Trains at Hitchin, ECML | 02/02/19

This video is property of "Richard Chalklin"

2160p 4K HD!

A busy evening at Hitchin station on the ECML on a Saturday evening.

Joining me here were:

TrainSpotEast
The Train Tone and Thrash Lover
Reedo Railways
Trains at Random Stations
Big Old Bean Pod

Hitchin:

Hitchin railway station serves the town of Hitchin in Hertfordshire. It is located approximately 1 mile (1.6 km) north east of the town centre and 31 miles 74 chains (51.4 km) north of London King's Cross on the East Coast Main Line.

Until the current Stevenage station opened in 1973, many Intercity services stopped at Hitchin.

In August 2007 Hitchin was awarded Secure Station status after improvements to station security were made by First Capital Connect, including new lighting, extra CCTV and the installation of automatic ticket gates.

History:

The first section of the Great Northern Railway (GNR) - that from 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 Maiden Lane and Peterborough, was not opened until August 1850.

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 Royston (it was extended to Shepreth on 3 August 1851). The Midland Railway (MR) opened a route from Leicester via Bedford to Hitchin on 1 February 1858, by which MR trains used the GNR to reach London.

After the opening of the Midland Railway's own line from Bedford via Luton to London, and the line's terminus at 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. 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.

Accidents and incidents:

On 14 April 1949, the solicitor and historian Reginald Hine committed suicide here by jumping in front of the slow train from Cambridge.

On 19 November 1958, a freight train overran signals and was in a rear-end collision with another. A third freight train ran into the wreckage.

Facilities:

There are 12 car platforms on the Up and Down Slow lines only. 17 chains (340 m) to the north of the station is Cambridge Junction, where northbound trains for Cambridge need to cross the two Up (southbound) lines.

Following a refurbishment of the station by First Capital Connect in 2007, the station's subway was refurbished at a cost of £300k. The refurbishment also involved general cosmetic work throughout the station, as well as a new high quality waiting room in the existing station buildings on Platform 2. This waiting room is fully accessible at all times via the automatic doors.

There is a small shop located by the stairs on Platform two, and various vending machines throughout the station.

The station has a large booking office and a variety of modern Touch Screen ticket machines located in the booking office, and the station's cycle facilities were completely upgraded in 2007 and now include sheltered spaces for 68 bicycles provided next to the station buildings. The station also has help points throughout.

Hitchin station now has automatic ticket gates at the station entrance, which were installed by First Capital Connect during 2007.

In 2013, Network Rail proposed plans for two 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.

Services:

Hitchin railway station is managed by Great Northern and has two platforms situated on the slow lines. Platform 1 is used for trains towards London and a few starting/terminating services to/from London. Platform 2 is used for trains towards Peterborough and Cambridge.

In the current 2016 off-peak timetable there are two trains per hour to both Peterborough and Cambridge northbound, plus one that terminates at Letchworth. One of the Cambridge services calls at principal stations only whilst the other serves all intermediate stations; Peterborough trains call at all stations north of here. Southbound there are four trains per hour to King's Cross - two are limited stop whilst the other two serve principal stations then Potters Bar, Finsbury Park and King's Cross.

On Sundays, there are three trains per hour to London (two semi-fast, one stopper), two to Cambridge (semi-fast and stopping), and an hourly service to Peterborough.