St Albans Abbey railway station

Infobox UK station
name = St Albans Abbey


manager = London Midland
locale = St Albans
borough = St Albans
latitude = 51.74441
logitude = -0.34255
usage0405 = 0.175
usage0506 = 0.187
usage0607 = 0.207
platforms = 1
original = London and North Western RailwayButt (1995), page 202]
postgroup = LMS
years = 5 May 1858
events = Opened as St Albans
years1 = 2 June 1924
events1 = Renamed as St Albans Abbey
years2 =
events2 =

St Albans Abbey railway station serves the town of St Albans, in Hertfordshire, England, being situated about 1 km south of the town centre in the St Stephen's area of the town. It is the terminus of the St Albans Branch Line from Watford Junction, which is part of the London Midland franchise. It is one of two stations in St Albans, the other being the much larger and busier St Albans City station.

The station consists of a single open-air platform and a car park. Tickets can be purchased on the train from the conductor.

As of April 2008, improvement works are being carried out on the station. This has taken several spaces in the car park out of service.

History

St Albans Abbey was the first railway station in St Albans, being built by the London and North Western Railway in 1858. It was, as it is now, the terminus of the line from Watford; the company's original plans to extend this line northwards to Luton and Dunstable never materialised. Although the Midland Railway opened their station (the present St Albans City station) in 1868, it was not until 1924 that "Abbey" was added to the station's title to avoid confusion (although by this stage, both stations were controlled by the London, Midland and Scottish Railway).

Branch to Hatfield

In 1865, the Great Northern Railway opened a branch line between St Albans and Hatfield which also terminated at St Albans Abbey with an intermediate stop at St Albans (London Road), and later at Smallford (1866), Salvation Army Halt (1897, originally Sanders Siding), Hill End (1899), Nast Hyde Halt (1910) and Lemsford Road Halt (1942). This branch line closed to passengers in 1951. [cite web |url=http://www.subbrit.org.uk/sb-sites/stations/s/st_albans_london_road/index.shtml |title=Subterranea Britannica: SB-Sites: St. Albans London Road |accessdate=2007-02-28 |format=HTML |date=2006-03-23 |author=Nick Catford] Freight transport finally stopped in 1969 [cite web |url=http://www.stacc.org.uk/albanway/AW%20Map%20v2.1.pdf |title=The Alban Way |accessdate=2007-02-28 |format=PDF |publisher=St Albans Cycle Campaign |date=2005-07-21 |pages=p. 1] and the track was removed. In the mid 1980s, the route was opened as a cycle path, now known as 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.

ervices

Trains operate to Watford Junction every 45 minutes during Monday to Saturday daytimes, and every 60 minutes during weekday evenings and on Sundays. These services are all operated by London Midland.

rail line
next =
previous = Park Street
route = London Midland
St Albans Branch Line
col = 76B41Frail line
next =
previous = Park Street
"Line and station open"
route = London and North Western Railway
col = 012385rail line
next =
previous = St Albans
(London Road)
"Line and station closed"
route = Great Northern Railway
col = 012385
###@@@KEYEND@@@###

Future

In November 2007 responsibility for the branch line, including St Albans Abbey, passed from Silverlink trains to Govia London Midland trains. Installation of Oyster Card readers on the stations along the branch is a possibility, although there are other ticketing options too.

Restoration of the old passing loop at Bricket Wood was being considered by the local authorities and Network Rail but was turned down in early 2008; if implemented, this would have facilitated trains running every 30 minutes, instead of the current 45-minute service.

References

Notes

Sources

*
*
* [http://www.abbeyline.org.uk/ Abbeyline.org.uk]
* [http://www.stacc.org.uk/albanway/ The Alban Way]

ee also

* List of rail trails