Letchworth Garden City railway station

Letchworth Garden City station serves the town of Letchworth in Hertfordshire, England. The station is on the Cambridge Line 34 miles 50 chains (55.7 km) north of London King's Cross,[1] and is a stop for services between King's Cross and Cambridge. Trains which serve the station are operated by Great Northern.

Letchworth Garden City
The entrance to the station
LocationLetchworth, District of North Hertfordshire
England
Grid referenceTL217327
Owned byNetwork Rail
Managed byGreat Northern
Platforms2
Other information
Station codeLET
ClassificationDfT category D
Key dates
1903Opened (restricted service)
15 April 1905Opened (full service)
18 May 1913Station relocated
October 1937Renamed Letchworth
11 June 1999Renamed Letchworth Garden City
Passengers
2015/16 1.862 million
2016/17 1.890 million
2017/18 1.901 million
2018/19 1.857 million
2019/20 1.835 million
Notes
Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road
The platforms, with planting to the side of each

History

The first station known as Letchworth Garden City was opened in 1903, with a restricted service; it gained a full passenger service on 15 April 1905.[2] On 18 May 1913, this station was replaced by a new station on a different site.[2] The new station was built in 1912, in the Arts and Crafts style, and has since been Grade II listed.[3]

The station was originally intended to have two island platforms, giving a total of four platforms. However, since its opening only two platforms have been used. It was known from October 1937[2] as Letchworth, until it regained its current name on 11 June 1999 following a refurbishment scheme.[4] Electric operation at the station was inaugurated in 1978, as part of the Kings Cross Outer Suburban scheme, though the wires initially ended at Royston. Through electric services to Cambridge began in May 1988.[5]

The platforms were extended initially for eight carriages, and further extended in December 2011 for 12-carriage trains.

Passenger lifts were installed in two new towers in March 2014.[6]

To the north of the station are the sidings where trains starting or terminating at Letchworth are cleaned and stabled.

Ticket barriers are in operation.

The station was used as a filming location for the 2013 film The World's End; it was converted into a pub named "The Hole in the Wall".[7]

Services

Off-peak, all services at Letchworth Garden City are operated by Thameslink using Class 700 EMUs.

The typical off-peak service in trains per hour is:[8]

During the peak hours, the station is served by additional Great Northern services from London to Baldock, Ely and King's Lynn. These services are operated using Class 365 and Class 387 EMUs.

Preceding station National Rail Following station
Thameslink
Great Northern
London to Baldock
Peak Hours Only
Great Northern
London to King's Lynn
Peak Hours Only

Letchworth Station (Oil on canvas, 1911) by Spencer Gore is notable as an early depiction of rail commuters. From the collection of J. Peter W. Cochrane.[9]

References
  1. Yonge, John (September 2006) [1994]. Jacobs, Gerald (ed.). 2: Eastern. Railway Track Diagrams (3rd ed.). Bradford on Avon: Trackmaps. map 24C. ISBN 0-9549866-2-8.
  2. Butt, R.V.J. (1995). The Directory of Railway Stations. Yeovil: Patrick Stephens Ltd. p. 142. ISBN 1-85260-508-1. R508.
  3. "Planning Committee Referral" (PDF). July 2007. Archived from the original (PDF) on 16 July 2011. Retrieved 15 June 2008.
  4. Mitchell, Vic (2006). Eastern Main Lines: Potters Bar to Cambridge. Midhurst: Middleton Press. p. 64. ISBN 1-904474-70-5.
  5. "Cambridge - Its Railways & Station"Disused Stations Site Record; Retrieved 23 August 2016
  6. Lucas, Julie (25 October 2013). "Letchworth train station car park closed as work starts on lifts". The Comet. Retrieved 30 April 2014.
  7. Davies, Alan (21 July 2013). "The World's End pub crawl locations revealed". Welwyn & Hatfield Times. Retrieved 23 March 2016.
  8. "Timetable 13: Cambridge, Royston and Letchworth to London" (PDF). Govia Thameslink Railway, December 2019.
  9. J.B. Priestley, The Edwardians (1970), p 208. SBN 434 60332 5.

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