Peterborough railway station

Peterborough
Location
Place	Peterborough
Local authority	Peterborough
Coordinates	52°34′29″N 0°15′01″W / 52.5748°N 0.2502°W / 52.5748; -0.2502Coordinates: 52°34′29″N 0°15′01″W / 52.5748°N 0.2502°W / 52.5748; -0.2502
Operations
Station code	PBO
Managed by	East Coast
Platforms in use	5
Live arrivals/departures and station information from National Rail
Annual rail passenger usage
2004/05 *	3.690 million
2005/06 *	3.720 million
2006/07 *	3.960 million
2007/08 *	4.071 million
History
August 1850	Opened
2004	refurbished
National Rail - UK railway stations
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
* Annual passenger usage based on sales of tickets in stated financial year(s) which end or originate at Peterborough from Office of Rail Regulation statistics.
UK Railways Portal

Peterborough railway station serves the city of Peterborough, England and lies on the East Coast Main Line (ECML) 76.5 miles from London Kings Cross. It is a major interchange, as it benefits from having both the north-south ECML, as well as East-West local services. There is on site car parking, a large Royal Mail Sorting Office, and a hotel all within easy reach. Within a few minutes walk is Peterborough city centre, and the Queensgate shopping centre. Peterborough was the first station on the ECML to be electrified. Peterborough consequently has the first mast to be installed as part of the electrification project. This can be found behind platform 1.

Description and Customer Services

The station has a small concourse and ticket office which was redesigned and opened in September 2004. The concourse also has a small shop and cafe.

For general assistance there is a customer information point located on platform 2, as well as customer service offices on platform 5 and near the first class waiting room on platform 2. Platforms 3, 4 and 5 are accessible by means of a passenger footbridge, or a ramp at the north end of the station.

Services

Peterborough is an excellent commuting 'hub'. Between 0640 and 0800 there is roughly a 20 minutely frequency of EC express services non-stop to London taking between 45 and 60 minutes. Also there are several extra fast services run by FCC calling only at Huntingdon, St Neots and sometimes Biggleswade, these take around an hour. Recently a 0615 non-stop service to London starting at Peterborough has been introduced over the last year, and even this service is often busy arriving in London at about 0700. In the evening peak services are just as good with lots of departures out of London stopping at Peterborough.

Layout

• Platform 1: South-facing bay platform, used predominantly for 4-carriage First Capital Connect services to and from London Kings Cross.

• Platform 2: Through platform, predominately used by Southbound East Coast to London Kings Cross

• Platform 3: A one-sided island through platform, mostly used by First Capital Connect services to London Kings Cross. It is also used by the hourly service to Spalding & Lincoln, typically operated by class 153 units.

• Pair of through tracks between platforms 3 and 4 for non-stop passenger services. These are used by non-stop East Coast trains, and also by Hull Trains and Grand Central Railway.

• Platforms 4: Through island platform, used predominantly by northbound East Coast services. It is also used often by some East Midland and CrossCountry train services.

• Platform 5: Through island platform, adjacent to platform 4, used for CrossCountry services to Cambridge, Stansted Airport, Leicester and Birmingham; East Midlands Trains to Norwich and Liverpool; and National Express East Anglia services to Ipswich and London Liverpool Street. Some northbound East Coast Services are diverted to platform 5.

Platform 4 & 5 are used in the evening peak by terminating First Capital Connect services from London Kings Cross, so the stock can be taken to the Nene Carriage Sidings located to the south of the station.

• Freight lines: two freight lines are located next to platform 5. These are frequently used by the many freight services that pass through Peterborough. Often the freight services will wait on these loops for a clear path onwards. Much freight is to/from Felixstowe, however there is a large range.

Proposed improvements

Network Rail has pledged £1.3 million to improve Peterborough station and its surroundings, in a move they say is intended to increase passenger numbers. The upgrade plans to include a new platform for the proposed link with the Bedford to Brighton route of First Capital Connect - linking Peterborough with the south including Gatwick Airport. Another platform specifically for use by trains to and from Cambridge is also proposed, giving the station a total of 7 platforms. The remaining platforms will be extended to increase capacity.

History

Peterborough Railway Line Diagram
Legend Great Northern Railway Syston and Peterborough Railway Helpston Peterborough to Lincoln Line Werrington Junction Walton M&GNR to Wisbech Wisbech Junction Westwood Junction New England sidings North Station (GNR Station) Crescent 1858-1866 Northampton and Peterborough Railway East Station Ely to Peterborough Line Longville Junction Fletton Junction Great Northern Railway to London

There have been a number of railways stations in Peterborough: Peterborough East (1845-1966), The current station which opened in 1849 (previously known as the GNR Station, Peterborough Cowgate and as Peterborough North) and briefly Peterborough Crescent (1858-1866).

