Stevenage railway station
Stevenage railway station serves the large town of Stevenage in Hertfordshire, England. The station is around 44.4 kilometres north of London King's Cross on the East Coast Main Line.[1] Stevenage is served and managed by Great Northern, who operate Thameslink stopping services southbound to King’s Cross via stations such as Welwyn Garden City and Potters Bar, to Brighton and Horsham via central London and Gatwick Airport and to Moorgate via Watton-at-Stone, Hertford North and Enfield Chase and services northbound to Cambridge and Peterborough. It is also frequently served by London North Eastern Railway, who operate fast non-stopping services southbound towards London and northbound towards cities including York, Leeds and Edinburgh. Hull Trains and Lumo operate very limited services from the station.
Stevenage ![]() | |
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![]() The station in November 2021 looking north, with the new platform 5 on the far left | |
General information | |
Location | Stevenage, Borough of Stevenage England |
Grid reference | TL234241 |
Owned by | Network Rail |
Managed by | Great Northern |
Platforms | 5 |
Other information | |
Station code | SVG |
Classification | DfT category C1 |
History | |
Opened | 23 July 1973 |
Key dates | |
8 August 1850 | Original station opened by GNR |
22 July 1973 | Station closed |
23 July 1973 | Relocated 73 chains(1.5km) south to present location and opened by BR |
29 September 1973 | Officially opened by Shirley Williams MP |
Passengers | |
2017/18 | ![]() |
2018/19 | ![]() |
Interchange | 2.452 million |
2019/20 | ![]() |
Interchange | ![]() |
2020/21 | ![]() |
Interchange | ![]() |
2021/22 | ![]() |
Interchange | ![]() |
Notes | |
Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road |
![](../I/Stevenage_remains_of_old_station_geograph-3835746-by-Ben-Brooksbank.jpg.webp)
The present station was opened for trains on 23 July 1973.[2] It was officially opened on 26 September 1973 by Shirley Williams,[3] then MP for Stevenage, replacing the previous station, which was 73 chains (1,500 m) to the north,[1] and further away from the centre of the new town. The station was built by British Rail.
History
The original Stevenage railway station was built in 1850 by the Great Northern Railway, despite the apparent hostility towards the railway being built there at that time due to the inevitable decline it would cause to local coach businesses,[4] which all ended shortly after the station was opened.
In 1946, Stevenage became one of the first New Towns, which resulted in a new town centre. In 1973, the railway station was relocated 73 chains (1.47 km) south, within walking distance (220 yd, 200 m) of the new town centre.[5]
In 2021, a tactile map was installed, in collaboration with the Royal National Institute of Blind People, to help blind and partially sighted passengers navigate the station.[6]
Facilities
The station has two separate ticket offices (Great Northern and London North Eastern Railway), but in practice, each also sells the other's tickets. There are also seven ticket machines. There are toilets at street level (but not on the platforms) and lifts from the station building to both platforms.
![](../I/Stevenage_railway_station_MMB_05.jpg.webp)
The station also has automatic ticket barriers, which were installed by First Capital Connect (the previous train operator) shortly after it took over the route, as a revenue protection exercise, and to improve security at the station. There is a snack bar, at street level, and two coffee bars at platform level, with one per platform. The newsagent previously at street level closed in March 2014, pending the redevelopment of the station which has since been completed. Since December 2013, the previous train operator, First Capital Connect started refurbishing the station completely, introducing passenger lifts between platform and street level, and refurbishing the concourse area plus retail units. The works were due to be completed by April 2014, but were delayed. Since Great Northern took over the franchise in September 2014, these works have been completed.
Both island platforms have indoor waiting rooms that were refurbished in May 2012 as part of a wider scheme to refurbish and add waiting rooms across the Great Northern Route, and there is also outdoor seating along the length of the platforms.
The station is a short walk on a walkway from Stevenage Bus Station and is opposite a leisure complex that includes the Gordon Craig Theatre.
Services
Preceding station | ![]() |
Following station | ||
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London King's Cross | Great Northern London-Peterborough/Huntingdon (fast) |
Biggleswade | ||
Watton-at-Stone | Great Northern London-Stevenage |
Terminus | ||
London King's Cross | London North Eastern Railway London-North East & Scotland |
Peterborough | ||
London King's Cross | London North Eastern Railway London-Leeds and West Yorkshire |
Peterborough | ||
Grantham | ||||
London King's Cross | Hull Trains London-Hull/Beverley |
Grantham | ||
Thameslink Horsham to Peterborough | ||||
Thameslink Brighton to Cambridge | ||||
Thameslink London to Cambridge | ||||
London King's Cross | Lumo London to Edinburgh |
Newcastle |
Great Northern
Great Northern serve Stevenage with a half-hourly service to Moorgate which calls at all stations via the Hertford Loop Line. These services start and finish at Stevenage using Platform 5 at the station, which opened in 2020.[7] These services are operated using Class 717 EMUs.
