Potters Bar railway station

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Potters Bar National Rail
Potters Bar 07.JPG
The main entrance of the station
Potters Bar is located in Hertfordshire
Potters Bar
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
2015–16Increase 1.946 million[2]
2016–17Increase 1.984 million[2]
2017–18Increase 1.997 million[2]
2018–19Increase 2.043 million[2]
2019–20Increase 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°41′49″N 0°11′38″W / 51.697°N 0.194°W / 51.697; -0.194Coordinates: 51°41′49″N 0°11′38″W / 51.697°N 0.194°W / 51.697; -0.194
Underground sign at Westminster.jpg London transport portal

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.

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[]

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 and a customer information office. Platforms 3 & 4 are home to staff facilities, including a mess room and station manager's office.

Platforms 2 & 3 are used by express services, and platforms 1 & 4 on the slow lines are used by local services.

Services[]

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

Mondays-Fridays[11]

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,[12] 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 timetable Frequency Route
Thameslink Mainline Route TL7 2 trains per hour / every 30 minutes Fast - direct to Finsbury Park
Thameslink Metro Route TL8 2 trains per hour / every 30 minutes Semi-fast
Great Northern Metro Route GN5 4 trains per hour / every 15 minutes Stopping service to Moorgate
Total 8 trains per hour
Northbound timetable Frequency Route
Thameslink Mainline Route TL7 2 trains per hour / every 30 minutes Stopping service to Cambridge
Thameslink Metro Route TL8 2 trains per hour / every 30 minutes Semi-fast to Welwyn Garden City
Great Northern Metro Route GN5 4 trains per hour / every 15 minutes Stopping service Welwyn Garden City
Total 8 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 opening and staffing times for Potters Bar, as of 2010.[13]

Ticket Office Hours
Day Opens Closes
Monday to Friday 06:15 20:10
Saturday 07:15 19:10
Sunday 08:15 19:30
Station Staffing Hours
Day From Until
Monday to Friday 06:00 20:30
Saturday 07:00 19:30
Sunday 08:00 19:50

Oyster card ticketing[]

As of 30/08/2019 Oyster cards are accepted on journeys to Potters Bar.[citation needed] 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.[14] 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.[15] The station is due to come under Transport for London's Oystercard fare system during summer 2019.[16]

Route[]

Preceding station National Rail National Rail Following station
Finsbury Park
Great Northern
Great Northern
Great Northern stopping

References[]

  1. ^ "Potters Bar Station Plan". National Rail Enquiries. Archived from the original on 18 December 2019. Retrieved 18 December 2019.
  2. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e "Estimates of station usage". 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. ^ Jump up to: a b 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. ^ Table 24 & 25 National Rail timetable, May 2016
  12. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 14 April 2017. Retrieved 13 June 2017.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  13. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 25 July 2010. Retrieved 12 June 2010.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  14. ^ https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/525766/tsgn-franchise-agreement.pdf
  15. ^ "Oyster card coming to Welwyn Garden City, Hatfield and Potters Bar". 13 July 2016.
  16. ^ Louis, Nathan (12 December 2018). "Oyster card extension to Radlett and Potters Bar welcomed by Hertsmere". Watford Observer. Retrieved 29 July 2020.

External links[]

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