Ridgmont railway station

Ridgmont National Rail
Location
Place Ridgmont
Local authority Central Bedfordshire
Coordinates 52°01′34″N 0°35′42″W / 52.026°N 0.595°W / 52.026; -0.595Coordinates: 52°01′34″N 0°35′42″W / 52.026°N 0.595°W / 52.026; -0.595
Grid reference SP965373
Operations
Station code RID
Managed by London Northwestern Railway
Number of platforms 2
DfT category F2
Live arrivals/departures, station information and onward connections
from National Rail Enquiries
Annual rail passenger usage*
2012/13 Increase 24,816
2013/14 Increase 27,396
2014/15 Increase 35,428
2015/16 Increase 37,200
2016/17 Decrease 34,388
National Rail – UK railway stations
* Annual estimated passenger usage based on sales of tickets in stated financial year(s) which end or originate at Ridgmont from Office of Rail and Road statistics. Methodology may vary year on year.
UK Railways portal

Ridgmont railway station is a small unstaffed railway station that serves the villages of Ridgmont in Bedfordshire (about 1 mile (2 km) away on the other side of the M1 Motorway at Junction 13), Brogborough and Husborne Crawley. It also serves the large Amazon.com warehouse next door.

It is on the Bletchley — Bedford Marston Vale Line.

Trains

The station is served by London Midland Bletchley — Bedford local services. Services are operated using Class 150/1 and Class 153 diesel multiple units. Single carriage Class 153s operate services in the timetable shown with the "Limited Bicycle Space" label. Although not geographically the midpoint of the line, many train services 'cross' at Ridgmont station so it is not unusual to see Class 153 and 150 trains at the same time. There is no Sunday passenger service timetabled although the line remains open with signalers on duty at the Marston Vale Signalling Centre at Ridgmont.

Ridgmont Station has also been used as a watering point for steam-hauled special trains heading north from London.

Future

It is planned that the Marston Vale line will be upgraded as part of the East West Rail programme, to permit 100 mph (160 km/h) running. The Oxford-Bedford services are planned to stop here.[1]

Former station house

The former station house, built in 1846 in the Cottage Orné architectural style, underwent a total refurbishment in 2014 managed by the Bedfordshire Rural Communities Charity (BRCC) with funding from the Railway Heritage Trust. A tea room, gift shop, disabled access and toilets, additional car parking, three small 'start-up' offices and a meeting room have been provided. The former Victorian booking office has been restored as a small heritage centre.[2]

Scenes from the feature film 'One Day' were filmed at the station.

General information

Ridgmont is in sight of Junction 13 of the M1 motorway and the station is adjacent to a number of distribution centres.

It was at Ridgmont that a new Marston Vale signalling control centre was built as part of the Bedford — Bletchley route modernisation in 2004. This centre replaced all the signal boxes and block posts (some contained within station buildings including Ridgmont) on the route.


View of Ridgmont Railway Station from the A507 bypass

Services

An hourly service operates in each direction, Mondays to Saturdays.[3]

Preceding station   National Rail   Following station
London Northwestern Railway
Marston Vale Line
Mondays-Saturdays only
  Future Services  
Line open
East West Rail
Line open

Community Rail Partnership

Ridgmont station, in common with others on the Marston Vale Line, is covered by the Marston Vale Community Rail Partnership,[4] which aims to increase use of the line by involving local people.

References

  1. ↑ What train services will run on East West Rail (Western Section)? East West Rail Consortium, 2015. Retrieved 31/03/18
  2. ↑ Restored Ridgmont Station Now Open! Friends of Fenny Stratford (undated)
  3. ↑ Table 64 National Rail timetable, May 2016
  4. ↑ Marston Vale Community Rail Partnership
  • Train times and station information for Ridgmont railway station from National Rail
  • Historic England. "Details from image database (38317)". Images of England.
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