Knebworth railway station explained

Knebworth
Symbol Location:gb
Symbol:rail
Borough:Knebworth, North Hertfordshire
Country:England
Coordinates:51.867°N -0.187°W
Grid Name:Grid reference
Manager:Great Northern
Platforms:4
Code:KBW
Classification:DfT category E
Original:Great Northern Railway
Pregroup:Great Northern Railway
Postgroup:London & North Eastern Railway
Events:Station opened
Footnotes:Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail & Road

Knebworth railway station serves the village of Knebworth in Hertfordshire, England. It is from on the East Coast Main Line.[1] Train services are currently provided by Great Northern.

History

The main line of the Great Northern Railway was completed in 1852.[2] A station at Knebworth was opened on 1 February 1884.[3] The original timber buildings were replaced by brick and glass structures in 1989.[4]

Facilities

In 2009 First Capital Connect installed tactile surfaces to the stations stairways, after it gained funding from the Department for Transport as part of its "Access For All" scheme, although there is no step-free access to any of the four platforms.[5] In 2019, a further £750,000 refurbishment saw the platform shelters replaced.[6]

Services

All services at Knebworth are operated by Great Northern using EMUs.

The typical off-peak service in trains per hour is:

During the peak hours, all services are extended beyond Letchworth Garden City to Cambridge. On Sundays, the station is served by an hourly service between London King's Cross and Cambridge.

Former services

Until early 2021, two trains per hour ran direct to London King's Cross during the morning peak period, with a similar non-stopping service in the opposite direction during the evening peak.

Additional non-stopping services to Knebworth from London King's Cross ran hourly throughout the evening on weekdays, with a typical journey time of 19 minutes.

This service provided by Great Northern was withdrawn as a cost-saving measure following the COVID-19 pandemic. The British Rail Class 365 EMUs serving this route were withdrawn from service shortly afterwards.[7]

Additional fast services were included in the proposed May 2022 timetable consultation[8] but were not implemented.

Knebworth residents have established a petition to restore the fast service.[9]

Notes and References

  1. Book: Padgett, David . Brailsford . Martyn . Railway Track Diagrams 2: Eastern . 4th . October 2016 . 1988 . Trackmaps . Frome . 978-0-9549866-8-1 . map 15B .
  2. Book: Nock, O.S. . Oswald Nock . The Great Northern Railway . 1958 . . London . 23 .
  3. Book: Butt, R.V.J. . The Directory of Railway Stations . 1995 . Patrick Stephens Ltd . Yeovil . 1-85260-508-1 . R508 . 136 .
  4. Around the Regions Rail issue 103 24 October 1989 page 18
  5. Web site: First Capital Connect - News . 23 May 2010 . https://web.archive.org/web/20100722192452/http://www.firstcapitalconnect.co.uk/Main.php?sEvent=News . 22 July 2010 . dead .
  6. Web site: Major Regeneration of Knebworth station, 23 Jul 2019. 23 July 2019.
  7. Web site: Government-owned Class 365s to be withdrawn.
  8. Web site: Thameslink Proposed May 2022 Timetables.
  9. Web site: Local train user starts petition to bring back fast trains in Hertfordshire. 6 May 2022 .