Potters Bar railway station
Potters Bar railway station serves the town of Potters Bar in Hertfordshire, England. It is located on the Great Northern route, north of London [King's Cross railway station|London King's Cross] on the East Coast Main Line. The station is managed and served by Thameslink Railway#Thameslink and Great Northern services|Great Northern], with Thameslink services also calling in the peak hours.
History
The first section of the Great Northern Railway opened on 1 March 1848 in Lincolnshire between and Grimsby, where it met the Manchester, Sheffield and [Lincolnshire Railway]. The GNR quickly expanded and soon they had finished the southern section of their main line, between in London and , which opened with Potter's Bar as one of the original stations on 7 August 1850.On 1 January 1923, the GNR became a constituent part of the London and [North Eastern Railway], which was one of the "big four" railway companies. The station was renamed Potter's Bar and South Mimms on 1 May that year; on 3 May 1971, it reverted to its original name of Potter's Bar.
The current station building, designed in a post-modern style, is the third on this site. It replaced a 1955 structure designed by James Wyatt of the Eastern Region Architect's Department. Pevsner described the 1955 station as "The first of the Eastern Region's good modern stations, the style much lighter in touch than in the stations of the 1960s. Neat brick clerestory-lit booking hall".
The platform canopies were also constructed in 1955, using what was then an innovative technique of pre-stressed concrete. As the concrete set, it unexpectedly curved up at either end of the long, thin canopies, unintentionally creating the willow look.
Thameslink Programme
In September 2016, Govia Thameslink Railway released a consultation for their May 2018 timetables, following completion of the Thameslink Programme.It was proposed that the local Great Northern services between and would be increased from 3 to 4 tph with the to London King's Cross services transferred to Thameslink and extended to via. The peak hour Welwyn Garden City to London King's Cross were also to be transferred to Thameslink and extended to via.
In May 2018, the local Great Northern services were increased to 4 trains per hour as planned, although they have subsequently been reduced to 2 tph due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Cambridge to London service was also transferred to Thameslink, but was not extended to Maidstone East as planned. The service was transferred back to Great Northern in May 2023.
The Welwyn Garden City to London services were transferred to Thameslink in May 2018, as planned, and were subsequently extended to Sevenoaks in May 2022.
Accidents and incidents
The station has been the site of two major train crashes:- On 10 February 1946, a local passenger train travelling towards London King's Cross crashed into the barriers at Potters Bar station, causing debris to foul the fast lines. The debris was then hit by two express trains on the fast lines, causing two deaths and 17 injuries.
- On 10 May 2002, a northbound express train derailed whilst passing through the station, resulting in seven deaths and 76 injuries.
Facilities
The station has a ticket office which is staffed for most of the day.The station is on two levels:
- On the lower level are ticket machines in the booking hall and near the entrance to the car park, a photo booth, cash machine, two ticket counters and a cafe. Ramped access to the platforms is controlled by automatic ticket barriers.
- On the upper level, canopies run most of the length of both platforms. Each island platform has a help-point. Platforms 1 & 2 have toilets, a refreshment kiosk and a customer information office. Platforms 3 & 4 are home to staff facilities, including a mess room and station manager's office.
Oyster card ticketing
Govia Thameslink Railway agreed to extend London Zonal Fares to include Potters Bar by September 2015 when they won the Great Northern franchise. In 2016, Transport for London indicated that Welwyn Garden City and Potters Bar are two of the top four priority stations for the extension of London Zonal Fares.The station came under Transport for London's Oyster card fare system during summer 2019.
Services
All off-peak services at Potters Bar are operated by Great Northern, using and electric multiple units.The typical off-peak service in trains per hour is:
- 2 tph to
- 2 tph to
- 2 tph to
- 2 tph to of which 1 continues to