Great Northern also operate an hourly fast service during the weekday peak hours between London King's Cross and Peterborough. Southbound, this service runs non-stop to London King's Cross and northbound, calls only at Biggleswade, St Neots and Huntingdon.[8] These services are operated using Class 387 EMUs.
London North Eastern Railway
London North Eastern Railway generally serve Stevenage with two trains per hour in each direction during the day. The station is served by an hourly service between London King's Cross and Leeds, with a train every two hours continuing to Harrogate. The station is also served by an hourly service from London King's Cross, alternating northbound between terminating at Lincoln or York via Retford.[9]
During the peak hours, a small number of the services to Leeds are extended to and from Bradford Forster Square.
The station is also served by a small number of early morning and late evening services to and from Newcastle and Edinburgh Waverley.
Services are operated using Class 800 bi-mode trains and Class 801 EMUs.
Hull Trains
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Hull Trains operate a limited service at Stevenage on Sunday afternoons only. The station is served by one northbound service to Hull and two southbound services to London King's Cross.[10] Services are operated using Class 802 bi-mode trains.
Thameslink services
As of May 2023, most services at Stevenage are operated by Thameslink using Class 700 EMUs.
The typical off-peak service in trains per hour is:[11][8]
- 2 tph to London King's Cross (stopping)
- 2 tph to Brighton via London Bridge and Gatwick Airport (semi-fast)
- 2 tph to Horsham via London Bridge, Redhill and Gatwick Airport
- 2 tph to Peterborough (all stations)
- 2 tph to Letchworth Garden City of which 1 continues to Cambridge (all stations)
- 2 tph to Cambridge (semi-fast)
On Sundays, the services between Brighton and Cambridge are reduced to hourly, with the service to Horsham not operating.
Lumo
As of October 2021, Lumo operates a number of services at Stevenage. The station is served by two northbound services to Edinburgh Waverley and three southbound services to London King's Cross.[12][13][14] Services are operated using Class 803 EMUs.
Additional platform
Until May 2018 most weekday trains on the Hertford Loop Line were extended to Letchworth,[15] as there was insufficient capacity to accommodate terminating trains at Stevenage. However, in 2018, Govia Thameslink Railway cut back all services to start/terminate at Stevenage. To help alleviate the capacity problem, an additional south-facing bay platform was built at Stevenage, similar to the arrangement at Welwyn Garden City, which allows Hertford loop line services to start and terminate here. It was officially opened on 3 August 2020.[16]
References
- Yonge, John (September 2006) [1994]. Jacobs, Gerald (ed.). Railway Track Diagrams 2: Eastern (3rd ed.). Bradford on Avon: Trackmaps. map 15B. ISBN 0-9549866-2-8.
- Butt, R.V.J. (1995). The Directory of Railway Stations. Yeovil: Patrick Stephens Ltd. p. 219. ISBN 1-85260-508-1. R508.
- A brass plaque in the upstairs walkway/bridge commemorates this.
- http://www.wordoxers.com/hos/main7.htm%5B%5D
- "A History of Stevenage". www.localhistories.org. 14 March 2021.
- Holden, Alan (19 May 2021). "Railway stations in Hertfordshire and Sussex mapped for blind and partially sighted passengers". Rail Advent. Retrieved 19 May 2021.
- "Timetable B: Stevenage, Hertford North and Welwyn Garden City to London". Govia Thameslink Railway. Retrieved 17 August 2022.
- "Timetable A: King's Lynn, Ely, Cambridge and Peterborough to London". Govia Thameslink Railway. Retrieved 17 August 2022.
- "Full Train Timetable: May 2022" (PDF). London North Eastern Railway. Retrieved 17 August 2022.
- "Full Timetable: May 2022" (PDF). Hull Trains. Retrieved 17 August 2022.
- Table 25, 52 National Rail timetable, May 2022
- Applications for the East Coast Main Line Office of Rail & Road 12 May 2016
- First Group to run Edinburgh to London budget rail service BBC News 12 May 2016
- VTEC and FirstGroup granted East Coast Main Line paths Railway Gazette International 12 May 2016
- Timetables : Thameslink and Great Northern (A1)
- New bay platform opened
External links
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- Train times and station information for Stevenage railway station from National Rail