Garston railway station serves the Garston area of

Watford Watford () is a town and borough in Hertfordshire, England, 15 miles northwest of Central London, on the River Colne. Initially a small market town, the Grand Junction Canal encouraged the construction of paper-making mills, print works, and ...

in Hertfordshire,

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. It is the third station on the

Abbey Line The Abbey Line, also called the St Albans Abbey branch line, is a railway line from Watford Junction to St Albans Abbey. The route passes through town and countryside in the county of Hertfordshire, just outside the boundaries of the Oyster C ...

after

Watford Junction Watford Junction is a railway station that serves Watford, Hertfordshire. The station is on the West Coast Main Line (WCML), 17 miles 34 chains from London Euston and the Abbey Line, a branch line to St Albans. Journeys to London take between 16 ...

and Watford North. The station and all trains serving it are operated by

London Northwestern Railway West Midlands Trains (WMT) is a train operating company in the United Kingdom. It operates passenger trains on the West Midlands franchise between London and the English Midlands under two trade names: West Midlands Railway (WMR) (within the ...

. Like all the other stations on the branch, Garston is an unstaffed

railway halt A train station, railway station, railroad station or depot is a railway facility where trains stop to load or unload passengers, freight or both. It generally consists of at least one platform, one track and a station building providing suc ...

. At opening by British Rail in 1966 it was a welcome addition to a branch which was otherwise being heavily rationalised.

History

The station was opened by the Mayor of Watford on 7 February 1966. It consisted of just a short wooden platform, and was probably the first new station (as opposed to a relocation) in Great Britain following the

Beeching Report Beeching is an English surname. Either a derivative of the old English ''bece'', ''bæce'' "stream", hence "dweller by the stream" or of the old English ''bece'' "beech-tree" hence "dweller by the beech tree".''Oxford Dictionary of English Surnames' ...

of 1963, which led to the closure of many stations. In 2010 the station was improved with new signage, a new shelter, new lighting & artwork by children from Berry Grove Primary School (now The Grove Academy) - a local school located at the end of Fourth Avenue.

Services

Trains operate between Watford Junction and St Albans Abbey every 40 – 45 minutes in each direction Monday to Saturday, and every hour on Sundays.

Bus routes

Bus routes 319, 324 and W1 serve the station.

Future

Possible changes on the line include new means of buying tickets, and the restoration of a passing loop at Bricket Wood, which would facilitate a 30-minute train service. In October 2009 the Department for Transport announced plans to convert the line to light rail.

References

External links

Garston station
at abbeyline.org.uk Railway stations in Watford Railway stations opened by British Rail Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1966 Railway stations served by West Midlands Trains {{EastEngland-railstation-stub