Place St Albans Station code SAA DfT category F1 Opened 1858 | Grid reference TL145063 Managed by London Midland 2011/12 0.199 million Number of platforms 1 | |
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Address St Albans AL1 2PS, United Kingdom Original company London and North Western Railway Similar How Wood (Hertfordshire) railway st, St Albans City railway station, Watford Junction railway st, Park Street railway station, Harpenden railway station | ||
St Albans Abbey railway station in St Albans, Hertfordshire, England is about 0.6 miles (1 km) south of the city centre in the St Stephen's area. It is the terminus of the Abbey Line from Watford Junction, part of the London Midland franchise. It is one of two stations in St Albans, the other being the much larger and busier St Albans City.
Contents
The unstaffed station consists of a single open-air platform and a car park. Improvement works were carried out in 2008.
It was the second UK railway station to receive a Harrington Hump to improve accessibility.
History
St Albans Abbey was the first railway station in St Albans, built by the London and North Western Railway in 1858. It was, as it is now, a terminus; the company's plans to extend northwards to Luton and Dunstable never materialised. Although the Midland Railway opened their station (St Albans City) in 1868, it was not until 1924 that "Abbey" was added to the station's title to avoid confusion - by this stage, both stations were owned by the London, Midland and Scottish Railway.
Until November 2007 responsibility for the branch line was with Silverlink.
Restoration of the passing loop at Bricket Wood was being considered by the local authorities and Network Rail but was turned down in early 2008; this would have facilitated trains running every 30 minutes.
Branch to Hatfield
In 1865, the Great Northern Railway supported a group of local landowners to open a branch line from Hatfield to St Albans Abbey with an intermediate stop at St Albans London Road, and later at Smallford (1866), Salvation Army Halt (1901), Hill End (1899), Nast Hyde Halt (1910) and Lemsford Road Halt (1942). This line closed to passengers in 1951. Goods services were withdrawn from the end of 1968 and the track was lifted. In the mid-1980s, the route was opened as a cycle path, now the Alban Way. The remains of the branch can be seen to the left of the single platform when looking down the line in the direction of Watford Junction, including overgrown remnants of the second platform which would have served the branch.
Services
Trains operate to Watford Junction every 45 minutes Monday to Saturday daytime, every 60 minutes weekday evenings and on Sundays.