St Albans City railway station

St Albans City railway station, also known simply as St Albans, is one of two railway stations serving the city of St Albans in Hertfordshire, England (the other being St Albans Abbey). The 'City' station is the larger of the two, as it is on the better-connected Midland Main Line 19 miles 71 chains (32.0 km) from London St Pancras, being served by Govia Thameslink trains on the Thameslink route.

St Albans City National Rail
Exterior of the main building on Station Way
St Albans City is located in Hertfordshire
St Albans City
St Albans City
Location of St Albans City in Hertfordshire
LocationSt Albans
Local authorityCity of St Albans
Grid referenceTL155070
Managed byThameslink
Station code(s)SAC
DfT categoryB
Number of platforms4
AccessibleYes
National Rail annual entry and exit
2018–19Increase 7.560 million[1]
– interchange Increase 0.182 million[1]
2019–20Decrease 7.375 million[1]
– interchange Decrease 0.179 million[1]
2020–21Decrease 1.346 million[1]
– interchange Decrease 60,394[1]
2021–22Increase 3.877 million[1]
– interchange Increase 0.109 million[1]
2022–23Increase 5.572 million[1]
– interchange Increase 0.122 million[1]
Key dates
1 October 1868Opened
1973Rebuilt[2]
Other information
External links
Coordinates51°45′01″N 0°19′39″W / 51.7504°N 0.3274°W / 51.7504; -0.3274
London transport portal
View northward with a southbound express in 1958
Railway stations in St Albans
Midland Main Line
to The North
St Albans City
St Albans Abbey
St Albans (London Road)
Park Street
Sanders Siding
Salvation Army Halt
Hertfordshire County
Mental Hospital
Hill End

History

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The station was built by the Midland Railway in 1868, on its extension to St Pancras. St Albans was famous for producing watercress, which was sent in 56-pound (25 kg) lots to London and Manchester.

St Albans Abbey, the other station serving the city, is a decade older and was built by the London and North Western Railway in 1858. There was originally a further station called London Road, built by the Hatfield and St Albans Railway in 1863 to connect with the Great Northern Railway.[3][page needed]

Description

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The station has four platforms, two for each direction: one "fast" and one "slow". The main entrance, ticket office, multi-storey car park, taxi rank and bus connections are on Station Way, east of the station. There is a second exit to the west, to a small surface car park off Ridgmont Road and Victoria Street, located at the original entrance to the station. A larger surface car park to the east of the railway lines gained planning permission in 2003, in connection with a large residential development.[4]

There are ticket barriers at both entrances.

The station participates in the Plusbus scheme where combined train and bus tickets can be bought at a reduced price.

The station underwent a refurbishment which saw the main entrance being completely rebuilt. This refurbishment included a complete rebuild of the retail unit located at the main entrance, Moving the toilets from platform 2 and 3 to Platforms 1 and 4. A new entrance on Platform 4 was also built, which included brand new Cycle storage facilities. Refurbishment of the station was completed in December 2021.[5]

The station currently houses a Sainsbury's Local which opened in February 2022[6] There are also 3 more retail units, 2 on Platform 1 and one on Platform 4. The 2 units on Platform 1 contain a Costa Coffee and a newsagent. The remaining retail unit on Platform 4 remains empty since the station refurbishment in 2021.

St Albans South signal box has been restored immediately south of the station and has been opened as a visitor attraction by the St Albans Signal Box Preservation Trust.

[7]

Construction of a second footbridge was completed in 2022 .[8]

Services

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All services at St Albans City are operated by Thameslink using Class 700 EMUs.

The typical off-peak service in trains per hour is:[9]

During the peak hours, the station is served by additional services to and from East Grinstead.

The station is also served by a half-hourly night service between Bedford and Three Bridges on Sunday to Friday nights.

Preceding station   National Rail Following station
Harpenden or Terminus   Thameslink
  West Hampstead Thameslink
or
Radlett

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j "Estimates of station usage". Rail statistics. Office of Rail Regulation. Please note: Some methodology may vary year on year.
  2. ^ Booth, Janine (19 May 2023). "St Albans City station celebrates fifty years since rebuild". RailAdvent. Retrieved 19 May 2023.
  3. ^ Radford, J.B. (1983). Midland Line Memories: a Pictorial History of the Midland Railway Main Line Between London (St Pancras) & Derby. London: Bloomsbury Books. ISBN 9780859362672.
  4. ^ "Network Rail Proposed Land Disposal: St Albans, Hertfordshire" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 28 September 2007. Retrieved 16 December 2018.
  5. ^ "£5.7m St Albans station redevelopment finished just ahead of lockdown". 21 December 2020.
  6. ^ "New Sainsbury's store opens in St Albans". 25 February 2022.
  7. ^ "SigBox Website". Sigbox.co.uk. Retrieved 16 December 2018.
  8. ^ "Revamp plans at Hertfordshire railway station now underway". RailAdvent. 17 July 2022. Retrieved 17 July 2022.
  9. ^ Table 52, 179, 201 National Rail timetable, May 2022

Bibliography

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