Leicester  | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 The station, as seen from London Road (northern entrance) | |||||
| General information | |||||
| Location | Leicester,City of Leicester England | ||||
| Coordinates | 52°37′55″N1°07′26″W / 52.632°N 1.124°W /52.632; -1.124 | ||||
| Grid reference | SK593041 | ||||
| Managed by | East Midlands Railway | ||||
| Platforms | 4 | ||||
| Other information | |||||
| Station code | LEI | ||||
| Classification | DfT category B | ||||
| History | |||||
| Original company | Midland Counties Railway | ||||
| Pre-grouping | Midland Railway | ||||
| Post-grouping | London, Midland and Scottish Railway | ||||
| Key dates | |||||
| 5 May 1840 | Opened asLeicester | ||||
| 1 June 1867 | RenamedLeicester Campbell Street | ||||
| 12 June 1892 | RenamedLeicester London Road | ||||
| 1894 | First Rebuild | ||||
| 5 May 1969 | RenamedLeicester | ||||
| 1978 | Second rebuild | ||||
| Passengers | |||||
| 2020/21 |  1.042 million | ||||
| Interchange | 78,735 | ||||
| 2021/22 |  3.549 million | ||||
| Interchange | 0.276 million | ||||
| 2022/23 | 4.870 million | ||||
| Interchange | 0.423 million | ||||
| 2023/24 | 5.304 million | ||||
| Interchange | 0.462 million | ||||
| 2024/25 | 5.527 million | ||||
| Interchange | 0.518 million | ||||
| |||||
| |||||
Leicester railway station (formerlyLeicester Campbell Street andLeicester London Road) is a main line railway station in the city ofLeicester, inLeicestershire, England. The station is managed byEast Midlands Railway and owned byNetwork Rail. Trains are operated byCrossCountry and East Midlands Railway services. It is the busiest station in Leicestershire, the second busiest station in theEast Midlands and the fifth busiest station inthe Midlands as a whole.[1]
Leicester station was opened in 1840 by theMidland Counties Railway and rebuilt in 1894 and 1978. It is on theMidland Main Line, which runs fromLondon St Pancras toSheffield andNottingham. It is 99 miles 7 chains (159.5 km) north of London St Pancras.
The first station on the site opened on 5 May 1840. It was originally known simply asLeicester, becomingLeicester Campbell Street on 1 June 1867 andLeicester London Road from 12 June 1892.[2] This was replaced in 1894 by a new station, also called Leicester London Road but usually referred to as the "Midland Station" to differentiate fromLeicester Central station. Following the closure of Leicester Central on 5 May 1969, this station was renamedLeicester.[2]
Besides London Road and Central, the city of Leicester was served byBelgrave Road, Humberstone Road andWest Bridge railway stations.
Leicester was one of the first cities (though then a town) to be served by a railway, when theLeicester and Swannington Railway built its terminus station atWest Bridge on the western side ofLeicester in 1832.[3] The Leicester and Swannington Railway was later absorbed by theMidland Railway.
In total, Leicester had seven railway stations (eight if the two sites at West Bridge are treated separately). In addition to the current Leicester station, three other main railway stations existed. The original station atWest Bridge closed to passengers in 1928.Leicester Belgrave Road (on theGreat Northern Railway) closed to passengers in 1962 andLeicester Central (on theGreat Central Railway) closed in May 1969. From 1892 up until this time, the current Leicester station was known asLeicester London Road.
In addition, there were smaller stations within the city boundary atHumberstone Road on the LMS, Humberstone on the GNR, and, from 1874 until 1918, a halt atWelford Road was operated on the Leicester – London main line allowing access to the Cattle Market. At this halt, passengers were allowed to leave the trains but not to board them.
The contract for the first station on the present site was awarded by theMidland Counties Railway to Waterfield and Smith, and was just under £15,000[4] (equivalent to £1,710,700 in 2023).[5]
It was first used on 4 May 1840, when a train of four first and six second-class carriages, pulled by theLeopard steam engine, arrived from Nottingham. As was normal in those days with a through station, the original plan was to build it to the side of the main line, but instead it was finally built on the main line with a single platform 165 yards long to handle both northbound and southbound trains. The station was designed by William Parsons in the Grecian Revival style, with a two-storey main building which was embellished with a central pediment set forward on fluted columns in front. This was flanked by short single-storey wings. It was the headquarters of the Midland Counties Railway until that railway was amalgamated into theMidland Railway in 1844. Upstairs were the company offices and boardroom, while downstairs was the booking hall, waiting and refreshment rooms.[6]
The opening of new routes to Leicester led to steadily increasing traffic and, by 1858, a second platform had been built to handle southbound traffic, so leaving the original platform to handle northbound traffic.[7] In 1868, it was decided to turn the southbound platform into anisland platform to further increase capacity, but this was not possible with the northbound platform due to the presence of the main buildings and station entrance.
