Hitchin railway station

The first section of the Great Northern Railway (GNR) - that from {{stnlnk|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 {{stnlnk|Maiden Lane}} and {{stnlnk|Peterborough}}, was not opened until August 1850. Hitchin was one of the original stations, opening with the line on 7 August 1850.{{cite book |last=Gordon |first=W.J. |title=Our Home Railways |year=1989 |orig-year=1910 |publisher=Bracken Books |location=London |isbn=1-85170-314-4 |at=volume II, p. 44 }}{{cite book |last=Awdry |first=Christopher |author-link=Christopher Awdry |title=Encyclopaedia of British Railway Companies |year=1990 |publisher=Guild Publishing |location=London |id=CN 8983 |page=135 }}{{cite book |last=Butt |first=R.V.J. |title=The Directory of Railway Stations |year=1995 |publisher=Patrick Stephens Ltd |location=Yeovil |isbn=1-85260-508-1 |id=R508 |page=121 }}

On 21 October 1850 Hitchin became a junction station with the opening of the first section of the Royston and Hitchin Railway, between Hitchin and {{stnlnk|Royston}} (it was extended to {{stnlnk|Shepreth}} on 3 August 1851).{{harvnb|Awdry|1990|p=158}} The Midland Railway (MR) opened a route from {{stnlnk|Leicester}} via {{stnlnk|Bedford}} to Hitchin on 1 February 1858, by which MR trains used the GNR to reach London.{{harvnb|Gordon|1989|loc=volume I, pp. 77–8}}

After the opening of the Midland Railway's own line from Bedford via {{stnlnk|Luton}} to London, and the line's terminus at {{stnlnk|St. Pancras}} in 1868, their line between Bedford and Hitchin was reduced to branch status. It lost its passenger service in 1961 and was closed completely in 1964, with the exception of a stub from Bedford to Cardington which itself was closed in 1969. In May 1964 part of the line was used for the railway scene in the film Those Magnificent Men in their Flying Machines.{{cite book |last=Howard |first=Philip |title=Take the Train from Hitchin |year=2006 |publisher=Hitchin Historical Society |location=Hitchin |isbn=0-9552411-0-3 |pages=20–22 }} The embankment for the line could, until early 2012, still be walked from just north of the station, through the fields to Ickleford, but this section is now closed off. Opened in June 2013 a new embankment now carries a single-track line onto a viaduct for Letchworth-bound trains over the East Coast Main Line as part of the Hitchin Flyover project.

{{cite web

| url = http://www.networkrail.co.uk/aspx/6397.aspx

| author = Network Rail

| author-link = Network Rail

| access-date = 15 April 2010

| title = Hitchin Flyover

}}

• On 14 April 1949, the solicitor and historian Reginald Hine died by suicide here when he jumped in front of the slow train from Cambridge.{{cite book |author-link=Richard Whitmore |last=Whitmore |first=Richard |title=The Ghosts of Reginald Hine |year=2007 |publisher=Mattingley Press |location=Hitchin |page=183 |isbn=978-0-9554662-0-5 }}{{cite book |first=Alan L. |last=Fleck |contribution=Hine, Reginald Leslie (1883–1949) |title=Oxford Dictionary of National Biography |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2004 |contribution-url=http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/39586 |access-date=16 December 2016 }}
• On 19 November 1958, a freight train, hauled by BR Standard Class 9F 2-10-0 No. 92187, overran signals and was in a rear-end collision with another. A third freight train, hauled by Ex-LNER Class V2 2-6-2 No. 60885, ran into the wreckage.{{cite book |last=Trevena |first=Arthur |title=Trains in Trouble: Vol. 2. |year=1981 |publisher=Atlantic Books |location=Redruth |isbn=0-906899 03 6 |pages=40–14 }}

{{First Capital Connect services |width=350px }}

There are platforms on only the two 'Slow' lines; they are long enough for 12-car trains.

Following a refurbishment of the station by First Capital Connect in 2007, the station's subway was refurbished at a cost of £300k.{{cite web |url=http://www.firstcapitalconnect.co.uk/Main.php?sEvent=News&sFileName=News.php&iId=158 |title=First Capital Connect - News |access-date=2010-05-09 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100317125619/http://www.firstcapitalconnect.co.uk/Main.php?sEvent=News |archive-date=2010-03-17}} The refurbishment also involved general cosmetic work throughout the station and a new high quality waiting room in the existing station buildings on Platform 2. This waiting room is fully accessible at all times through automatic doors.

The station has a large booking office with touch-screen ticket machines. The station has help points throughout.

