Hertford East railway station explained

Symbol:rail
Hertford East
Railcode:HFE
Manager:Greater Anglia
Locale:Hertford
Borough:District of East Hertfordshire
Map Type:Hertfordshire
Coordinates:51.799°N -0.073°W
Railexits0405: 0.303
Railexits0506: 0.278
Railexits0607: 0.626
Railexits0708: 0.613
Railexits0809: 0.615
Railexits0910: 0.657
Railexits1011: 0.719
Railexits1112: 0.667
Railexits1213: 0.775
Railexits1314: 0.795
Railexits1415: 0.827
Railexits1516: 0.880
Railexits1617: 0.935
Railexits1718: 0.966 -->
Railexits1819: 1.313
Railexits1920: 1.286
Railexits2021: 0.243
Railexits2122: 0.674
Railexits2223: 0.901
Platforms:2
Gridref:TL330129
Dft Category:E
Fare Zone:B
Original:Great Eastern Railway
Pregroup:Great Eastern Railway
Postgroup:London and North Eastern Railway
Years1:31 October 1843
Events1:first station opened
Events2:present station opened as Hertford
Years3:1 July 1923
Events3:Renamed Hertford East
Access:yes
Access Note:[1]

Hertford East railway station is the northern terminus of the Hertford East branch line off the West Anglia Main Line in the east of England, and is located in the town of Hertford in Hertfordshire. It is 24chain19chain down the line from London Liverpool Street and is one of two stations in the town, the other being on the Hertford Loop Line. Its three-letter station code is HFE.

The station and all trains calling are operated by Greater Anglia.

There are two platforms, although platform number one is generally only used during peak times, during times of disruption and primarily for trains to and from Stratford station.

History

The first station opened on 31st October 1843 sited to the east of the present station.The current station, designed by W. N. Ashbee, was opened by the Great Eastern Railway on 27 February 1888, replacing the first station. The station was listed in 1974 as a Grade II listed building;[2] in 1996 the buffer stop lights on platform 1 were separately listed in their own right.[3]

The Grade II listed signal box at the station was dismantled in October 2021 to allow for platform extensions. It will be relocated to the Wensleydale Railway.[4]

Services

All services at Hertford East are operated by Greater Anglia using EMUs.

The typical off-peak service is two trains per hour to and from London Liverpool Street via which start and terminate at Hertford East. Additional services, including trains to and from run to and from the station during the peak hours.

On Sundays, services run to and from Stratford instead of London Liverpool Street.

Proposed developments

Some options of the proposed East West Rail involve reopening a route between Hertford East railway station and Hertford North railway station; however a 2009 discussion paper noted that while "the new connection appears technically feasible, doubts must be cast over its public acceptability and deliverability".[5]

In popular culture

Hertford East doubles as Yeovil Railway Station in the 1960 film School for Scoundrels, seen in the opening titles and closing credits. [6]

The station features in a number of different channel branding films (called 'Idents' in the television industry) for the ITV channels in the UK. Different, but similar idents have been created for each five of ITV’s channels.

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Hertford East (HFE) . National Rail Enquiries . https://web.archive.org/web/20170823171642/http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/stations/HFE/details.html . 23 August 2017 . live.
  2. Web site: Hertford East Station . British Listed Buildings Online . .
  3. Web site: Buffer Lights On Platform 1 at Hertford East Station . British Listed Buildings Online . .
  4. Web site: Smith. Roger. 2021-10-26. Old Hertfordshire signal box being dismantled to make way for new longer trains. 2021-10-27. RailAdvent. en-GB.
  5. Web site: East West Rail Central Section - Operating Case Discussion Paper . 2013-12-06 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20131212064339/http://www.eastwestrail.org.uk/sites/default/files/images/shared/documents/east-west-rail-central-section-report-feb-2009.pdf . 2013-12-12 .
  6. Web site: Site showing shooting locations for the 1960 film 'School for Scoundrels' .