Английская Википедия:Bedford railway station

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Шаблон:Short description Шаблон:About Шаблон:Use dmy dates Шаблон:Use British English Шаблон:Infobox station Шаблон:Bedford Lines Шаблон:Bedford railway map Bedford railway station (formerly Bedford Midland Road and historically referred to on some signage as Bedford Midland) is the larger of two railway stations in the town of Bedford in Bedfordshire, England. It is on the Midland Main Line from London St Pancras to the East Midlands and the terminus of the Marston Vale line from Bletchley through Bedford St Johns.

History

The original station was built by the Midland Railway in 1859 on its line to the Great Northern at Hitchin. It was on land known as "Freemen's Common" approximately Шаблон:Convert south of the current station on Ashburnham Road.

The London and North Western Railway (LNWR) also had a station on its line between Шаблон:Rws and Шаблон:Rws. The Midland crossed it on the level and there was a serious collision when an LNWR train passed a red signal. (Curiously, both drivers were named John Perkins). Following this accident, the Midland built a flyover in 1885.

The extension to Шаблон:Rws opened in 1868. The connection to Шаблон:Rws ceased public services during 1961, but the line north of Bedford to 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 fast lines were 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 £1 million station, which was re-sited about Шаблон:Convert north of the original 1857 station, had a large square concourse housing a ticket office, travel centre and Travellers Fare buffet. The station car park was enlarged to cater for 450 cars plus 52 short-wait spaces in the forecourt which had separate areas for cars and taxis to set down and pick up passengers. A covered walkway linked the station with bus stops in Ashburnham Road. As part of the modernisation work, the slow lines were realigned to the west next to the 1890 fast lines to pass between two new platforms.

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

Services over the Marston Vale line to/from Шаблон:Rws were transferred here from the old LNWR St Johns station in May 1984. A new connection, which runs along the formation formerly used by the abandoned line to Hitchin (closed to passenger traffic from 1 January 1962 and completely three years later), was laid from the Marston Vale branch up to the main line to permit this. The original St Johns station closed on 14 May 1984 with a replacement halt on the new chord opening the same day. Bletchley trains henceforth used a bay platform (numbered 1A) on the eastern side of the station.

By 1983, Midland Main Line electrification under British Rail reached Bedford, and Class 317 electric multiple units began running to Шаблон:Rws. The track through platform 4 towards the East Midlands remained un-electrified until the 2020s Midland Main Line railway upgrade.

Services through Luton Airport Parkway are operated by Luton Airport Express and Thameslink using Шаблон:Brc and Шаблон:Brc EMUs. The Luton Airport Express is run by East Midlands Railway, and became an official separate brand for their "Connect" service in 2023.

Services

Файл:Bedford (Midland) railway station.jpg

The main entrance on 4 June 1962

Файл:BedfordTrainStationMainBuilding.jpg

The main entrance on 13 January 2007 from the car park.

The station is predominantly served by three operators and managed by Thameslink.

• East Midlands Railway
• London Northwestern Railway
• Thameslink

Most East Midlands Railway services that call at Bedford are Luton Airport Express services. This service started in May 2021 as "EMR Connect" and is operated by Шаблон:Brc Electric multiple units running on the twice hourly stopping service from London St Pancras to Шаблон:Rws.

Occasional “EMR Intercity” services do call at Bedford during the peak hours and on Sunday mornings to Nottingham and Шаблон:Rws without requiring a connection at Шаблон:Rws.

The station is the northern terminus of the Thameslink route with Thameslink services operating to Шаблон:Rws through Шаблон:Rws and London St Pancras. Services from the station also call at Шаблон:Rws and Шаблон:Rws. Additional services start or terminate at Gatwick Airport or Шаблон:Rws. These services use Шаблон:Brc electric multiple units. Thameslink also runs a few services a day to Шаблон:Rws on the Sutton Loop Line, via both Wimbledon and Mitcham Junction.

London Northwestern Railway operates local services to Шаблон:Rws via the Marston Vale line using Шаблон:Brc units. There is no Sunday service on this line.

The typical off-peak service in trains per hour (tph) is:

• 2tph to Шаблон:Rws via Шаблон:Rws (Thameslink)
• 2tph to Шаблон:Rws via Шаблон:Rws (Thameslink)
• 2tph to London St Pancras (Luton Airport Express)
• 2tph to Шаблон:Rws (Luton Airport Express)
• 1tph to Шаблон:Rws (London Northwestern Railway)

Community Rail Partnership

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

A second CRP with Bedford Midland as its northern terminus - the Beds & Herts Community Rail Partnership (formerly the Bedford to St Albans City Community Rail Partnership) - has been set up, covering the eight stations on the Midland main line between Bedford Midland and St Albans City

Facilities

Файл:Class 230 at Bedford 2.jpg

Class 230 003 LNWR at Bedford

Файл:Bedford Station from the station footbridge.jpg

Bedford Station from the station footbridge - looking north. An East Midlands Railway High Speed train is leaving platform 4 heading north.

The station has the following facilities:

• 2 waiting rooms
• Cafe/newsagent/bar and coffee bar
• Telephones
• Post box
• ATM
• Ticket machines
• Toilets
• Car park
• Fully wheelchair accessible
• Ticket barriers

The station is in the Bedford zone of the PlusBus scheme, where train and bus tickets can be bought together to save money.

Future developments

The station will be the eastern terminus for Phase 2 of East West Rail, a plan to reopen the railway from Шаблон:Rws and Шаблон:Rws. Шаблон:As of, extension to Шаблон:Rws and East Anglia via "a new station in the Шаблон:Rws area" is planned but not scheduled. Bedford station will be rebuilt for East West Rail in 2023.

See also

• Bedford St Johns railway station

External links

• Marston Vale Community Rail Partnership