Openings

Peterborough East opened in 1845 along with the Ely to Peterborough Line built by Eastern Counties Railway (later GER) and the Northampton and Peterborough Railway built by the London and Birmingham Railway, both or which provided routes to London. The Syston and Peterborough Railway by Midland Railway was opened in 1846.

The current station was built by the GNR in 1849 (originally known as 'Peterborough Cowgate', the 'GNR Station' and later as 'Peterborough North') with the opening of the Peterborough to Lincoln Line Line to Spalding, Boston and Lincoln. The Great Northern Railway to London opened in 1850 (originally terminating at Maiden Lane then at Kings Cross in 1853).

The Great Northern Railway heading north to Grantham and Doncaster (the Towns Line) opened in 1853 using the GNR station. This line was built alongside the Midland Railway as far as Helpston, resulting in adjacent but separate level crossings at various places, including the Crescent level crossings in Peterborough city centre.

Interchange between Peterborough East and the GNR station was inconvenient, so in 1858 the Midland Railway opened Peterborough Crescent station next a short distance from the GNR station and close to the level crossing of the same name. Some GER trains were working through to the GNR Station by 1863.^[1] and the Crescent station closed in 1866 when Midland Railway trains began using the GNR station instead.

The Midland and Great Northern Joint Railway branch to Wisbech and Sutton Bridge opened in 1866. To access this line trains headed north and diverged left at Westwood junction, then continued north adjacent to the Midland Railway line but gaining height, then curved east and bridged over the Midland line, the GNR line and Lincoln Road and headed off towards Eye Green along approximately the route of the current A47 Stoke Parkway.

Services to Rugby (by London and North Western Railway from Peterborough East) and to Leicester (by GNR from their Station) started in 1879 when the Great Northern and London and North Western Joint Railway (M&GNR) built a line from Yarwell junction near Wansford and Seaton linking the Northampton and Peterborough Railway and the Rugby and Stamford Railway. Also the Fletton curve via Woodston to Orton Waterville by the GNR.

In 1913 the two troublesome Crescent level crossings were finally abolished when Crescent Bridge was opened.

Closures

GNR service to Leicester ended in 1916 during World War 1. In 1959 the line to Wisbech and to Sutton Bridge closed in 1959 along with most of the rest of the M&GNR and Local services on the GNR main line ended with a number of minor stations including Yaxley and Farcet and Tallington being closed.

The Northampton and Peterborough Railway closed in 1964, followed 2 years later by the closure of Peterborough East station and the passenger services to Rugby (the line between Rugby and Nassington remained open until the line was finally closed with the track remained in situ, until part of it was eventually reopened as the Nene Valley Railway heritage line). The local services on the Syston and Peterborough Railway ceased in the same year with the closure of the remaining village stations including Helpston and Ketton & Collyweston.

The final closure came in 1970 when the lines to Spalding, Boston and Grimsby were closed, although the Peterborough to Lincoln Line to Spalding was reopened on 7 June 1971, with a shuttle service of 3 trains each way per day. This service was improved in 1982 with the closure of the March to Spalding section of the former Great Northern and Great Eastern Joint Railway when the Lincoln to Cambridge service became the Lincoln to Peterborough service.^[2][3]

Renewal

The new facilities were part of GNER’s £10 million station improvement programme to modernise facilities at key stations along the East Coast Main Line. The modern travel centre is part of a £1 million upgrade which includes new passenger lounges on platforms 2 and 3, new toilet facilities on platforms 2, 4 and 5, new customer information screens and improved security including the installation of CCTV cameras within the station and car park.^{[citation needed]}

Historical Services

Sample Train Timetable for April 1910

The table below shows the train departures from Peterborough North on weekdays in April 1910.^[4] This shows the services at their peak, before economies were made during World War I, most of which were never reversed.

The express services calling at Peterborough are mainly en route to or from Leeds or York, but there are also through coaches to Grimsby via Spalding and Boston, Cromer via the M&GNR line, Sheffield Victoria and Manchester London Road via Retford and the Great Central line, and Hull, Halifax, Blackburn, Harrogate and Bradford via Doncaster.

At this time, most Bradford trains used a direct route either using the GNR line via Morley Top, or the LYR line via Thornhill. An economy made during World War I which continues to the present day, is to serve Bradford by reversing trains at Leeds.^[5]

There are few trains for Newcastle and beyond. At this time it was necessary to change at Doncaster or York.

Also in 1910, the GNR were still running trains to Leicester via Wansford and Seaton, in direct competition with the Midland Railway which ran via Stamford. The GNR route and times were competitive but in 1910 they only offered three trains compared to six by the Midland Railway, plus they did not serve any significant population centres en route. They were withdrawn in 1916.

Not shown in the timetable are trains to Northampton or Rugby, which ran from East station, also there were more GER trains on the March line than are shown, as not all of these started from Peterborough North station.

See also

• Peterborough to Lincoln Line
• Birmingham to Peterborough Line
• Ely to Peterborough Line

References

External links

• Media related to Peterborough railway station at Wikimedia Commons