Ridgmont railway station
Ridgmont railway station is a small unstaffed railway station that serves the villages of Ridgmont in Bedfordshire. The station is about 1 mile (2 km) away from Ridgmont on the other side of the M1 Motorway, (beside Junction 13), Brogborough and Husborne Crawley. It also serves the large Amazon.com warehouse next door.
Ridgmont  | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Location | Ridgmont, Central Bedfordshire England |
| Coordinates | 52.026°N 0.595°W |
| Grid reference | SP965373 |
| Managed by | London Northwestern Railway |
| Platforms | 2 |
| Other information | |
| Station code | RID |
| Classification | DfT category F2 |
| Passengers | |
| 2015/16 |  37,200 |
| 2016/17 |  34,388 |
| 2017/18 | 36,450 |
| 2018/19 | 31,532 |
| 2019/20 | 26,208 |
| Location | |
| |
| Notes | |
Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road | |
It is on the Bletchley — Bedford Marston Vale Line.
Trains
The station is served by London Northwestern Railway Bletchley — Bedford local services. Services are operated using Class 230/1 multiple units. Although not geographically the midpoint of the line, many train services 'cross' at Ridgmont station. There is no Sunday passenger service timetabled although the line remains open with signalers on duty at the Marston Vale Signalling Centre at Ridgmont.
Ridgmont Station has also been used as a watering point for steam-hauled special trains heading north from London.
Future
It is planned that the Marston Vale line will be upgraded as part of the East West Rail programme, to permit 100 mph (160 km/h) running. The Oxford-Bedford services are planned to stop here.[1]
Former station house
The former station house, built in 1846 in the Cottage Orné architectural style, underwent a total refurbishment in 2014 managed by the Bedfordshire Rural Communities Charity (BRCC) with funding from the Railway Heritage Trust. A tea room, gift shop, disabled access and toilets, additional car parking, three small 'start-up' offices and a meeting room have been provided. The former Victorian booking office has been restored as a small heritage centre.[2]
Scenes from the feature film 'One Day' were filmed at the station.
General information
Ridgmont is in sight of Junction 13 of the M1 motorway and the station is adjacent to a number of distribution centres.
It was at Ridgmont that a new Marston Vale signalling control centre was built as part of the Bedford — Bletchley route modernisation in 2004. This centre replaced all the signal boxes and block posts (some contained within station buildings including Ridgmont) on the route.
Services
An hourly service operates in each direction, Mondays to Saturdays.[3]
| Preceding station | National Rail |
Following station | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| London Northwestern Railway Marston Vale Line Mondays-Saturdays only | ||||
| Future Services | ||||
Line open | East West Rail | Line open |
||
Community Rail Partnership
Ridgmont station, in common with others on the Marston Vale Line, is covered by the Marston Vale Community Rail Partnership,[4] which aims to increase use of the line by involving local people.
References
- What train services will run on East West Rail (Western Section)? East West Rail Consortium, 2015. Retrieved 31/03/18
- Restored Ridgmont Station Now Open! Friends of Fenny Stratford (undated)
- Table 64 National Rail timetable, May 2016
- Marston Vale Community Rail Partnership
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Ridgmont railway station. |
- Train times and station information for Ridgmont railway station from National Rail
- Historic England. "Details from listed building database (1114037)". National Heritage List for England.