Bedford railway station

Bedford railway station is the main railway station in the town of Bedford in Bedfordshire, England. It is located on the Midland Main Line from London St Pancras to the East Midlands. It is also the terminus of the Marston Vale line from Bletchley through Bedford St. Johns. The station is also known as Bedford Midland, and is situated to the west of the town centre. It is used by a substantial number of commuters to London.

Through-fares are available from Bedford to Paris, Brussels and other destinations in France and Belgium.

History
The previous Bedford Midland station was built by the Midland Railway in 1859 originally on its line to join the Great Northern at Hitchin. It was situated on land known as "Freemen's Common" approximately 200 yd south of the current station on Ashburnham Road.

The LNWR also had a station on its line (now closed) between Bletchley and Cambridge. The Midland crossed it on the level but there was a serious collision when an LNWR train passed a red signal. Curiously, it transpired at the enquiry that that both drivers were named John Perkins. Following this accident, the Midland built a flyover in 1885.

The extension to St. Pancras was opened in 1868. The connection to Hitchin is long gone, but the line north of Bedford as far as 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 a curve was 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 site of the station moved about 110 yd north, and the slow lines were realigned to the West, closer to the fast lines, which were previously the old 1890's avoiding lines.

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

The track layout around Bedford station is set for significant changes in the coming years as Network Rail aims to make operations easier and faster. The majority of the work will be north of the station itself.

Services


The station is served by three operators but managed by First Capital Connect.


 * East Midlands Trains
 * First Capital Connect
 * London Midland

East Midlands Trains slow services along the Midland Main Line between London St Pancras and Nottingham call at the station, as do London-Corby services. These services mostly use Meridian diesel-electric multiple units. Morning and evening peaks see some Nottingham services extended to Lincoln via Newark Castle and Corby services extended to Melton Mowbray. The weekend sees trains operating to York and in the summer months there are also weekend trains to Scarborough.

First Capital Connect operate regular services along Thameslink from Bedford to Brighton passing through St Albans and London St Pancras. Services from the station also call at two Airports; Luton Airport Parkway to the north and Gatwick Airport to the South of London. These services use or  Electrostar electric multiple units. These are due to be replaced with new Desiro-based rolling stock as part of the Thameslink Upgrade Programme. At weekends, services terminate at St Pancras as the core section of the Thameslink network is undergoing engineering works.

London Midland operate local services from Bletchley to Bedford via the Marston Vale Line. Services are operated using Super Sprinter diesel multiple units. There is no Sunday service.

First Capital Connect run a joint service with Southeastern at a frequency of one train per day to Ashford International, using the Thameslink line to Elephant & Castle and then the Maidstone East Line from Bromley South to Ashford International.

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

Facilities


Bedford station has the following facilities:
 * 2 waiting rooms
 * Cafe/newsagent/bar and coffee bar
 * Telephones
 * Post box
 * ATM
 * FastTicket machine
 * Toilets
 * Car park with 614 spaces

Bedford station is fully wheelchair-accessible. The station has the PlusBus scheme where train and bus tickets can be bought together at a saving. Ticket barriers are in operation at the station.

Future developments
Plans were being promoted by Network Rail and Bedford Borough Council for the redevelopment of the station quarter.

Platform 1A will be extended through the existing building to accommodate 12-car trains; presently it is only long enough to handle four-car trains and is a terminating bay.

Therefore a new station building would be erected on the site of the former Victorian station, which was closed and bulldozed in 1978 when the current buildings opened. This area is now a council pay and display car park with an empty retail unit. An outline planning application for the work was submitted in April 2010, with the project complete by the end of 2011, and is under consideration by Beford Borough Council. By the end of February 2011, the former retail outlet had been demolished and the site stands empty looking through to the passing trains at the station.

The scheme would be part of an overall plan to regenerate Bedford town centre.

The station will be the eastern terminus of the East West Rail Link, a plan to reopen the railway between Oxford, Aylesbury Vale Parkway and Bedford, with possible eventual extension to Cambridge and East Anglia by the now closed Varsity Line. The scheme was given the go-ahead by Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne in his 2011 Autumn Statement by Chancellor George Osborne, with £270 million committed to the scheme, which is due for completion in 2017.