St Albans Abbey railway station

St Albans Abbey National Rail
Location
Place St Albans
Local authority St Albans
Coordinates 51°44′41″N 0°20′33″W / 51.7447°N 0.3426°W / 51.7447; -0.3426Coordinates: 51°44′41″N 0°20′33″W / 51.7447°N 0.3426°W / 51.7447; -0.3426
Grid reference TL145063
Operations
Station code SAA
Managed by London Midland
Number of platforms 1
DfT category F1
Live arrivals/departures, station information and onward connections
from National Rail Enquiries
Annual rail passenger usage*
2004/05 0.175 million
2005/06 Increase 0.187 million
2006/07 Increase 0.207 million
2007/08 Increase 0.222 million
2008/09 Decrease 0.218 million
2009/10 Decrease 0.177 million
2010/11 Increase 0.185 million
2011/12 Increase 0.199 million
2012/13 Decrease 0.195 million
2013/14 Decrease 0.180 million
History
Original company London and North Western Railway[1]
Post-grouping LMS
5 May 1858 Opened as St Albans[1]
2 June 1924 Renamed as St Albans Abbey[1]
National Rail – UK railway stations
* Annual estimated passenger usage based on sales of tickets in stated financial year(s) which end or originate at St Albans Abbey from Office of Rail and Road statistics. Methodology may vary year on year.
UK Railways portal

St Albans Abbey railway station in St Albans, Hertfordshire, England is about 0.6 miles (1 km) south of the city centre in the St Stephen's area. It is the terminus of the Abbey Line from Watford Junction, part of the London Midland franchise. It is one of two stations in St Albans, the other being the much larger and busier St Albans City.

The unstaffed station consists of a single open-air platform and a car park. Improvement works were carried out in 2008.

It was the second UK railway station to receive a Harrington Hump to improve accessibility.[2]

History

A 1902 Railway Clearing House map of railways in the vicinity of St Albans Abbey (lower left, shown here as L.&N.W.)

Railways around St. Albans

Legend
 Midland Main Line 
St Albans City
St Albans Abbey
St Albans London Road
Park Street
 Abbey Line 
Sanders Siding
Salvation Army Halt
Hertfordshire County
Mental Hospital
Hill End
 Hatfield to St Albans Line 
 Midland Main Line 
St Albans Abbey station in June 1977

St Albans Abbey was the first railway station in St Albans, built by the London and North Western Railway in 1858. It was, as it is now, a terminus; the company's plans to extend northwards to Luton and Dunstable never materialised. Although the Midland Railway opened their station (St Albans City) in 1868, it was not until 1924 that "Abbey" was added to the station's title to avoid confusion - by this stage, both stations were owned by the London, Midland and Scottish Railway.

Until November 2007 responsibility for the branch line was with Silverlink.

Restoration of the passing loop at Bricket Wood was being considered by the local authorities and Network Rail but was turned down in early 2008; this would have facilitated trains running every 30 minutes.

Branch to Hatfield

In 1865, the Great Northern Railway supported a group of local landowners to open a branch line from Hatfield to St Albans Abbey with an intermediate stop at St Albans London Road, and later at Smallford (1866), Salvation Army Halt (1901), Hill End (1899), Nast Hyde Halt (1910) and Lemsford Road Halt (1942). This line closed to passengers in 1951.[3] Goods services were withdrawn from the end of 1968[4] and the track was lifted. In the mid-1980s, the route was opened as a cycle path, now the Alban Way. The remains of the branch can be seen to the left of the single platform when looking down the line in the direction of Watford Junction, including overgrown remnants of the second platform which would have served the branch.

Services

Trains operate to Watford Junction every 45 minutes Monday to Saturday daytime, every 60 minutes weekday evenings and on Sundays.

Preceding station National Rail Following station
Park Street   London Midland
Abbey Line		   Terminus
Disused railways
Terminus   Great Northern Railway
Hatfield and St Albans Railway		   St Albans
(London Road)
Line and station closed

References

Notes

  1. 1 2 3 Butt 1995, p. 202
  2. ↑ "UK Rail Station Installs Harrington Hump". Railway-Technology.com. 14 August 2009. Retrieved 5 December 2011.
  3. ↑ Nick Catford (2006-03-23). "Subterranea Britannica: SB-Sites: St. Albans London Road". Retrieved 2007-02-28.
  4. ↑ "The Alban Way" (PDF). St Albans Cycle Campaign. 2005-07-21. p. 1. Retrieved 2007-02-28.

Sources

External links

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