A small shop is located by the stairs on Platform 2 and there are vending machines throughout the station.

Automatic ticket gates at the station entrance were installed by First Capital Connect during 2007.

The station's bicycle facilities were completely upgraded in 2007 and now include sheltered spaces for 68 bicycles next to the station buildings.

In 2013, Network Rail proposed plans for new lifts, one on each platform, to improve access via the existing subway for those with pushchairs or disabilities, funded through the Department for Transport's Access for All scheme.[https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/access-for-all-programme Access for All: funding to improve accessibility at rail stations] The new lifts opened in September 2014 after a two-month delay, giving step-free access to the southbound number 1 platform.{{Cite web|url=http://www.thecomet.net/news/new_lifts_open_at_hitchin_railway_station_1_3759516|title = New lifts open at Hitchin railway station|date = 5 September 2014}}

Services at Hitchin are operated by Great Northern and Thameslink using {{brc|387}} and {{brc|700|n}} EMUs.

The typical off-peak service in trains per hour is:{{NRtimes|December 2023|25, 52}}

• 2 tph to {{stnlnk|London King's Cross}}
• 2 tph to {{stnlnk|Brighton}} via Central London and {{stnlnk|Gatwick Airport}}
• 2 tph to {{stnlnk|Horsham}} via Central London, {{stnlnk|Redhill}} and Gatwick Airport
• 2 tph to {{stnlnk|Peterborough}}
• 1 tph to {{stnlnk|Letchworth Garden City}}
• 3 tph to {{stnlnk|Cambridge}} (2 of these run semi-fast and 1 calls at all stations)

Additional services call at the station during the peak hours.

{{rail start}}

{{s-rail-national|rows1=3|rows2=2|previous=Stevenage|next=Letchworth Garden City|toc=Great Northern|route={{smalldiv|Cambridge Line}}}}

{{s-rail-national|hide1=yes|hide2=yes|previous=Stevenage|next=Letchworth Garden City|toc=Thameslink|route={{smalldiv|Cambridge Line}}}}

{{s-rail-national|hide1=yes|previous=Stevenage|next=Arlesey|toc=Thameslink|route={{smalldiv|Great Northern Route}}}}

{{s-rail-next|title=Historical}}

{{s-rail-national|previous=Stevenage|next=Three Counties|toc=GNR|route={{smalldiv|East Coast Main Line}}|status=Historical|note={{smalldiv|Line open, station relocated}}|note2={{smalldiv|Line open, station closed}}}}

{{s-rail-next|title=Disused}}

{{s-rail-national|previous=Henlow Camp|toc=LMS|route={{smalldiv|Bedford to Hitchin Line}}|status=Disused|note={{smalldiv|Line and station closed}}}}

{{end}}

{{Main|Hitchin flyover}}

Down trains from London to Cambridge used to use a ladder crossing over the up lines in order to reach the Cambridge Line, which often caused significant delays to trains in both directions. Together with the Digswell Viaduct some {{convert|10|mi|km}} to the south, the flat junction just north of Hitchin was a major bottleneck.{{cite web|url=http://orr.gov.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0018/5751/its_uleeds_app2.pdf|title=APPENDIX 2: Issues in defining and measuring railway capacity|date=13 February 2006|access-date=28 February 2014|page=2|publisher=Office of Rail Regulation}}

In June 2013 Network Rail completed a flyover to carry Down trains to Cambridge over the top of the main line,{{cite web| url=http://www.networkrail.co.uk/aspx/6397.aspx| title=Hitchin flyover| publisher=Network Rail| access-date=16 June 2011 }} built at a final cost of £47million {{Cite web|url=http://www.railwaygazette.com/news/infrastructure/single-view/view/hitchin-flyover-opens.html|title=Hitchin flyover opens}}

{{Reflist}}

{{stn art lnk|HIT|SG49UL}}

• [http://www.networkrail.co.uk/aspx/5492.aspx Hitchin: Here we explain our plans to improve the rail links between London, Hitchin and Cambridge] on Network Rail website

{{Coord|51.953|N|0.263|W|type:railwaystation_region:GB|display=title}}

{{Great Northern Route}}

{{Hertfordshire railway stations}}

{{TSGN and SE Stations|Peterborough=y|Northern City=y|SN None=y|SE None=y}}

Category:Railway stations in Hertfordshire

Category:DfT Category C2 stations

Category:Former Great Northern Railway stations

Category:Railway stations served by Govia Thameslink Railway

Category:Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1850

Category:Hitchin

Category:Buildings and structures in Hitchin

Category:Rail junctions in England

Category:Train driver depots in England