| Harlington | |
| Symbol Location: | gb |
| Symbol: | rail |
| Borough: | Harlington, District of Central Bedfordshire |
| Country: | England |
| Coordinates: | 51.962°N -0.496°W |
| Grid Name: | Grid reference |
| Manager: | Thameslink |
| Platforms: | 4 |
| Code: | HLN |
| Classification: | DfT category D |
| Opened: | 1868 |
| Footnotes: | Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road |
Harlington railway station is located in Bedfordshire. It is named after the village of Harlington, on the outskirts of which it is located, but serves a wide rural area including the larger villages of Toddington and Barton-le-Clay.
It was built by the Midland Railway in 1868 on its extension to St. Pancras. The original intention had been to call it "Harlington for Toddington". The station buildings still exist and were carefully restored in the early 1980s.[1] The station is situated on the Midland Main Line and managed by Thameslink.
In 1909 the station master, William Drake, was killed at the station whilst directing shunting operations at the station. A verdict of accidental death was recorded.[2]
All services at Harlington are operated by Thameslink using EMUs.
The typical off-peak service in trains per hour is:
During the peak hours, the station is served by additional services to and from, and .
The station is also served by a half-hourly night service between Bedford and on Sunday to Friday nights.
Harlington station has the following facilities:[11]
The station has a PlusBus scheme where train and bus tickets can be bought together for a cheaper price. It is in the same area as Flitwick station.
As well as Harlington village itself, the station also serves the villages of Barton-le-Clay, Toddington and Westoning.
The ticket office is open for just over 7½ hours per day Mondays to Friday and 6 hours per day on Saturday.
In January 2009, the previous franchisee First Capital Connect proposed that the ticket office at Harlington railway station would open for just four hours per day.[12] [13] The proposals were for the office to open at 0645 (previously 0600) and close at 1030 (currently 1850) on weekdays. There would be no weekend opening under these proposals. The single automated ticket machine, which was stolen in summer 2008,[14] was replaced the same week that the proposals were announced. Subsequently, whilst a reduction in hours was agreed, although not to the degree set out in the initial proposal (see above).