Arlesey
National Rail
General information
LocationArlesey, Central Bedfordshire
England
Grid referenceTL190378
Managed byGreat Northern
Platforms2
Other information
Station codeARL
ClassificationDfT category E
Key dates
7 August 1850Opened as Arlsey and Shefford Road
March 1860Renamed Arlesey and Shefford Road
July 1893Renamed Arlesey
July 1895Renamed Arlesey and Shefford Road
1 March 1933Renamed Arlesey and Henlow
5 January 1959Closed
3 October 1988Reopened as Arlesey
Passengers
2018/19Decrease 0.663 million
2019/20Increase 0.697 million
2020/21Decrease 0.153 million
2021/22Increase 0.407 million
2022/23Increase 0.552 million
Notes
Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road

Arlesey railway station serves the town of Arlesey in Bedfordshire, England. It is 37 miles 3 chains (37.04 miles, 59.61 km) from London King's Cross on the East Coast Main Line.[1] Arlesey is managed by Great Northern, but from December 2019 all services to the station have been operated by Thameslink, due to significant rebranding across their network.

Arlesey is the nearest station to the towns of Stotfold and Shefford, and to the villages of Langford, Clifton and Henlow.

History

Original station

The first section of the Great Northern Railway (GNR) (from Louth to a junction with the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway at Grimsby) opened on 1 March 1848; but the southern section of the main line (from Maiden Lane to Peterborough) was not opened until 7 August 1850. One of the 1850 stations was Arlsey and Shefford Road.[2][3] It was renamed Arlesey and Shefford Road in March 1860, but the shorter name of Arlesey was used between July 1893 and July 1895.[4] It was renamed Arlesey and Shefford Road in March 1860, but the shorter name of Arlesey was used between July 1893 and July 1895. The GNR became part of the London and North Eastern Railway (LNER) during the grouping of 1923. On 1 March 1933 the LNER renamed the station Arlesey and Henlow.[4] The station passed to the Eastern Region of British Railways on nationalisation in 1948.

Due to declining receipts, both Arlesey and nearby Three Counties stations were closed to passengers on 5 January 1959, with goods services being withdrawn on 28 November 1960.[4] The buildings were demolished shortly thereafter.[4][5]

Accidents

Two goods trains collided north of Arlesey on 5 July 1890, when the front of one train ran into the rear portion of another, which had come to a standstill after the coupling between two wagons broke.[6]

On 30 October 1927, the station building and goods shed received significant damage when they were hit by around 50 goods wagons and a guard's van, these having run away down the steep incline to Arlesey whilst being shunted near Hitchin, some four miles distant. Only prompt action by the signalman at Arlesey averted a major disaster, as he was able to stop a Cleethorpes – London King's Cross express passenger train in time to prevent it crashing headlong into the wagons, when the latter were still moving.[7][8]

A similar incident occurred in July 1954, when a King's Cross – Aberdeen service was halted by the signalman at Three Counties before it could plough into the wreckage of a goods train, which had become derailed to the south of the station.[9]

Present station

Modern station building

The line, however, remained open; and the present station built by Network SouthEast opened on 3 October 1988 on the site of the original station in the Church End area of Arlesey. The rebuilt station was designed to be fully accessible to wheelchairs but was initially unusable by those who could not leave their chair as there were no facilities for 'loading and unloading'. First Capital Connect provided the station with ramps in 2006, and users now simply have to ring 24 hours in advance for assistance.

Queen Elizabeth II, accompanied by Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, visited the station on 17 November 2006, after arriving on the Royal Train.[10]

The station's platforms are currently being lengthened to accommodate 12 car trains scheduled to serve the station upon completion of the Thameslink Programme.[11]

Platform view 1991

Facilities

The station is fully accessible to wheelchair users, but is not accessible platform to platform. There is no access to ticket machines or help point on the down (Peterborough) platform. FCC installed modern LED lights on both platforms in 2009.[12]

The station has two small shelters on both platforms.

There is a ticket office on the southbound platform and 2 modern Touch Screen ticket machines located adjacent to the booking office. Cycle storage is provided on both sides of the station; although only the southbound side has secure storage. First Capital Connect installed a help point on Platform 1. Arlesey station does not currently have automatic ticket gates. Train running information is provided via digital CIS displays, automated announcements and a customer help point on platform 1.[13]

Services

All services at Arlesey are operated by Thameslink using Class 700 EMUs.

The typical off-peak service in trains per hour is:[14]

On Sundays, the service is reduced to hourly and southbound services run to London King's Cross instead of Horsham.

Preceding station National Rail National Rail Following station
Thameslink
  Historical railways  
Line open, station closed
Great Northern Railway
Line and station open

Ticket Office Opening Times & Station Staffing Hours

Below are the current opening and staffing times for Arlesey, as of 2017.[13]

Ticket Office Hours
DayOpensCloses
Monday to Friday06:4512:10
Saturday07:4513:10
Sunday——
Station Staffing Hours
DayFromUntil
Monday to Friday06:3012:30
Saturday07:3013:30
Sunday——

References

  1. ↑ Padgett, David (October 2016) [1988]. Brailsford, Martyn (ed.). Railway Track Diagrams 2: Eastern (4th ed.). Frome: Trackmaps. ISBN 9780954986681.
    (See map 15B).
  2. ↑ Gordon, W. J. (1910). Our Home Railways: How They Began and How They Are Worked. Vol. 2. London: Frederick Warne & Co. p. 44. Retrieved 8 January 2023 – via Internet Archive.
  3. ↑ Awdry, Christopher (1990). Encyclopaedia of British Railway Companies. London: Guild Publishing. p. 135. CN 8983.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Butt, R. V. J. (1995). The Directory of Railway Stations. Sparkford: Patrick Stephens Ltd. p. 18. ISBN 9781852605087. OCLC 60251199.
  5. ↑ source: Bedfordshire Libraries
  6. ↑ "Biggleswade –Railway Accident". The Bedfordshire Mercury. Vol. 56, no. 3637. Bedford: Sophia Hill. 12 July 1890. p. 8. Retrieved 9 January 2023 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  7. ↑ "Arlesley Railway Station Wrecked by 48 Runaway Trucks". The Biggleswade Chronicle and Bedfordshire Gazette. No. 1878. Biggleswade: C. Elphick. 4 November 1927. p. 1. Retrieved 8 January 2023 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  8. ↑ "Arlesley Station Smash". Hertfordshire Express. Vol. 47, no. 3810. Stevenage: Wm. Carling and Co. 5 November 1927. p. 10. Retrieved 8 January 2023 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  9. ↑ "Major Disaster Averted". Biggleswade Chronicle and Bedfordshire Gazette. No. 3358. Bedford: The Bedfordshire Times Publishing Co. 9 July 1954. p. 1. Retrieved 8 January 2023 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  10. ↑ Norford, Olga (9 September 2022). "Remembering the Queen's Arrival at Arlesey Station on a Royal Visit in 2006". Biggleswade Today. National World Publishing. Archived from the original on 9 September 2022. Retrieved 8 January 2023.
  11. ↑ "The future - More seats for you | First Capital Connect". Archived from the original on 27 February 2014. Retrieved 30 March 2012.
  12. ↑ "First Capital Connect - News". Archived from the original on 18 August 2009. Retrieved 8 May 2010.
  13. 1 2 Arlesey station facilities National Rail Enquiries
  14. ↑ Table 25 National Rail timetable, May 2022
  • Jowett, Alan (2000). Jowett's Nationalised Railway Atlas (1st ed.). Penryn, Cornwall: Atlantic Transport Publishers. ISBN 978-0-906899-99-1. OCLC 228266687.
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