Hemel Hempstead railway station

Hemel Hempstead railway station is on the West Coast Main Line, on the western edge of the town of Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, England. The station is 24+1/2 mi north-west of London Euston on the West Coast Main Line. Hemel Hempstead is managed by London Midland and train services are operated by London Midland and Southern.

The railway station is in an area called Boxmoor. Bus services run from there to the town centre. Also in the vicinity of the station are two pubs and the Grand Union Canal, about 110 yd away.

There are four full-length (12 car) through platforms and one disused south-facing bay (on the slow lines).

History
Hemel Hempstead station opened with the line as "Boxmoor". It has also been called "Boxmoor and Hemel Hempstead" (1912–1930) and "Hemel Hempstead and Boxmoor" (1930–1963).

For many years, Hemel Hempstead station was almost a junction - a railway embankment on the south (down) side of the station led to the end of the "Nicky Line", a branch line through the town centre to Harpenden. However, due to arguments between the Midland Railway and the London & North Western Railway, no direct connection was made between the two lines. Nicky Line trains terminated in the town centre, at Heath Park Halt, with only occasional freight trains running down to Boxmoor. Only in the last months of the Nicky Line's operations did regular (goods) trains run along the connection. No passenger service was ever provided.

The nearby crossover at Bourne End was the site of a serious accident on 30 September 1945, when a Scottish express derailed after passing over the junction at excessive speed. The coaches rolled down a high embankment, and forty-three lives were lost.

Weekdays and Saturdays
A typical off-peak weekday or Saturday consists of the following services, in trains per hour (tph):
 * 2tph to London Euston, calling at Apsley, Kings Langley, Watford Junction, Bushey, Harrow & Wealdstone and London Euston, operated by London Midland
 * 2tph to London Euston, calling at Watford Junction and London Euston only, operated by London Midland
 * 1tph to East Croydon, calling at Watford Junction, Harrow & Wealdstone, Wembley Central, Shepherd's Bush, then all stations to South Croydon, operated by Southern

Sundays
On Sundays, the service is reduced to the following:
 * 1tph to London Euston, calling at Apsley, Kings Langley, Watford Junction, Bushey, Harrow & Wealdstone and London Euston, operated by London Midland
 * 2tph to London Euston, calling at Watford Junction, Harrow & Wealdstone and London Euston only, operated by London Midland

Weekdays and Saturdays
A typical off-peak weekday and Saturday consists of the following services, in trains per hour (tph):
 * 2tph to Tring, calling at Berkhamsted and Tring only, operated by London Midland
 * 1tph to Milton Keynes Central, calling at all stations, operated by London Midland
 * 1tph to Milton Keynes Central, calling at all stations except Cheddington, operated by Southern
 * 1tph to Birmingham New Street, calling at Berkhamsted, Leighton Buzzard, then all stations to Coventry, then Tile Hill, Hampton-in-Arden, Birmingham International, Marston Green and Birmingham New Street, operated by London Midland

Sundays
On Sundays, the service is reduced to the following:
 * 1tph to Northampton, calling at Berkhamsted, Leighton Buzzard, then all stations to Northampton, operated by London Midland
 * 1tph to Milton Keynes Central, calling at all stations, operated by London Midland
 * 1tph to Tring, calling at Berkhamsted and Tring only, operated by London Midland