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Luton railway station is located in the town centre of
Luton Luton () is a town and unitary authority with borough status, in Bedfordshire, England. At the 2011 census, the Luton built-up area subdivision had a population of 211,228 and its built-up area, including the adjacent towns of Dunstable an ...
, Bedfordshire, England. The station is about three minutes' walk from The Mall Shopping Centre. It is situated on the
Midland Main Line The Midland Main Line is a major railway line in England from London to Nottingham and Sheffield in the Midlands. It comprises the lines from London's St Pancras station via Leicester, Derby/Nottingham and Chesterfield in the East Midlands ...
and is operated by
Thameslink Thameslink is a 24-hour main-line route in the British railway system, running from , , , and via central London to Sutton, , , Rainham, , , , and . The network opened as a through service in 1988, with severe overcrowding by 1998, carrying m ...
.


History

Luton station was built by the
Midland Railway The Midland Railway (MR) was a railway company in the United Kingdom from 1844. The Midland was one of the largest railway companies in Britain in the early 20th century, and the largest employer in Derby, where it had its headquarters. It am ...
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'', which was built in 1858 on the GNR line from Hertford North to Leighton Buzzard. 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.


London, Midland and Scottish Railway

The station, consisting of only 3 platforms, was rebuilt in 1939 to the designs of the
London, Midland and Scottish Railway The London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMSIt has been argued that the initials LMSR should be used to be consistent with LNER, GWR and SR. The London, Midland and Scottish Railway's corporate image used LMS, and this is what is generally u ...
company architect
William Henry Hamlyn William Henry Hamlyn FRIBA (16 February 1889 – 1968) was an architect based in England noted for his buildings for the London Midland and Scottish Railway. He was born in Wigan in Lancashire. He studied architecture with Reginald Wynn Owen in ...
.


British Rail era

In 1960, a fourth platform was added. During electrification in the early 1980s, a fifth platform was added for the suburban services to and from St. Pancras.


Privatisation

Upon the opening of Eurostar at St. Pancras International, through-fares to continental Europe were made available from Luton and 67 other UK towns and cities to Paris, Brussels and other destinations in France and Belgium. The station is set for significant investment from both Network Rail and First Group to improve facilities for customers, as well as creating longer platforms as part of the
Thameslink Programme The Thameslink Programme, originally Thameslink 2000, was a £6billion project in south-east England to upgrade and expand the Thameslink rail network to provide new and longer trains between a wider range of stations to the north and to the ...
. In 2009, the station was identified as one of the ten worst category B interchange stations for mystery shopper assessment of fabric and environment; it is set to receive a share of £50 million funding for improvements. During 2010 and 2011, a number of improvements were implemented at the station; these included extensions to all five platforms (including removing the
barrow crossing There are around 6,000 level crossings in the United Kingdom, of which about 1,500 are public highway crossings. This number is gradually being reduced as the risk of accidents at level crossings is considered high. The director of the UK Rail ...
) and a new footbridge. The platform extensions formed part of the ''Thameslink Programme'' and allowed 12 car operation at the station. During these works, two new rail overbridges were installed over Old Bedford Road allowing the track to be slewed for the extended platforms.


Accidents and incidents

There have been two accidents at Luton, one in 1955, the other in 1976:


1955 accident

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 application of railway signals on a rail layout is determined by various factors, principally the location of points of potential conflict, as well as the speed and frequency of trains and the movements they require to make. Non-provisio ...
, the
signalman A signalman is a person who historically made signals using flags and light. In modern times, the role of signalmen has evolved and now usually uses electronic communication equipment. Signalmen usually work in rail transport networks, armed for ...
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 . 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 Vauxhall ( ) is a district in South West London, part of the London Borough of Lambeth, England. Vauxhall was part of Surrey until 1889 when the County of London was created. Named after a medieval manor, "Fox Hall", it became well known for ...
factory obscured the view of the Distant signal. The lighting was reorganised following the accident.


1976 accident

A passenger train being operated by a
diesel multiple unit A diesel multiple unit or DMU is a multiple-unit train powered by on-board diesel engines. A DMU requires no separate locomotive, as the engines are incorporated into one or more of the carriages. Diesel-powered single-unit railcars are also ...
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.


