Syston railway station ( ) is a

railway station Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a prep ...

serving the town of Syston in Leicestershire, England. The station is 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 ...

from Leicester to

Loughborough Loughborough ( ) is a market town in the Charnwood borough of Leicestershire, England, the seat of Charnwood Borough Council and Loughborough University. At the 2011 census the town's built-up area had a population of 59,932 , the second large ...

, down the line from

London St Pancras 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 London station group, central London railway terminus on Euston Road in the London Bor ...

Early history

The station was opened on 5 May 1840 as a minor intermediate station on the

Midland Counties Railway The Midland Counties' Railway (MCR) was a railway company in the United Kingdom which existed between 1839 and 1844, connecting Nottingham, Leicester and Derby with Rugby, Warwickshire, Rugby and thence, via the London and Birmingham Railway, t ...

line from Leicester to

Nottingham Nottingham ( , locally ) is a city and unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located north-west of London, south-east of Sheffield and north-east of Birmingham. Nottingham has links to the legend of Robi ...

and

Derby Derby ( ) is a city and unitary authority area in Derbyshire, England. It lies on the banks of the River Derwent in the south of Derbyshire, which is in the East Midlands Region. It was traditionally the county town of Derbyshire. Derby g ...

. Shortly afterwards, the Midland Counties merged with the

North Midland Railway The North Midland Railway was a British railway company, which opened its line from Derby to Rotherham (Masbrough) and Leeds in 1840. At Derby, it connected with the Birmingham and Derby Junction Railway and the Midland Counties Railway at wha ...

and the

Birmingham and Derby Junction Railway The Birmingham and Derby Junction Railway was a British railway company. From Birmingham it connected at Derby with the North Midland Railway and the Midland Counties Railway at what became known as the Tri Junct Station. It now forms part ...

to form 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 ama ...

. Syston became a junction station on 1 September 1846 with the opening of the

Syston and Peterborough Railway The Syston and Peterborough Railway was an early railway in England opened between 1846 and 1848 to form a connection from the Midland Counties Railway near Leicester to Peterborough, giving access to East Anglia over the Eastern Counties Railway ...

Melton Mowbray Melton Mowbray () is a town in Leicestershire, England, north-east of Leicester, and south-east of Nottingham. It lies on the River Eye, known below Melton as the Wreake. The town had a population 27,670 in 2019. The town is sometimes promo ...

, which was extended in 1848 to

Peterborough Peterborough () is a cathedral city in Cambridgeshire, east of England. It is the largest part of the City of Peterborough unitary authority district (which covers a larger area than Peterborough itself). It was part of Northamptonshire until ...

. The north to east curve was opened in 1854. A replacement station was opened in 1874 when the Midland Main Line was increased from two to four tracks.

Closure

The station closed on 4 March 1968. The station building, having been hidden by fencing for many years, was later dismantled and rebuilt at

Midland Railway - Butterley Midland may refer to: Places Australia * Midland, Western Australia Canada * Midland, Albert County, New Brunswick * Midland, Kings County, New Brunswick * Midland, Newfoundland and Labrador * Midland, Ontario India * Midland Ward, Kohima, Na ...

with the help of David Wilson Homes, who erected a housing estate over the old station land in 2006.

Reopening

The station reopened on 27 May 1994 as part of phase one of the Ivanhoe Line. Express trains do not stop at Syston, as the single platform is on the bidirectional "slow" line, adjacent to the main line. Trains on the line to and from Peterborough do not call at the station either, although it is possible for them to do so. Network Rail adopted a Route Utilisation Strategy for freight in 2007 which will create a new cross country freight route from

( East Coast Main Line) to Nuneaton (

West Coast Main Line The West Coast Main Line (WCML) is one of the most important railway corridors in the United Kingdom, connecting the major cities of London and Glasgow with branches to Birmingham, Liverpool, Manchester and Edinburgh. It is one of the busiest ...

). One of the next stages (around 2013) will create additional lines through Leicester during a re-signalling scheme, during this time Syston station will be rebuilt.

Facilities

The station is unstaffed and facilities are limited although there is a self-service

ticket machine A ticket machine, also known as a ticket vending machine (TVM), is a vending machine that produces paper or electronic tickets, or recharges a stored-value card or smart card or the user's mobile wallet, typically on a smartphone. For instanc ...

for ticket purchases and a shelter on the platform. There is a small

car park A parking lot (American English) or car park (British English), also known as a car lot, is a cleared area intended for parking vehicles. The term usually refers to an area dedicated only for parking, with a durable or semi-durable surface ...

as well as bicycle storage available at the station. Step-free access is available to the platform at the station.

Services

All services at Syston are operated by East Midlands Railway using Class 153,

156 Year 156 (Roman numerals, CLVI) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Silvanus and Augurinus (or, less frequently, year 90 ...

and 158 DMUs. The typical off-peak service in trains per hour is: * 1 tph to * 1 tph to via of which 1 tp2h continues to Fast trains on the

pass by the station but do not stop. The station is closed on Sundays.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Syston Railway Station Railway stations in Leicestershire DfT Category F1 stations Former Midland Railway stations Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1840 Railway stations in Great Britain closed in 1968 Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1994 Railway stations served by East Midlands Railway Beeching closures in England Reopened railway stations in Great Britain