Bedford railway station

Bedford
An East Midlands Trains Nottingham-London service calls at Bedford in 2011.
Location
Place	Bedford
Local authority	Bedford
Operations
Station code	BDM
Managed by	First Capital Connect
Number of platforms	5 (1 Terminus Platform)
Live arrivals/departures and station information from National Rail Enquiries
Annual rail passenger usage
2004/05 *	2.770 million
2005/06 *	2.829 million
2006/07 *	3.034 million
2007/08 *	3.184 million
2008/09 *	3.199 million
2009/10 *	2.981 million
History
1859	Bedford Midland opened
1868	Rebuilt
1890	Avoiding lines built
1978	Rebuilt
National Rail - UK railway stations
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
* Annual estimated passenger usage based on sales of tickets in stated financial year(s) which end or originate at Bedford from Office of Rail Regulation statistics. Please note: methodology may vary year on year.

Railways of Bedford
Legend Midland Main Line Bedford Midland Varsity Line Bedford St Johns (Old Site) Bedford St Johns (Current Site) Marston Vale Line Midland Main Line

Bedford railway station is the main railway station in the town of Bedford in Bedfordshire, England. It is located on the Midland Main Line from London St Pancras to the East Midlands. It is also the terminus of the Marston Vale line from Bletchley through Bedford St. Johns. The station is also known as Bedford Midland, and is situated to the west of the town centre. It is used by a substantial number of commuters to London.

Through-fares are available from Bedford to Paris, Brussels and other destinations in France and Belgium.

History

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

The LNWR also had a station on its line (now closed) between Bletchley and Cambridge. The Midland crossed it on the level but there was a serious collision when an LNWR train passed a red signal. Curiously, it transpired at the enquiry that that both drivers were named John Perkins. Following this accident, the Midland built a flyover in 1885.

The extension to St. Pancras was opened in 1868. The connection to Hitchin is long gone, but the line north of Bedford as far as Wigston Junction is still officially referred to as the Leicester to Hitchin line. At this time the station was substantially altered, with the replacement of a level crossing by the Queen's Park overbridge. In 1890 a curve was 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. The site of the station moved about 100 metres (330 ft) north, and the slow lines were realigned to the West, closer to the fast lines, which were previously the old 1890's avoiding lines.

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

The track layout around Bedford station is set for significant changes in the coming years as Network Rail aims to make operations easier and faster. The majority of the work will be north of the station itself.

Services

View of main entrance 4 June 1962

View of main entrance 13 January 2007. The metal and glass structure of the main station building, viewed from the car park.

The station is served by three operators but managed by First Capital Connect.

• East Midlands Trains
• First Capital Connect
• London Midland

East Midlands Trains slow services along the Midland Main Line between London St Pancras and Nottingham call at the station, as do London-Corby services. These services mostly use Class 222 Meridian diesel-electric multiple units. Morning and evening peaks see some Nottingham services extended to Lincoln via Newark Castle and Corby services extended to Melton Mowbray. The weekend sees trains operating to York and in the summer months there are also weekend trains to Scarborough.

First Capital Connect operate regular services along Thameslink from Bedford to Brighton passing through St Albans and London St Pancras. Services from the station also call at two Airports; Luton Airport Parkway to the north and Gatwick Airport to the South of London. These services use Class 319 or Class 377 Electrostar electric multiple units. These are due to be replaced with new Desiro-based rolling stock as part of the Thameslink Upgrade Programme. At weekends, services terminate at St Pancras as the core section of the Thameslink network is undergoing engineering works.

London Midland operate local services from Bletchley to Bedford via the Marston Vale Line. Services are operated using Class 153 Super Sprinter diesel multiple units. There is no Sunday service.

Preceding station	National Rail			Following station
Luton		East Midlands Trains London to Corby		Wellingborough
Luton Airport Parkway		East Midlands Trains London to Nottingham
Flitwick		First Capital Connect Thameslink		Terminus
Bedford St Johns		London Midland Marston Vale Line Mondays-Saturdays 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

Community Rail Partnership

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

Facilities

An empty Bedford Station, depicting the main tracks and platform layout. As seen from the over bridge.

Bedford station has the following facilities:

• 2 waiting rooms
• Cafe/newsagent/bar and coffee bar
• Telephones
• Post box
• ATM
• FastTicket machine
• Toilets
• Car park with 614 spaces

Bedford station is fully wheelchair-accessible. The station has the PlusBus scheme where train and bus tickets can be bought together at a saving. Ticket barriers are in operation at the station.

Future developments

Plans were being promoted by Network Rail and Bedford Borough Council for the redevelopment of the station quarter.

Platform 1A will be extended through the existing building to accommodate 12-car trains; presently it is only long enough to handle four-car trains and is a terminating bay.

Therefore a new station building would be erected on the site of the former Victorian station, which was closed and bulldozed in 1978 when the current buildings opened. This area is now a council pay and display car park with an empty retail unit. An outline planning application for the work was submitted in April 2010, with the project complete by the end of 2011, and is under consideration by Beford Borough Council. By the end of February 2011, the former retail outlet had been demolished and the site stands empty looking through to the passing trains at the station.

The scheme would be part of an overall plan to regenerate Bedford town centre.

The station will be the eastern terminus of the East West Rail Link, a plan to reopen the railway between Oxford, Aylesbury Vale Parkway and Bedford, with possible eventual extension to Cambridge and East Anglia by the now closed Varsity Line. The scheme was given the go-ahead by Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne in his 2011 Autumn Statement by Chancellor George Osborne, with £270 million committed to the scheme, which is due for completion in 2017.

See also

• Bedford St Johns railway station

External links

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