Further expansion was contemplated for some time, but it was not until 1890 that the go ahead was given for Campbell Street station to be replaced by the presentLeicester railway station. All that remains of the first station is a pair of gateposts in anEgyptian style at the end of Station Street. The offices forRoyal Mail now occupy some of the site of the old station buildings on Campbell Street.
The Midland Railway completely rebuilt the station between 1892 and 1894 to a design by the architectCharles Trubshaw.[7] The new booking office was opened by themayor in June 1892 when it was renamed Leicester London Road. The station was completed in 1894.[7] The frontage on London Road featured four entrance archways. Above each of the left-hand pair the word "Departure" was inscribed and, above each of the other two, the word "Arrival" was carved in relief. These signs were to assist cab drivers when dropping passengers who intended to catch departing trains, or were plying for hire by passengers who had arrived by train.
The new station frontage on London Road remains as a well-preserved lateVictorian building, but the interior of the booking hall and the structures on the platforms were reconstructed bySir Robert McAlpine in 1978.[8]
The station clock is the only hand-wound station clock in the UK.[9]
A commemorative statue ofThomas Cook was placed on the pavement outside the present station in 1991 to mark the first excursions arranged by thetravel agency magnate. It was sculpted byJames Butler.
Until the line from Matlock to Chinley through Millers Dale was closed by theBeeching cuts, the'main lines' were those from London to Manchester, carrying named expresses such asThe Palatine. Express trains to Leeds and Scotland such as theThames-Clyde Express tended to use theErewash Valley Line before proceeding on to theSettle and Carlisle Line. Expresses toEdinburgh, such asThe Waverley travelled through Corby and Nottingham.
Whensectorisation was introduced in the 1980s, the station was served by theInterCity sector until theprivatisation of British Rail.
With the advent of powersignalling in 1986, thesignal box and the crossovers disappeared; the tracks approaching the station were relaid to allow trains from any direction to enter or leave any platform.
Upon theprivatisation of British Rail, the station became owned byRailtrack and laterNetwork Rail; however, in common with most British railway stations, the day-to-day operation was contracted out to the largest user of the station, in this caseMidland Mainline. Midland Mainline continued to refurbish the station with the installation of a large electronic departure board in the station entrance hall and smaller boards on all platforms.
In 2006, work was started on the installation ofautomatic ticket gates to cut down onfare evasion. Leicester City Council issued plans for the redevelopment of the station and the surrounding area including a total of eight platforms.
Re-surfacing of the platforms took place throughout 2010.[10][needs update]
Prospect Leicestershire led plans which aimed to regenerate the city centre area of Leicester,[11] the station was to be incorporated into a new business quarter.[12] Plans for the station included to rotate the passengers facilities so that they exited into a new open city plaza rather than the current busy ring road. Renewed plans were released in 2008 for the £150 million redevelopment, promising over 2,800 new jobs in the area due to the new shops and offices which would be created.[13] However, due to theGreat Recession these plans failed to materialise. Network Rail and East Midlands Trains started work on a £3.5 million scheme in 2012.[14] Platforms have been resurfaced, toilets and both first and standard class waiting areas refurbished. The majority of work has taken place in the concourse and porte corche area where a new travel centre is being provided.[citation needed]
Network Rail adopted a Route Utilisation Strategy for freight in 2007[15] which will create a new cross country freight route fromPeterborough (East Coast Main Line) toNuneaton (West Coast Main Line). One of the next stages (around 2013) will create additional lines through Leicester during a re-signalling scheme. During this period additional platforms may be provided at Leicester.[16]
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The main entrance to the station is on London Road. The ticket office and travel centre are located in theconcourse; the lost property office and lockers were formerly located here also althoughEast Midlands Trains took these facilities away in 2009 citing cost and therecession. This concourse gives access to the main stationoverbridge to all platforms, and via a corridor to the lifts. There is afootbridge at the northern end of the station giving access to the long-staycar park and Campbell Street.
The station is based on twoisland platforms which are wide with a long series of buildings. There is a newsagent and several food outlets including a café and licensed bar. There are also toilets and a large waiting room[17][18].
Midland Mainline erected a first class lounge at the southern end of the up island platforms during 2000. Passenger information systems were updated at the same time and now usedot matrix display screens. Leicester has automated announcements, which replaced the previous manual public address system in September 2011. In 2006, automatic ticket barriers were installed on all approaches to the station.
