Huntingdon railway station
Huntingdon  | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Location | |
| Place | Huntingdon |
| Local authority | District of Huntingdonshire |
| Coordinates | 52°19′44″N 0°11′31″W / 52.329°N 0.192°WCoordinates: 52°19′44″N 0°11′31″W / 52.329°N 0.192°W |
| Grid reference | TL232715 |
| Operations | |
| Station code | HUN |
| Managed by | Great Northern |
| Owned by | Network Rail |
| Number of platforms | 3 |
| DfT category | C2 |
|
Live arrivals/departures, station information and onward connections from National Rail Enquiries | |
| Annual rail passenger usage* | |
| 2002/03 | 1.277 million |
| 2004/05 |
 1.360 million |
| 2005/06 |
1.373 million |
| 2006/07 |
1.448 million |
| 2007/08 |
1.564 million |
| 2008/09 |
1.593 million |
| 2009/10 |
 1.542 million |
| 2010/11 |
1.630 million |
| 2011/12 |
1.673 million |
| 2012/13 |
1.685 million |
| 2013/14 |
1.692 million |
| 2014/15 |
1.768 million |
| History | |
| 7 August 1850 | Station opens as Huntingdon |
| 1 July 1923 | Station renamed Huntingdon North |
| 15 June 1964 | Station renamed Huntingdon |
| 1976 | Station rebuild began |
| 11 May 1987 | First electric service from rebuilt station |
| 2005 | Station building subject to partial rebuild |
| National Rail – UK railway stations | |
| * Annual estimated passenger usage based on sales of tickets in stated financial year(s) which end or originate at Huntingdon from Office of Rail and Road statistics. Methodology may vary year on year. | |
 UK Railways portal | |
Huntingdon Railway Station serves the town of Huntingdon in Cambridgeshire, England. The station is on the East Coast Main Line and has three platforms; one bay and two through platforms. Huntingdon is managed and served by Great Northern. During engineering works or periods of disruption Virgin Trains East Coast services sometimes call at Huntingdon, but there is no regular Virgin Trains service from the station.
History
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When originally opened by the Great Northern Railway on 7 August 1850, the station was just named Huntingdon, however, from 1 July 1923 until 15 June 1965 the station was known as Huntingdon North to distinguish it from the nearby Huntingdon East on the line between Cambridge and Kettering via St Ives.[1] The latter closed to passenger traffic in June 1959, along with the line.
From the mid 1970s to the late 1980s the station was slowly rebuilt, going from a station with one platform connected to the ticket office and an island platform to an electrified station with the main platform, a bay platform as well as a separate platform for the slow line. The reason for this was that pre-1976, only three tracks went through the station causing a major bottleneck in the area.
From 1977, when Kings Cross suburban electric services were introduced, until the main line to Peterborough was electrified in 1988, local services were provided by a diesel multiple-unit shuttle from Hitchin that started and terminated here – passengers for stations further south had to change at Hitchin onto the Kings Cross–Royston outer suburban electric service. Certain East Coast main line services between London, Doncaster and York or Hull stopped here to provide onward connections for through passengers and offer direct trains to the capital. There were also a number of Kings Cross–Peterborough through trains for commuters at peak times.[2] Once electrification began, stops by longer-distance trains were gradually removed and had ceased by the time British Rail was privatised in 1995, as can be seen from the East Coast Main Line timetable of that era.
The station sustained an arson attack in 2005. Much of the station roof had to be rebuilt, as did the booking hall.
Facilities
Huntingdon is staffed for most of the day. Automatic ticket barriers have been installed, as part of a wider programme by the former franchisee, First Capital Connect, to place them across large parts of the network as a revenue-protecting and security exercise. The station has three touch-screen ticket machines.
There are toilet facilities at the station, as well as shelters on all platforms. The station has a combined newsagent and buffet on the London-bound platform, and a vending machine on the Peterborough-bound platform.
There is a taxi rank directly outside the entrance to the London-bound platforms. A considerable amount of parking space is provided adjacent to both platforms.
Services
Huntingdon station is served by a half-hourly service southbound to London Kings Cross and northbound to Peterborough throughout the day Monday to Saturday. There is an hourly service in each direction on Sundays. Journey times to London range from around 1 hour to 1 hour 20 minutes on these services, depending on the stopping pattern south of Hitchin.
There are also extra services during the weekday peak that run fast to/from Kings Cross, others only stop at St. Neots, as well as some that additionally only call at St. Neots, Biggleswade and/or Stevenage, then are fast to Kings Cross, and others stopping only at St. Neots, Biggleswade and/or Hitchin. These services usually take around 40–45 minutes to Kings Cross. Also a few additional peak services to/from London start/terminate here.[3]
During times of engineering work in the Hitchin area, Huntingdon often operates as the terminus for Virgin Trains East Coast services from Scotland and the north-east of England, which are normally destined for Kings Cross. A rail replacement service usually runs from Huntingdon to Biggleswade or Stevenage to connect with services to or from London Kings Cross. Huntingdon is also used as a stop for Virgin Trains East Coast services if Peterborough cannot be used.
Transport links
A bus service is provided to and from Godmanchester (Bus 476 - 5 times daily), Hartford and St Ives (Bus 55 - normally every 20 minutes), from a stop directly adjacent to the station. More buses are available from a stop on the main road (George Street) nearby - buses 65/66 to and from St Neots and St Ives via Hinchingbrooke Hospital/Brampton, and Houghton/Wyton respectively; Bus 30 to Hinchingbrooke Hospital, Warboys and Ramsey; 35 to Wyton, Chatteris, Doddington and March.
Gallery
The station viewed from the footbridge._-_geograph.org.uk_-_1421183.jpg)
Steam loco Bittern going through the station.
Huntingdon railway station_Station_geograph-2283573-by-Ben-Brooksbank.jpg)
Huntingdon in August 1949.
Steam loco Tangmere passing through Platform 2.
Routes
| Preceding station | National Rail |
Following station | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Great Northern Great Northern Peterborough Line | ||||
| Great Northern Great Northern fasts | ||||
| Great Northern Great Northern Peterborough Line | Terminus | |||
| Great Northern Great Northern fasts | Terminus | |||
| Historical railways | ||||
Line open, station closed | Great Northern Railway | Line open, station closed |
||
References
- ↑ Mitchell, Vic; Mott, Allan (2003). Hitchin to Peterborough. Midhurst: Middleton Press. volume I, pic. 64,65. ISBN 1-904474-07-1.
- ↑ GB National Rail Timetable May 1982 Edition, Tables 25 and 26
- ↑ Table 25 National Rail timetable, May 2016
External links
 |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Huntingdon railway station. |
- Train times and station information for Huntingdon railway station from National Rail
- Historic England. "Details from image database (53491)". Images of England.