St Neots railway station

St Neots
National Rail
The entrance to the station
General information
LocationSt Neots
District of Huntingdonshire
England
Grid referenceTL197607
Managed byGreat Northern
Platforms4
Other information
Station codeSNO
ClassificationDfT category D
History
Opened7 August 1850
Original companyGreat Northern Railway
Pre-groupingGreat Northern Railway
Post-groupingLondon and North Eastern Railway
Eastern Region of British Railways
Passengers
2019/20Decrease 1.262 million
2020/21Decrease 0.246 million
2021/22Increase 0.673 million
2022/23Increase 0.886 million
2023/24Increase 0.959 million
Location
Map
Notes
Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road

St Neots railway station serves the town of St Neots in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located to the east of the town approximately 2 miles (3.2 km) from the town centre. It is on the East Coast Main Line, about 52 miles (83 km) from London King's Cross. The station is managed by Great Northern, although most services are operated by Thameslink.

The station has two large island platforms and four main rail lines, a pair of "up and down" slow lines used by stopping services and a pair of "up and down" fast lines used by fast Great Northern services that stop there during peak times and for high speed services passing through.

History

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The first section of the Great Northern Railway (GNR) - that 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, between Maiden Lane and Peterborough, was not opened until August 1850. St Neots was one of the original stations, opening with the line on 7 August 1850.[1][2][3]

It was the scene of a derailment of a Scottish night express in 1895.[4]

Facilities

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Platforms 1 and 2, with the stations buildings & Ticket Office in the background.

There are toilet facilities at the station and a newsagent/coffee seller in the ticket hall. A taxi office is situated outside the station.

St Neots station has automatic ticket barriers, which were installed in 2008 by former franchise holder First Capital Connect.

Services

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Off-peak, all services at St Neots are operated by Thameslink using Class 700 EMUs.

The typical off-peak service in trains per hour is:[5]

During the peak hours, the station is served by an additional hourly service between London King's Cross and Peterborough. These services run non-stop between Stevenage and London King's Cross and are operated by Great Northern using Class 387 EMUs.

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

The station is also served by several buses, with routes to the local area and to Cambridge.[6]

Preceding station National Rail National Rail Following station
Thameslink
Great Northern
Peak Hours Only
  Historical railways  
Line open, station closed
Great Northern Railway
Line open, station closed

Recent developments

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A new footbridge opened in February 2014, providing lifts to the platforms and access to the station from both sides of the track including access to the Love's Farm housing development.[7]

Location

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St Neots railway station is located in Cambridgeshire
St Neots railway station
St Neots station (in Cambridgeshire)

In the chainage notation traditionally used on the railways, the station is 51 miles 58 chains (83.24 km; 51.73 mi) from London King's Cross.[8]

References

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  1. ^ Gordon, W.J. (1989) [1910]. Our Home Railways. London: Bracken Books. volume II, p. 44. ISBN 1-85170-314-4.
  2. ^ Awdry, Christopher (1990). Encyclopaedia of British Railway Companies. London: Guild Publishing. p. 135. CN 8983.
  3. ^ Butt, R.V.J. (1995). The Directory of Railway Stations. Yeovil: Patrick Stephens Ltd. p. 204. ISBN 1-85260-508-1. R508.
  4. ^ "Accident at St Neots on 10th November 1895". Railways Archive. Retrieved 23 March 2016.
  5. ^ Table 25 National Rail timetable, May 2022
  6. ^ "St Neots Station: Onward Travel" (PDF). National Rail. Retrieved 8 August 2022.
  7. ^ "New Footbridge at St Neots station unveiled". Network Rail. 20 February 2014. Retrieved 23 March 2016.
  8. ^ Yonge, John (September 2006) [1994]. Jacobs, Gerald (ed.). Railway Track Diagrams 2: Eastern (3rd ed.). Bradford on Avon: Trackmaps. map 15C. ISBN 0-9549866-2-8.
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52°13′55″N 0°14′49″W / 52.232°N 0.247°W / 52.232; -0.247