Letchworth Garden City Railway Station
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. On 18 May 1913, this station was replaced by a new station on a different site. The new station was built in 1912, in the Arts and Crafts style, and has since been Grade II listed.
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 as Letchworth, until it regained its current name on 11 June 1999 following a refurbishment scheme. 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.
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.
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".
Services
Services at Letchworth Garden City are operated by Thameslink and Great Northern using Class 387 and 700 EMUs.
The typical off-peak service in trains per hour is:
- 2 tph to London King's Cross (stopping)
- 2 tph to Brighton via London Bridge and Gatwick Airport (semi-fast)
- 3 tph to Cambridge (2 of these run semi-fast and 1 calls at all stations)
During the peak hours, the all stations service to Cambridge is increased to 2 tph, and the station is served by an additional half-hourly service between London King's Cross and King's Lynn via Ely which runs non-stop to and from London King's Cross.
On Sundays, the stopping services to and from London King's Cross, and the services between Brighton and Cambridge are reduced to hourly.
| Preceding station |  National Rail
|
Following station | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thameslink | ||||
| Great Northern |
Baldock or Terminus | |||
| Great Northern Peak Hours Only | ||||
In popular culture
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.
References
- ^ 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.
- ^ Butt, R.V.J. (1995). The Directory of Railway Stations. Yeovil: Patrick Stephens Ltd. p. 142. ISBN 1-85260-508-1. R508.
- ^ "Planning Committee Referral" (PDF). July 2007. Archived from the original (PDF) on 16 July 2011. Retrieved 15 June 2008.
- ^ Mitchell, Vic (2006). Eastern Main Lines: Potters Bar to Cambridge. Midhurst: Middleton Press. p. 64. ISBN 1-904474-70-5.
- ^ "Cambridge - Its Railways & Station"Disused Stations Site Record; Retrieved 23 August 2016
- ^ Lucas, Julie (25 October 2013). "Letchworth train station car park closed as work starts on lifts". The Comet. Retrieved 30 April 2014.
- ^ Davies, Alan (21 July 2013). "The World's End pub crawl locations revealed". Welwyn & Hatfield Times. Retrieved 23 March 2016.
- ^ Table 25, 52 National Rail timetable, May 2023
- ^ J.B. Priestley, The Edwardians (1970), p 208. SBN 434 60332 5.
External links
- Train times and station information for Letchworth Garden City railway station from National Rail