Loughborough railway station
Loughborough  | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | |||||
| General information | |||||
| Location | Loughborough, Borough of Charnwood England | ||||
| Grid reference | SK543204 | ||||
| Managed by | East Midlands Railway | ||||
| Platforms | 3 | ||||
| Tracks | 4 | ||||
| Other information | |||||
| Station code | LBO | ||||
| Classification | DfT category C1 | ||||
| History | |||||
| Opened | 1872 | ||||
| Passengers | |||||
| 2018/19 |  1.385 million | ||||
| Interchange | 61,439 | ||||
| 2019/20 |  1.331 million | ||||
| Interchange | 58,269 | ||||
| 2020/21 | 0.299 million | ||||
| Interchange | 10,719 | ||||
| 2021/22 | 0.963 million | ||||
| Interchange | 34,530 | ||||
| 2022/23 | 1.227 million | ||||
| Interchange | 13,513 | ||||
Listed Building – Grade II | |||||
| Feature | Loughborough railway station | ||||
| Designated | 5 May 1981 | ||||
| Reference no. | 1320325[1] | ||||
| |||||
Loughborough is a Grade II listed[1] railway station in the town of Loughborough, Leicestershire; it is on the Midland Main Line and is located 111 miles (179 km) north of London St Pancras. The station is sited to the north-east of the town centre.
History
[edit]The original station (opened in 1840 by the Midland Counties Railway, which was shortly to join the North Midland Railway and the Birmingham and Derby Junction Railway to form the Midland Railway) was sited a little further south.[2]
The present station was built in 1872. The ironwork was constructed by Mr. Richards of Leicester, and the stone portion by Mr. Cox of Leicester.[3] The track was quadrupled and has retained much of its characteristically Midland Railway architecture, apart from the fact that its canopies have been cut back.[4] The station is grade II listed.[5]
It became known as "Loughborough Midland" when Loughborough had three stations; Loughborough Derby Road (opened 1883 on the Charnwood Forest Railway, owned by London and North Western Railway from 1923 and closed to passengers in 1931) and Loughborough Central (Great Central Railway now used by the heritage railway bearing the same name).
In future, there is to be a Loughborough Midland High-Level in which passengers could interchange with both National Rail and the heritage GCR as the line is currently undergoing a heritage regeneration project.
Facilities
[edit]The station is staffed and has a side platform layout. A third, short platform was created on the down slow line for the commencement of Ivanhoe Line passenger services in 1993.
In 2000 passenger information systems were updated and now use dot matrix display screens. In 2006 automatic ticket gates were installed on all approaches to the station in order to cut down on fare evasion, these were complemented with ticket vending machines and additional FastTicket machines. The manual Tannoy system was replaced by an automated voice on 13 July 2011.[citation needed] Other facilities include bicycle racks, paid car parking, a shop and snack bar, public telephones and toilets. Taxis and buses are available outside; however, the bus to East Midlands Airport was withdrawn in 2010. Although the local Skylink service still operates from the town centre.
Refurbishment
[edit]Up until 2012 access to all but platform 1 was awkward for many passengers. The station had a footbridge and a barrow crossing to access platforms 2 and 3, in addition since the early 1990s the usable length of the two main platforms was four coaches due to the A60 road bridge.[6]
Loughborough Eastern Gateway[7] a locally led project proved to be the catalyst after many years of proposals to improve the station. The scheme got underway in March 2010.[8]
A £7 million package of improvements was started at the station in June 2010.[9] Platforms were extended to accommodate the longest trains which serve the station, lifts provided to access all platforms, and refurbishment of the existing ticket office, waiting rooms and glass platform canopies. The extended platforms 1 & 2 are capable of handling 10-car trains; and the extended platform 3 can handle up to 7-car trains.[10] The new facilities were opened in good time for the 2012 British and Japanese Olympic squads basing themselves in the town.[11]
Services
[edit]National Rail
[edit]Rail routes run north–south through Loughborough along the route known as the Midland Main Line, going south to London; and north to Derby, Nottingham and Sheffield.[12]
East Midlands Railway (EMR) operate the station as well as all services.
The usual Monday - Saturday service pattern is as follows:
- Platform 1 -
- Hourly East Midlands Railway service to Sheffield via Derby and Chesterfield
- Hourly East Midlands Railway service to Nottingham via Beeston
- Platform 2 -
- Hourly fast East Midlands Railway service to London St Pancras International via Leicester
- Hourly semi-fast East Midlands Railway service to London St Pancras International via Leicester, Market Harborough and Kettering
- Platform 3 -
- Hourly local East Midlands Railway service to Lincoln or Grimsby Town (alternating each hour) via East Midlands Parkway, Nottingham and Newark with limited extensions to Cleethorpes
- Hourly local East Midlands Railway service to Leicester via Syston
| Preceding station |  National Rail
|
Following station | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| East Midlands Railway Midland Main Line | ||||
| East Midlands Railway Ivanhoe Line | ||||
| East Midlands Railway Nottingham-Norwich Limited service | ||||
| Historical railways | ||||
| Hathern Line open, station closed |
Midland Railway Midland Main Line |
Barrow-upon-Soar Line and station open | ||
Connections
[edit]Kinchbus's Sprint service to Loughborough University via the town centre terminates in the station forecourt. Nottingham City Transport's South Notts 1 service between Nottingham and Loughborough via Clifton and East Leake also stops in the forecourt on journeys inbound to Loughborough. Outbound journeys of the service 1 towards Nottingham stop on Station Boulevard, just south of the railway station, while Kinchbus's service 9 to Nottingham via the A60 and Centrebus's service 8 to Melton Mowbray and Grantham and service 27 to Sileby and Thurmaston stop on the A60 Nottingham Road, which runs over the railway on a bridge to the southeast.[13]
References
[edit]- ^ a b Historic England, "Loughborough Railway Station (1320325)", National Heritage List for England, retrieved 30 December 2016
- ^ Higginson, M, (1989) The Midland Counties Railway: A Pictorial Survey, Derby: Midland Railway Trust.
- ^ "Loughborough. New Railway Station - Commemorative Supper". Leicester Journal. British Newspaper Archive. 28 June 1872. Retrieved 27 July 2016 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ Radford, B., (1983) Midland Line Memories: a Pictorial History of the Midland Railway Main Line Between London (St Pancras) & Derby London: Bloomsbury Books
- ^ "Historic and Listed Buildings in Loughborough". www.charnwood.gov.uk. Archived from the original on 11 October 2007.
- ^ "Railway Station's Future to be Discussed in Parliament". 26 June 2008.
- ^ "7 Key Development Sites, Loughborough Eastern Gateway" (PDF).
- ^ "A New Station Gateway for Loughborough". Prospect leicestershire. Retrieved 11 March 2010.[permanent dead link]
- ^ "Olympic upgrade for Loughborough station". Rail-News.com. June 2010. Retrieved 6 June 2010.
- ^ Rackley, Stuart (9 January 2012). "Considering Loughborough". Rail Engineer. Rail Media. Retrieved 6 June 2012.
- ^ https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-17953494 Station revamp
- ^ Table 53 National Rail timetable, May 2016
- ^ "Loughborough Bus map & guide" (PDF). choosehowyoumove. March 2021. Retrieved 8 May 2024.
External links
[edit]
- Train times and station information for Loughborough railway station from National Rail
- Skylink bus timetable