St Albans City  | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Exterior of the main building on Station Way | |||||||
| General information | |||||||
| Location | City of St Albans | ||||||
| Coordinates | 51°45′01″N0°19′39″W / 51.7504°N 0.3274°W /51.7504; -0.3274 | ||||||
| Grid position | TL155070 | ||||||
| Managed by | Thameslink | ||||||
| Platforms | 4 | ||||||
| Construction | |||||||
| Accessible | Yes | ||||||
| Other information | |||||||
| Station code | SAC | ||||||
| Classification | DfT category B | ||||||
| Key dates | |||||||
| 1 October 1868 | Opened | ||||||
| 1973 | Rebuilt[1] | ||||||
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Railway stations in St Albans | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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St Albans City railway station, also known simply asSt Albans, is one of two railway stations serving the city ofSt Albans inHertfordshire, England (the other beingSt Albans Abbey). The 'City' station is the larger of the two, as it is on the better-connectedMidland Main Line 19 miles 71 chains (32.0 km) fromLondon St Pancras, being served byGovia Thameslink trains on theThameslink route.
The station was built by theMidland Railway in 1868, on its extension toSt Pancras. St Albans was famous for producingwatercress, which was sent in 56-pound (25 kg) lots toLondon andManchester.
St Albans Abbey, the other station serving the city, is a decade older and was built by theLondon and North Western Railway in 1858. There was originally a further station calledLondon Road, built by the Hatfield and St Albans Railway in 1863 to connect with theGreat Northern Railway.[2][page needed]
The station has four platforms, two for each direction: one "fast" and one "slow". The main entrance, ticket office,multi-storey car park, taxi rank and bus connections are on Station Way, east of the station. There is a second exit to the west, to a small surface car park off Ridgmont Road and Victoria Street, located at the original entrance to the station. A larger surface car park to the east of the railway lines gainedplanning permission in 2003, in connection with a large residential development.[3]
There areticket barriers at both entrances.
The station participates in thePlusbus scheme where combined train and bus tickets can be bought at a reduced price.
The station underwent a refurbishment which saw the main entrance being completely rebuilt. This refurbishment included a complete rebuild of the retail unit located at the main entrance, Moving the toilets from platform 2 and 3 to Platforms 1 and 4. A new entrance on Platform 4 was also built, which included brand new Cycle storage facilities. Refurbishment of the station was completed in December 2021.[4]
The station currently houses a Sainsbury's Local which opened in February 2022[5] There are also 3 more retail units, 2 on Platform 1 and one on Platform 4. The 2 units on Platform 1 contain a Costa Coffee and a newsagent. The remaining retail unit on Platform 4 remains empty since the station refurbishment in 2021.
St Albans South signal box has been restored immediately south of the station and has been opened as a visitor attraction by the St Albans Signal Box Preservation Trust.
Construction of a second footbridge was completed in 2022.[7]
All services at St Albans City are operated byThameslink usingClass 700EMUs.
The typical off-peak service in trains per hour is:[8]
During the peak hours, the station is served by additional services to and fromEast Grinstead.
The station is also served by a half-hourly night service between Bedford andThree Bridges on Sunday to Friday nights.
| Preceding station |  National Rail | Following station | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Harpenden orTerminus | Thameslink | West Hampstead Thameslink or Radlett | ||
