Hitchin railway station
Hitchin Great Northern | |||||
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Platforms | 2 | ||||
Tracks | 4 | ||||
Other information | |||||
Station code | HIT | ||||
Classification | DfT category C2 | ||||
History | |||||
Original company | Great Northern Railway | ||||
Post-grouping | London and North Eastern Railway | ||||
Key dates | |||||
7 August 1850 | Station opened | ||||
Passengers | |||||
2018/19 | ![]() | ||||
Interchange | 0.174 million | ||||
2019/20 | ![]() | ||||
Interchange | ![]() | ||||
2020/21 | ![]() | ||||
Interchange | ![]() | ||||
2021/22 | ![]() | ||||
Interchange | ![]() | ||||
2022/23 | ![]() | ||||
Interchange | ![]() | ||||
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![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/ae/Hitchin_Railway_Station_front.jpg/220px-Hitchin_Railway_Station_front.jpg)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/08/Hitchin_railway_station_geograph-2206783.jpg/220px-Hitchin_railway_station_geograph-2206783.jpg)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/80/Hitchin_railway_station_geograph-2178472-by-Ben-Brooksbank.jpg/220px-Hitchin_railway_station_geograph-2178472-by-Ben-Brooksbank.jpg)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/19/Dunstable%2C_Hertford%2C_Hitchin_%26_St_Albans_RJD_35.jpg/220px-Dunstable%2C_Hertford%2C_Hitchin_%26_St_Albans_RJD_35.jpg)
Hitchin railway station serves the market town of Hitchin in Hertfordshire. It is located approximately 1 mile (1.6 km) north east of the town centre and 31 miles 74 chains (51.4 km) north of London King's Cross on the East Coast Main Line.[1]
Until the current Stevenage station opened in 1973, many Intercity services stopped at Hitchin.
In August 2007 Hitchin was awarded Secure Station status after improvements to station security were made by First Capital Connect, including new lighting, extra CCTV and the installation of automatic ticket gates.
History
The first section of the
On 21 October 1850 Hitchin became a junction station with the opening of the first section of the Royston and Hitchin Railway, between Hitchin and Royston (it was extended to Shepreth on 3 August 1851).[5] The Midland Railway (MR) opened a route from Leicester via Bedford to Hitchin on 1 February 1858, by which MR trains used the GNR to reach London.[6]
After the opening of the Midland Railway's own line from Bedford via
Accidents and incidents
- On 14 April 1949, the solicitor and historian Reginald Hine died by suicide here when he jumped in front of the slow train from Cambridge.[9][10]
- On 19 November 1958, a freight train, hauled by BR Standard Class 9F 2-10-0 No. 92187, overran signals and was in a rear-end collision with another. A third freight train ran into the wreckage.[11]
Facilities
There are platforms on only the two 'Slow' lines; they are long enough for 12-car trains.
Following a refurbishment of the station by First Capital Connect in 2007, the station's subway was refurbished at a cost of £300k.[12] The refurbishment also involved general cosmetic work throughout the station and a new high quality waiting room in the existing station buildings on Platform 2. This waiting room is fully accessible at all times through automatic doors.
The station has a large booking office with touch-screen ticket machines. The station has help points throughout.
A small shop is located by the stairs on Platform 2 and there are vending machines throughout the station.
Automatic ticket gates at the station entrance were installed by First Capital Connect during 2007.
The station's bicycle facilities were completely upgraded in 2007 and now include sheltered spaces for 68 bicycles next to the station buildings.
In 2013, Network Rail proposed plans for new lifts, one on each platform, to improve access via the existing subway for those with pushchairs or disabilities, funded through the Department for Transport's Access for All scheme.[13] The new lifts opened in September 2014 after a two-month delay, giving step-free access to the southbound number 1 platform.[14]
Services
Services at Hitchin are operated by Great Northern and Thameslink using Class 387 and 700 EMUs.
The typical off-peak service in trains per hour is:[15]
- 2 tph to London King's Cross
- 2 tph to Brighton via Gatwick Airport
- 2 tph to Horsham via Redhill and Gatwick Airport
- 2 tph to Peterborough
- 1 tph to Letchworth Garden City
- 3 tph to Cambridge (2 of these run semi-fast and 1 calls at all stations)
Additional services call at the station during the peak hours.
Preceding station | ![]() |
Following station | ||
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Cambridge Line | ||||
Cambridge Line | ||||
Great Northern Route | ||||
Historical railways | ||||
Line open, station relocated | Great Northern Railway | Line open, station closed |
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Disused railways | ||||
Line and station closed | London, Midland and Scottish Railway | Terminus |
Junction development
Down trains from London to Cambridge used to use a ladder crossing over the up lines in order to reach the
In June 2013
References
- ISBN 0-9549866-2-8.
- ISBN 1-85170-314-4.
- ^ Awdry, Christopher (1990). Encyclopaedia of British Railway Companies. London: Guild Publishing. p. 135. CN 8983.
- ISBN 1-85260-508-1. R508.
- ^ Awdry 1990, p. 158
- ^ Gordon 1989, volume I, pp. 77–8
- ISBN 0-9552411-0-3.
- ^ Network Rail. "Hitchin Flyover". Retrieved 15 April 2010.
- ISBN 978-0-9554662-0-5.
- ^ Fleck, Alan L. (2004). "Hine, Reginald Leslie (1883–1949)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Oxford University Press. Retrieved 16 December 2016.
- ISBN 0-906899 03 6.
- ^ "First Capital Connect - News". Archived from the original on 17 March 2010. Retrieved 9 May 2010.
- ^ Access for All: funding to improve accessibility at rail stations
- ^ "New lifts open at Hitchin railway station". 5 September 2014.
- ^ Table 25, 52 National Rail timetable, December 2023
- Office of Rail Regulation. 13 February 2006. p. 2. Retrieved 28 February 2014.
- ^ "Hitchin flyover". Network Rail. Retrieved 16 June 2011.
- ^ "Hitchin flyover opens".
External links
- Train times and station information for Hitchin railway station from National Rail
- Hitchin: Here we explain our plans to improve the rail links between London, Hitchin and Cambridge on Network Rail website