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 12 miles 57 chains (20.5 km) north of London King's Cross on the East Coast Main Line.[3][4] Potters Bar station is the highest on the East Coast Main Line between London King's Cross and York.

Potters Bar
The main entrance of the station
Potters Bar
Location of Potters Bar in Hertfordshire
LocationPotters Bar
Local authorityBorough of Hertsmere
Grid referenceTL249014
Managed byGreat Northern
Station codePBR
DfT categoryC2
Number of platforms4
AccessibleYes[1]
Fare zoneB
National Rail annual entry and exit
2015–16 1.946 million[2]
2016–17 1.984 million[2]
2017–18 1.997 million[2]
2018–19 2.043 million[2]
2019–20 2.091 million[2]
Railway companies
Original companyGreat Northern Railway
Pre-groupingGreat Northern Railway
Post-groupingLondon and North Eastern Railway
Key dates
7 August 1850Opened as Potter's Bar
1 May 1923Renamed Potter's Bar and South Mimms
3 May 1971Renamed Potter's Bar
Other information
External links
WGS8451.697°N 0.194°W / 51.697; -0.194
 London transport portal

History

The first section of the Great Northern Railway (GNR) - that from Louth to a junction with the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway at Grimsby - opened on 1 March 1848, but the southern section of the main line, between Maiden Lane and Peterborough, was not opened until August 1850. Potter's Bar was one of the original stations, opening with the line on 7 August 1850.[5][6][7]

On 1 May 1923, the station was renamed Potter's Bar and South Mimms; on 3 May 1971 it reverted to its original name of Potter's Bar.[7]

The current station building, in a "post modern" style, is the third on this site. It replaced a 1955 structure designed by James Wyatt[8] of the Eastern Region Architect's Department (Chief Architect H Powell). 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 (cf Broxbourne). Neat brick clerestory-lit booking hall".[9]

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.[10]

Facilities

Potters Bar is a modern railway station spread across two floors.

On the lower floor, there are four ticket machines, located in the main booking hall and near to the entrance to the car park, a photo booth, cash machine, two ticket counters and a newsagency. Access to the platforms is controlled by a series of automatic ticket gates. Access is in the form of a ramp, meaning that wheelchair users can easily access the platforms.

On the upper floor, where the platforms are located, there are canopies running most of the length of both platforms. Each island platform has a help-point. Platforms 1&2 have both male and female toilets, as well as a cafe,[11] customer information office and a disabled access toilet. Platforms 3&4 are home to staff accommodation, including a mess room and station management office.

The station has four platforms, platforms 2 & 3 are the fast-line platforms which are used by fast line services, whilst platforms 1 & 4 are the slow-line platforms which are used by stopping services.

Services

Potter's Bar station is served by Great Northern and Thameslink services.

Mondays-Fridays[12]

Saturdays and Sundays

Bus services

London bus routes 298, 313, school routes 626, 692, 699 and other routes, as well as non TFL routes 610, 611, 398, along with 84 and 84A commercially from Metroline serve the station.

Proposed 2018 train timetable

Govia Thameslink Railway issued a timetable consultation document in September 2016,[13] describing the proposed 2018 timetables.

When this is implemented the number of peak time trains stopping at Potters Bar Station will roughly double to eight trains per hour in each direction.

The Thameslink routes will call at London St Pancras International rather than London Kings Cross and will continue through central London and on to Brighton or Sevenoaks.

Southbound timetableFrequencyRoute
Thameslink Mainline Route TL72 trains per hour / every 30 minutesFast - direct to Finsbury Park
Thameslink Metro Route TL82 trains per hour / every 30 minutesSemi-fast
Great Northern Metro Route GN54 trains per hour / every 15 minutesStopping service to Moorgate
Total8 trains per hour
Northbound timetableFrequencyRoute
Thameslink Mainline Route TL72 trains per hour / every 30 minutesStopping service to Cambridge
Thameslink Metro Route TL82 trains per hour / every 30 minutesSemi-fast to Welwyn Garden City
Great Northern Metro Route GN54 trains per hour / every 15 minutesStopping service Welwyn Garden City
Total8 trains per hour

Potters Bar rail crashes
Main article: Potters Bar rail accidents

Potters Bar has been the site of two major train crashes. On 10 February 1946 a three-train crash resulted in 2 fatalities and 17 people were hospitalised. The derailment of a fast train on 10 May 2002 resulted in 7 fatalities and 76 injured.

Ticket office opening times and station staffing hours

Below are the current opening and staffing times for Potters Bar, as of 2010.[14]

Ticket Office Hours
DayOpensCloses
Monday to Friday06:1520:10
Saturday07:1519:10
Sunday08:1519:30
Station Staffing Hours
DayFromUntil
Monday to Friday06:0020:30
Saturday07:0019:30
Sunday08:0019:50

Oyster card ticketing

As of 30/08/2019 Oyster cards are accepted on journeys to Potters Bar. The train operating company, Govia, agreed to extend London Zonal Fares to include Potters Bar by September 2015 when they won the Great Northern franchise.[15] More recently 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.[16] The station is due to come under Transport for London's Oystercard fare system during summer 2019.[17]

Route
Preceding station National Rail Following station
Great Northern
Great Northern

References
  1. "Potters Bar Station Plan". National Rail Enquiries. Archived from the original on 18 December 2019. Retrieved 18 December 2019.
  2. "Station usage estimates". Rail statistics. Office of Rail Regulation. Please note: Some methodology may vary year on year.
  3. Baker, S.K. (April 2007) [1977]. Rail Atlas Great Britain & Ireland (11th ed.). Hersham: Oxford Publishing Co. p. 25, section A1. ISBN 978-0-86093-602-2. 0704/K.
  4. Padgett, David (October 2016) [1988]. Brailsford, Martyn (ed.). Railway Track Diagrams 2: Eastern (4th ed.). Frome: Trackmaps. map 15A. ISBN 978-0-9549866-8-1.
  5. Gordon, W.J. (1989) [1910]. Our Home Railways. London: Bracken Books. volume II, p. 44. ISBN 1-85170-314-4.
  6. Awdry, Christopher (1990). Encyclopaedia of British Railway Companies. London: Guild Publishing. p. 135. CN 8983.
  7. Butt, R.V.J. (1995). The Directory of Railway Stations. Yeovil: Patrick Stephens Ltd. p. 190. ISBN 1-85260-508-1. R508.
  8. Lawrence, David (2018). British Rail Architecture 1948-97. Crecy Publishing Ltd. p. 52. ISBN 9780860936855.
  9. Pevsner, Mikolaus (1977). The Buildings of England: Hertfordshire. New Haven & London: Yale University Press. p. 272. ISBN 0-300-09611-9.
  10. Coster, Peter J (2010). The Book of the Great Northern: the Main Line: An Engineering Commentary: Part One: King's Cross to Welwyn Garden City. Clophill, England: Irwell Press. p. 161. ISBN 978-1-906919-30-6.
  11. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 21 October 2012. Retrieved 12 June 2010.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  12. Table 24 & 25 National Rail timetable, May 2016
  13. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 14 April 2017. Retrieved 13 June 2017.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  14. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 25 July 2010. Retrieved 12 June 2010.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  15. https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/525766/tsgn-franchise-agreement.pdf
  16. http://www.whtimes.co.uk/motoring/oyster_card_coming_to_welwyn_garden_city_hatfield_and_potters_bar_1_4614704
  17. Louis, Nathan (12 December 2018). "Oyster card extension to Radlett and Potters Bar welcomed by Hertsmere". Watford Observer. Retrieved 29 July 2020.
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