The station has an office for theBritish Transport Police andCash point in theporte-cochere as well as a taxi rank and short-stay drop-off and pick-up area[19]
Routes run north–south through Leicester on theMidland Main Line, south toKettering,Bedford,Luton andLondon; and north toDerby,Nottingham,Lincoln andSheffield. Junctions north and south of the station serve theeast-west cross country route, going east toPeterborough,Cambridge andStansted Airport; and west toNuneaton andBirmingham New Street.
Leicester station is owned byNetwork Rail and operated under afranchise byEast Midlands Railway. Most services are provided by East Midlands Railway, withCrossCountry operating on the Birmingham to Stansted Airport corridor. Due to a 15 mph maximum speed to the south of the station, as well as the size and importance of the city, all passenger trains stop at the station. Up until the winter 2008 timetable, the morning southboundThe Master Cutler express fromLeeds toLondon St Pancras was an exception although it eventually called here prior to the service ending.
Leicester is a bottleneck station as it has only four platforms. All platforms are well utilised, especially platforms two and three which receive freight as well as passenger trains. A freight loop goes to the east of the station alongside the carriage sidings which run adjacent to platform four.
Leicester is apenalty fare station, a valid ticket orpermit to travel must be shown when requested. The station offers thePlusbus scheme which allows bus and train tickets to be bought together at a saving.[20]
Leicester has had direct services in the past to destinations as varied asLiverpool Lime Street,Manchester Piccadilly,Leeds,York,Scarborough,Norwich,Coventry andAberystwyth. However, changes to the rail franchises and the unprofitability of some routes have led to many curtailments over the years.
Monday to Friday off-peak service patterns as of June 2024 in trains per hour (tph) and trains per day (tpd):
East Midlands Railway:[21]
CrossCountry:[22]
From 14 December 2025, direct services from Leicester to Lincoln Central no longer run as a regular off-peak service due to a recast of the East Midlands Railway timetable.[23] These services will instead terminate at Nottingham, but will continue to provide a local stopping pattern calling at all stations towards Nottingham, unlike existing intercity services. Passengers who currently travel onwards to Lincoln Central or Grimsby Town via Newark Castle will instead have to change trains at Nottingham.[24]
| Preceding station |  National Rail | Following station | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CrossCountry | Terminus | |||
| CrossCountry | ||||
| East Midlands Railway Midland Main Line London to Sheffield | ||||
| East Midlands Railway Midland Main Line London to Nottingham | ||||
| Terminus | East Midlands Railway Ivanhoe Line | |||
| Historical railways | ||||
| Terminus | Midland Railway Leicester to Burton upon Trent Line | Kirby Muxloe Line open, station closed | ||
 | This section needs to beupdated. The reason given is:Project delayed, electric trains will not run to Wigston in 2024. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information.(November 2024) |
As of 2025 the railway through Leicester is not electrified. Plans to carry out full electrification of the Midland Mainline were paused in July 2025[25] after being previously announced,[26] commenced,[27] suspended[28] cancelled,[29] and resumed.[30] Since 2026, services have been operated usingbi-mode electro-diesel trains running in electro-pantograph mode betweenLondon St Pancras and Wigston, just 4 miles (6,5 km) south of Leicester railway station switching to electro-accumulator/diesel-electric mode northwards from there.[31]
In the decade starting 2020, various events changed the prospects for the station even though improvements had been on and off the political agenda for over a decade. Various news outlets reported in December 2020 that prospects for electrification toMarket Harborough were improving.[32] On 23 March 2021, the Transport Select Committee published its sixth report in the Trains fit for the Future enquiry, which called for a rolling programme of electrification.[33][34] It stated theMidland Main Line project would be divided into eight sections.[35]Modern Railways confirmed that the project would continue north ofMarket Harborough all the way toLeicester andSheffield.[36]
Another major development was the publishing of theIntegrated Rail Plan (IRP) on 18 November 2021. This included full Midland Main Line electrification and upgrades.[37]F2N is still being upgraded in stages.
After phase one of theIvanhoe Line was completed in the mid-1990s, it was originally planned that phase two would extend the line west toBurton upon Trent on the currentfreight-only line viaCoalville andAshby-de-la-Zouch. The possibility was studied in 2008[38] and again in 2016 but in both cases the conclusion was that the cost was not justified by the benefits.
The most recent study, in 2016, costed the work at up to £175 million and claimed that an additional 206,000 houses would need to be built along the route to generate enough passengers to make the line profitable.[39]
