Shepreth railway station

Shepreth National Rail
Location
Place Shepreth
Local authority South Cambridgeshire
Grid reference TL392481
Operations
Station code STH
Managed by Great Northern
Number of platforms 2
DfT category F2
Live arrivals/departures, station information and onward connections
from National Rail Enquiries
Annual rail passenger usage*
2011/12 Decrease 82,422
2012/13 Increase 86,304
2013/14 Increase 92,146
2014/15 Increase 105,802
2015/16 Increase 105,852
History
Key dates Opened 1851 (1851)
National Rail – UK railway stations
* Annual estimated passenger usage based on sales of tickets in stated financial year(s) which end or originate at Shepreth from Office of Rail and Road statistics. Methodology may vary year on year.
UK Railways portal

Shepreth railway station serves the village of Shepreth in Cambridgeshire, England. The station is on the Cambridge Line between Royston & Shepreth Branch Junction, 8 miles (13 km) south west of Cambridge.

History

It was opened in 1851 by the Royston and Hitchin Railway as the northern terminus of an extension of the original route from Royston, after earlier plans by the Eastern Counties Railway to build a Cambridge to Bedford line through the village fell through due to lack of finance. The ECR did complete the line north through to a junction with its main line from London to Cambridge in 1852 and initially ran services on the R&HR, but they later gave way to the Great Northern Railway when its lease of the Royston company expired in 1866. The GNR then began running through trains between Kings Cross & Cambridge over the line from 1 April that year, having gained full running powers over ECR metals and access to Cambridge station as part of an agreement ratified by parliament two years previously.[1]

Goods traffic was handled at the station until 1965. From 1978, through trains to the capital temporarily ceased when electric operation was inaugurated to Royston as part of the Kings Cross Outer Suburban electrification scheme. Passengers then had to use a Cambridge to Royston DMU shuttle and change at the latter station for London. Government approval for extending the wires through to Cambridge was eventually granted in 1987 (as a 'fill-in' scheme to link wired routes either side) and the work was completed 12 months later, allowing through running to Kings Cross to resume.[2]

Platform 2 (for trains to Cambridge) was extended in Summer 2017 to be able to accommodate 8-car trains (including Class 700 units), without straddling the level crossing.[3] Shepreth will be connected to the Thameslink network via the canal tunnels at Kings Cross St Pancras from 2018.[4]

Services

There is a generally an hourly stopping service to London King's Cross southbound and Cambridge northbound, seven days a week. Service doubles to two trains per hour in each direction during weekday peak periods.[5]

Shepreth Rail Station from the level crossing

References

  1. ↑ "The Railway in the Rhee Valley" Spain, J Wordpress.com; Retrieved 23 August 2016
  2. ↑ "Cambridge - Its Railways & Station"Disused Stations Site Record; Retrieved 23 August 2016
  3. ↑ "Platform extensions in South Cambridgeshire - Thameslink Programme". Thameslink Programme. Retrieved 2017-06-08.
  4. ↑ "Improved rail connections through London". Thameslink Programme. Retrieved 2017-06-08.
  5. ↑ Table 25 National Rail timetable, May 2016
Preceding station   National Rail   Following station
Great Northern
Great Northern stopping

Coordinates: 52°06′50″N 0°01′52″E / 52.114°N 0.031°E / 52.114; 0.031

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