St Albans Abbey railway station
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, operated by London Northwestern Railway. It is one of two stations in St Albans, the other being the much larger and busier St Albans City.
St Albans Abbey  | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Location | St Albans, St Albans England |
| Coordinates | 51.7447°N 0.3426°W |
| Grid reference | TL145063 |
| Managed by | London Northwestern Railway |
| Platforms | 1 |
| Other information | |
| Station code | SAA |
| Classification | DfT category F1 |
| History | |
| Original company | London and North Western Railway[1] |
| Post-grouping | LMS |
| Key dates | |
| 5 May 1858 | Opened as St Albans[1] |
| 2 June 1924 | Renamed as St Albans Abbey[1] |
| Passengers | |
| 2015/16 |  0.165 million |
| 2016/17 |  0.165 million |
| 2017/18 | 0.169 million |
| 2018/19 |  0.167 million |
| 2019/20 | 0.161 million |
| Notes | |
Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road | |
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
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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. The passing loop proposal was being reconsidered in 2020 as part of the UK government’s £500m 'Restoring Your Railway Fund' to re-open many of the lines and stations that were closed in the 1960s.[3]
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.[4] Goods services were withdrawn from the end of 1968[5] 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.
Station masters
- Frederick Facer ca. 1864 – ca. 1866
- Edward Orchard ca. 1869 – 1875
- Andrew Dunleary 1875[6] – ???? (formerly station master at King’s Langley)
- Mr. Welton ???? – 1890[7] (afterwards station master at Aylesbury)
- F. Butcher 1890 – 1893[8] (afterwards station master at Atherstone)
- W.B. Holder 1893 – 1895[9] (afterwards station master at Newport Pagnall)
- Mr. Smerdon 1895 – 1896 (formerly station master at Stanmore)
- William Telfer 1896 – 1905[10] (afterwards station master at Buxton)
- Henry Orchard 1905 – 1912[11] (afterwards station master at Harrow Junction)
Accidents and incidents
- On 10 February 1988, a diesel multiple unit overran the buffer stop. There were no injuries amongst the seventeen passengers on board.[12]
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 Northwestern Railway Abbey Line |
Terminus | ||
| Disused railways | ||||
| Terminus | Great Northern Railway Hatfield and St Albans Railway |
St Albans (London Road) Line and station closed | ||
Notes and references
- Butt 1995, p. 202
- "UK Rail Station Installs Harrington Hump". Railway-Technology.com. 14 August 2009. Retrieved 5 December 2011.
- https://www.hertfordshiremercury.co.uk/news/hertfordshire-news/abbey-line-passing-loop-receive-4164714 | Retrieved 09 November 2020
- Nick Catford (23 March 2006). "Subterranea Britannica: SB-Sites: St. Albans London Road". Retrieved 28 February 2007.
- "The Alban Way" (PDF). St Albans Cycle Campaign. 21 July 2005. p. 1. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 January 2007. Retrieved 28 February 2007.
- "King's Langley Testimonial". Hemel Hempstead Gazette and West Herts Advertiser. England. 6 March 1875. Retrieved 7 March 2020 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- "Berkhampstead". Leighton Buzzard Observer and Linslade Gazette. England. 2 September 1890. Retrieved 7 March 2020 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- "Railway Changes". Herts Advertiser. England. 7 October 1893. Retrieved 7 March 2020 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- "A new Station Master". Herts Advertiser. England. 18 May 1895. Retrieved 7 March 2020 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- "Departure of Mr. W. Telfer". Herts Advertiser. England. 16 September 1905. Retrieved 7 March 2020 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- "Hertfordshire". Luton Times and Advertiser. England. 23 August 1912. Retrieved 7 March 2020 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- McCrickard, John P (6 October 2016). "January 1988 to December 1988". Network South East Railway Society. Retrieved 26 June 2018.
Sources
- Butt, R. V. J. (1995). The Directory of Railway Stations: details every public and private passenger station, halt, platform and stopping place, past and present (1st ed.). Sparkford: Patrick Stephens Ltd. ISBN 978-1-85260-508-7. OCLC 60251199.
- Jowett, Alan (March 1989). Jowett's Railway Atlas of Great Britain and Ireland: From Pre-Grouping to the Present Day (1st ed.). Sparkford: Patrick Stephens Ltd. ISBN 978-1-85260-086-0. OCLC 22311137.
- Abbeyline.org.uk
- The Alban Way
External links
- Train times and station information for St Albans Abbey railway station from National Rail