Facilities

The station participates in the
Plusbus Plusbus is an add-on ticket, which can be purchased with National Rail train tickets in the United Kingdom. It allows unlimited travel on participating bus and tram operators' services in the whole urban area of rail-served towns and cities. ...
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 Leagrave is a former village and now a suburb of Luton, in the Luton district, in the ceremonial county of Bedfordshire, England, in the northwest of the town. The area is roughly bounded by Vincent Road, Torquay Drive and High Street to the nor ...
stations. FastTicket machines are used at this station. Luton station has the following facilities: 2 waiting rooms, newsagent, cafe, telephones, ATM, ticket barriers, toilets, and a car park with 669 spaces.


Services

Services at Luton are operated by East Midlands Railway and
Thameslink Thameslink is a 24-hour main-line route in the British railway system, running from , , , and via central London to Sutton, , , Rainham, , , , and . The network opened as a through service in 1988, with severe overcrowding by 1998, carrying m ...
using and
EMUs Emus may refer to: * Emu The emu () (''Dromaius novaehollandiae'') is the second-tallest living bird after its ratite relative the ostrich. It is endemic to Australia where it is the largest native bird and the only extant member of the g ...
. The typical off-peak service in trains per hour is: East Midlands Railway * 2 tph to
London St Pancras International St Pancras railway station (), also known as London St Pancras or St Pancras International and officially since 2007 as London St Pancras International, is a central London railway terminus on Euston Road in the London Borough of Camden. It i ...
* 2 tph to The station is also serves by a single daily service to and from and on weekdays only. On Sundays only, a limited number of intercity East Midlands Railway services to and call at the station. Thameslink * 4 tph to (stopping) * 2 tph to via * 2 tph to Three Bridges via * 2 tph to via During the peak hours, the station is served by additional services to and from , , and . Thameslink also operate a half-hourly night service between Bedford and on Sunday to Friday nights.


Connections

Luton Station Interchange, in front of the station building, provides connections with local and regional bus services. *The
Luton to Dunstable Busway The Luton-Dunstable Busway is a guided busway system in Bedfordshire, England, which connects the towns of Dunstable, Houghton Regis and Luton with Luton Airport. It was built on the route of a disused railway track and opened in September 2013 ...
serves Luton Station Interchange. This guided bus route, opened in 2013, provides
bus rapid transit Bus rapid transit (BRT), also called a busway or transitway, is a bus-based public transport system designed to have much more capacity, reliability and other quality features than a conventional bus system. Typically, a BRT system includes ...
services 24 hours a day between
Dunstable Dunstable ( ) is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in Bedfordshire, England, east of the Chiltern Hills, north of London. There are several steep chalk escarpments, most noticeable when approaching Dunstable from the ...
,
Houghton Regis Houghton Regis is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in Bedfordshire, East of England. The parish is located in Central Bedfordshire, which includes the hamlets of Bidwell, Bedfordshire, Bidwell, Thorn, Bedfordshire, Th ...
, Luton town and
Luton Airport London Luton Airport is an international airport located in Luton, Bedfordshire, England, situated east of the town centre, and north of Central London. The airport is owned by London Luton Airport Ltd (LLAL), a company wholly owned by L ...
. *1 bus per hour to Milton Keynes Central operated by Stagecoach in Bedford (99) (formerly Virgin Trains). This starts at
Luton Airport London Luton Airport is an international airport located in Luton, Bedfordshire, England, situated east of the town centre, and north of Central London. The airport is owned by London Luton Airport Ltd (LLAL), a company wholly owned by L ...
and only calls at a limited number of express bus stops en route. *1 bus per hour to
Luton Airport London Luton Airport is an international airport located in Luton, Bedfordshire, England, situated east of the town centre, and north of Central London. The airport is owned by London Luton Airport Ltd (LLAL), a company wholly owned by L ...
forming the return portion of the above There was previously a shuttle bus service from the station to nearby
London Luton Airport London Luton Airport is an international airport located in Luton, Bedfordshire, England, situated east of the town centre, and north of Central London. The airport is owned by London Luton Airport Ltd (LLAL), a company wholly owned by ...
; however, the dedicated shuttle ceased following the construction of Luton Airport Parkway station. There are still regular buses via the Busway to Luton Airport, via Arriva's A bus, and the Stagecoach hourly 99 bus service also runs directly to the Airport terminal.


References


External links

{{coord, 51.88227, N, 0.41432, W, region:GB_type:railwaystation, display=title Buildings and structures in Luton Railway stations in Bedfordshire Former Midland Railway stations DfT Category B stations Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1868 Railway stations served by East Midlands Railway Railway stations served by Govia Thameslink Railway Transport in Luton/Dunstable Urban Area Railway accidents involving a signal passed at danger William Henry Hamlyn buildings Rail accidents caused by a driver's error