Luton railway station

It was built by the Midland Railway in 1868 on its extension to St. Pancras. For some years it was known as Luton Midland Road to distinguish it from the earlier Luton Bute Street, built in 1858 on the GNR line from Hertford North to Leighton Buzzard.

To build the line a public area known as the "Great Moor" had to be built through. The remainder of the land was bought for development by John Crawley, who provided a replacement in what is known as the "People's Park." This proved a worthwhile investment because, as the town's staple trade in straw hats diminished as they went out of fashion, it was replaced by engineering works. By the beginning of the twentieth century, the population had nearly trebled and the station had become an important stop for main line expresses.

Luton station is served by Thameslink and East Midlands Railway trains. From Luton, trains go north to Bedford, Kettering, Corby, Melton Mowbray, Leicester, Nottingham, Derby and Sheffield. Southbound trains go to London, Gatwick Airport, Brighton, Greenwich, Dartford, Gillingham, Wimbledon and Sutton.

The typical off peak service from this station as of May 2020 is as follows:

• 4 trains per hour (tph) to Bedford via Leagrave, Harlington and Flitwick (operated by Thameslink)
• 2 tph to Brighton via Luton Airport Parkway, Harpenden, St Albans, Central London and Gatwick Airport (Thameslink)
• 2 tph to Gatwick Airport via Luton Airport Parkway, Harpenden, St Albans, Central London and Redhill (Thameslink)
• 2 tph to Rainham via Luton Airport Parkway, Harpenden, St Albans, Central London, Greenwich, Charlton, Abbey Wood, Dartford, Gravesend and Gillingham (Thameslink)
• 1 tph to Corby calling at Bedford, Wellingborough, and Kettering. (East Midlands Railway)
• 1 tph to London St Pancras International only. (East Midlands Railway)
• During the peaks, Thameslink run services to Orpington, East Grinstead and Littlehampton via central London.
• East Midlands Railway InterCity services to and from Leeds, Nottingham, Sheffield and Derby run through at high speed, but do stop here sometimes.

Thameslink trains serve several stations in Central London, including London St Pancras International, Farringdon, City Thameslink, Blackfriars and London Bridge.

Preceding station	National Rail			Following station
Bedford		East Midlands Railway Midland Main Line		London St Pancras
				Luton Airport Parkway
Terminus		Thameslink Luton - Rainham		Luton Airport Parkway
Leagrave		Thameslink Bedford - Gatwick Airport/Brighton		Luton Airport Parkway

Luton station has the following facilities:

• 2 waiting rooms
• Newsagent
• Cafe
• Telephones
• ATM
• Ticket barriers
• FastTicket machine
• Toilets
• Car Park with 669 spaces
• The station participates in the Plusbus scheme where train and bus tickets can be bought together for a cheaper price. It is in the same area as Luton Parkway and Leagrave stations.

On 22 December 1955, two passenger trains collided at Luton station. One passenger was killed, and 23 injured. The first train, a local service from St Pancras to Leicester, had been given the "right away" from Luton and started to leave the station, but came to a halt when some late passengers attempted to board. As the train was clear of the Home signal, the signalman accepted the second train, an express from St Pancras to Derby. The signals were left at "Danger", so the Derby train should have stopped at the Home signal until the Leicester train had left the station. However, the driver of the Derby train failed to observe the Distant signal, and only made an emergency brake application when he saw the Home signal at danger, from a distance of approximately 400 yards (370 m). He was unable to stop the train in time, and it collided with the stationary Leicester train. The rear two coaches of the Leicester train telescoped into each other, causing the majority of casualties. The official enquiry held the driver of the Derby train responsible for the collision, but also noted that the lights from the nearby Vauxhall factory obscured the view of the Distant signal. The lighting was reorganised following the accident.[11]

A passenger train being operated by a diesel multiple unit overran signals and collided with another diesel multiple unit at Luton South Signal Box. An express passenger train then collided with the wreckage, striking it with a glancing blow.[12]

On the day of the bombings, the four suicide bombers were seen on CCTV entering the station.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Luton railway station.

• Train times and station information for Luton railway station from National Rail