
- Street map and aerial photo of Leicester railway station from Multimap.com
| Preceding station | National Rail | Following station | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| London St Pancras | Midland Mainline Midland Main Line 'fast' Sheffield |
Derby | ||
| London St Pancras | Midland Mainline Midland Main Line 'fast' Nottingham |
Nottingham | ||
| Market Harborough | Midland Mainline Midland Main Line 'semi-fast' |
Loughborough | ||
| Terminus | Central Trains Ivanhoe Line |
Syston | ||
| Nuneaton | Central Trains Central Trains CityLink service |
Melton Mowbray | ||
| South Wigston | Central Trains Birmingham-Leicester service |
Terminus | ||
