Bedford railway station

The original station was built by the Midland Railway in 1859 on its line to the Great Northern at Hitchin. It was on land known as "Freemen's Common" approximately 200 yards (180 m) south of the current station on Ashburnham Road.

The London and North Western Railway (LNWR) also had a station on its line between Bletchley and Cambridge. The Midland crossed it on the level and there was a serious collision when an LNWR train passed a red signal. (Curiously, both drivers were named John Perkins). Following this accident, the Midland built a flyover in 1885.[1]

The extension to St Pancras opened in 1868. The connection to Hitchin ceased public services during 1961, but the line north of Bedford to Wigston Junction is still officially referred to as the Leicester to Hitchin line.[2] At this time the station was substantially altered, with the replacement of a level crossing by the Queen's Park overbridge. In 1890 fast lines were added to the west to allow expresses to bypass the station.

Serious damage occurred during World War II when a bomb destroyed the booking hall's glass ceiling. The current station was built to replace it and was opened by Sir Peter Parker (chairman of BR) on 9 October 1978.[3][4] The £1 million station, which was re-sited about 110 yards (100 m) north of the original 1857 station, had a large square concourse housing a ticket office, travel centre and Travellers Fare buffet.[4] The station car park was enlarged to cater for 450 cars plus 52 short-wait spaces in the forecourt which had separate areas for cars and taxis to set down and pick up passengers.[4] A covered walkway linked the station with bus stops in Ashburnham Road.[4] As part of the modernisation work, the slow lines were realigned to the west next to the 1890 fast lines to pass between two new platforms.[4]

Although the intention was for what remained of the old awnings to be transferred to the Midland Railway at Butterley in Derbyshire it proved impossible to save them. Nothing remains of the original station buildings.

Services over the Marston Vale line to/from Bletchley were transferred here from the old LNWR St Johns station in May 1984. A new connection, which runs along the formation formerly used by the abandoned line to Hitchin (closed to passenger traffic from 1 January 1962 and completely three years later), was laid from the Marston Vale branch up to the main line to permit this. The original St Johns station closed on 14 May 1984 with a replacement halt on the new chord opening the same day.[5] Bletchley trains henceforth used a bay platform (numbered 1A) on the eastern side of the station.

By 1983, Midland Main Line electrification under British Rail reached Bedford, and Class 317 electric multiple units began running to Moorgate. The track through platform 4 towards the East Midlands remained un-electrified until the 2020s Midland Main Line railway upgrade.

Services through Luton Airport Parkway are operated by Luton Airport Express and Thameslink using Class 360 and 700 EMUs. The Luton Airport Express is run by East Midlands Railway, and became an official separate brand for their "Connect" service in 2023.[6]

The main entrance on 4 June 1962

The main entrance on 13 January 2007 from the car park.

The station is predominantly served by three operators and managed by Thameslink.

• Luton Airport Express
• London Northwestern Railway (Service suspended from December 2022)
• Thameslink

Most East Midlands Railway services that call at Bedford are Luton Airport Express services. This service started in May 2021 as "EMR Connect" and is operated by Class 360 Electric Multiple Units running on the twice hourly stopping service from London St Pancras to Corby. This was renamed to Luton Airport Express in 2023, and became an official separate brand for their original "Connect" service in 2023.[7]

Occasional “EMR Intercity” services do call at Bedford during the peak hours and on Sunday mornings to Nottingham and Leicester without requiring a connection at Kettering.[8]

The station is the northern terminus of the Thameslink route with Thameslink services operating to Brighton through St Albans and London St Pancras. Services from the station also call at Luton Airport Parkway and Gatwick Airport. Additional services start or terminate at Gatwick Airport or Three Bridges. These services use Class 700 electric multiple units. Thameslink also runs a few services a day to Sutton on the Sutton Loop line, via both Wimbledon and Mitcham Junction.[9]

London Northwestern Railway operates local services to Bletchley via the Marston Vale Line using Class 230 units. There is no Sunday service on this line.[10]

The typical off-peak service in trains per hour (tph) is:

• 2tph to Brighton via Gatwick Airport (Thameslink)
• 2tph to Three Bridges via Redhill (Thameslink)
• 2tph to London St Pancras (Luton Airport Express)
• 2tph to Corby (Luton Airport Express)
• 1tph to Bletchley (London Northwestern Railway) Service currently suspended

Preceding station	National Rail			Following station
Wellingborough		Luton Airport Express London to Corby Connect		Luton
Terminus		Thameslink Thameslink		Flitwick
Bedford St Johns		London Northwestern Railway Marston Vale Line Monday-Saturday only		Terminus
	Disused railways
Terminus		London, Midland and Scottish Railway Bedford to Hitchin Line		Cardington Line and station closed
Turvey Line and station closed		London, Midland and Scottish Railway Bedford to Northampton Line		Terminus
	Historical railways
Oakley Line open, station closed		Midland Railway Midland Main Line		Ampthill Line open, station closed
	Future Services
Ridgmont		East West Rail Oxford to Cambridge		undecided[lower-alpha 1]

In common with other stations on the Bedford to Bletchley Marston Vale line, Bedford station is covered by the Marston Vale Community Rail Partnership. The partnership aims to increase use of the Marston Vale line by getting local people involved with their local line.

A second CRP with Bedford Midland as its northern terminus - the Beds & Herts Community Rail Partnership (formerly the Bedford to St Albans City Community Rail Partnership) - has been set up, covering the eight stations on the Midland main line between Bedford Midland and St Albans City[11]

Class 230 003 LNWR at Bedford

Bedford Station from the station footbridge - looking north. An East Midlands Railway High Speed train is leaving platform 4 heading north.

The station has the following facilities:

• 2 waiting rooms
• Cafe/newsagent/bar and coffee bar
• Telephones
• Post box
• ATM
• Ticket machines
• Toilets
• Car park
• Fully wheelchair accessible
• Ticket barriers

The station is in the Bedford zone of the PlusBus scheme, where train and bus tickets can be bought together to save money.

The station will be the eastern terminus for Phase 2 of East West Rail, a plan to reopen the railway from Oxford and Aylesbury. As of November 2020, extension to Cambridge and East Anglia via "a new station in the Tempsford area" is planned but not scheduled. Bedford station will be rebuilt for East West Rail in 2023.[12]

• Bedford St Johns railway station

• Marston Vale Community Rail Partnership

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Bedford railway station.

• Train times and station information for Bedford railway station from National Rail