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  | |
|---|---|
 Exterior of the main building on Station Way | |
  St Albans City Location of St Albans City in Hertfordshire | |
| Location | St Albans |
| Local authority | City of St Albans |
| Grid reference | TL155070 |
| Managed by | Thameslink |
| Station code(s) | SAC |
| DfT category | B |
| Number of platforms | 4 |
| Accessible | Yes |
| National Rail annual entry and exit | |
| 2019–20 |  7.375 million[1] |
| – interchange | 0.179 million[1] |
| 2020–21 | 1.346 million[1] |
| – interchange | 60,394[1] |
| 2021–22 |  3.877 million[1] |
| – interchange | 0.109 million[1] |
| 2022–23 | 5.572 million[1] |
| – interchange | 0.122 million[1] |
| 2023–24 | 6.319 million[1] |
| – interchange | 0.129 million[1] |
| Key dates | |
| 1 October 1868 | Opened |
| 1973 | Rebuilt[2] |
| Other information | |
| External links | |
| Coordinates | 51°45′01″N 0°19′39″W / 51.7504°N 0.3274°W |
 London transport portal | |
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History
editThe 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
editThe 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.
Construction of a second footbridge was completed in 2022 .[8]
Services
editAll services at St Albans City are operated by Thameslink using Class 700 EMUs.
The typical off-peak service in trains per hour is:[9]
- 6 tph to Luton of which 4 continue to Bedford
- 2 tph to Brighton via Gatwick Airport
- 2 tph to Three Bridges via Redhill
- 2 tph to Rainham via Dartford
- 4 tph to Sutton (2 of these run via Mitcham Junction and 2 run via ‹See TfM›Wimbledon)
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
edit- ^ 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.
- ^ Booth, Janine (19 May 2023). "St Albans City station celebrates fifty years since rebuild". RailAdvent. Retrieved 19 May 2023.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "Network Rail Proposed Land Disposal: St Albans, Hertfordshire" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 28 September 2007. Retrieved 16 December 2018.
- ^ "£5.7m St Albans station redevelopment finished just ahead of lockdown". 21 December 2020.
- ^ "New Sainsbury's store opens in St Albans". 25 February 2022.
- ^ "SigBox Website". Sigbox.co.uk. Retrieved 16 December 2018.
- ^ "Revamp plans at Hertfordshire railway station now underway". RailAdvent. 17 July 2022. Retrieved 17 July 2022.
- ^ Table 52, 179, 201 National Rail timetable, May 2022
Bibliography
edit- Butt, R. V. J. (October 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. OL 11956311M.
External links
edit
- Train times and station information for St Albans City railway station from National Rail