Ridgmont railway station is a small unstaffed railway station that serves the village of Ridgmont in Bedfordshire. The station is about 1 mile (2 km) away from Ridgmont on the other side of the M1 Motorway, (beside Junction 13), Brogborough and Husborne Crawley. It also serves the large Amazon warehouse next door.
Ridgmont  | |||||
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| General information | |||||
| Location | Ridgmont, Central Bedfordshire England | ||||
| Coordinates | 52°01′34″N 0°35′42″W / 52.026°N 0.595°W | ||||
| Grid reference | SP965373 | ||||
| Managed by | London Northwestern Railway | ||||
| Platforms | 2 | ||||
| Other information | |||||
| Station code | RID | ||||
| Classification | DfT category F2 | ||||
| Passengers | |||||
| 2019/20 |  26,208 | ||||
| 2020/21 | 6,400 | ||||
| 2021/22 |  10,604 | ||||
| 2022/23 | 11,570 | ||||
| 2023/24 | 9,142 | ||||
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It is on the Bletchley — Bedford Marston Vale line.
Trains
editAlthough not geographically the midpoint of the line, many train services 'cross' at Ridgmont station. There is no Sunday passenger service timetabled although the line remains open with signalers on duty at the Marston Vale Signalling Centre at Ridgmont.
Future
editIt is planned that the Marston Vale line will be upgraded as part of the East West Rail programme, to permit 100 mph (160 km/h) running. The Oxford-Bedford services are planned to stop here.[1]
Former station house
editThe former station house, built in 1846 in the Cottage Orné architectural style, underwent a total refurbishment in 2014 managed by the Bedfordshire Rural Communities Charity (BRCC) with funding from the Railway Heritage Trust. A tea room, gift shop, disabled access and toilets, additional car parking, two small 'start-up' offices and a meeting room have been provided. The former Victorian booking office has been restored as a small heritage centre.[2]
Scenes from the feature film 'One Day' were filmed at the station.
General information
editRidgmont is in sight of Junction 13 of the M1 motorway and the station is adjacent to a number of distribution centres.
It was at Ridgmont that a new Marston Vale signalling control centre was built as part of the Bedford — Bletchley route modernisation in 2004. This centre replaced all the signal boxes and block posts (some contained within station buildings including Ridgmont) on the route.
Services
editAll services at Ridgmont are operated by London Northwestern Railway.
The typical off-peak service is one train per hour in each direction between Bletchley and Bedford which runs on weekdays and Saturdays only using Class 150 DMUs. There is no Sunday service.[3][4][5][6]
As of November 2024[update], the stopping pattern of EWR services between Bletchley and Bedford remains to be determined, so the service pattern shown here is speculative.
| Preceding station |  National Rail
|
Following station | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aspley Guise | London Northwestern Railway
|
Lidlington | ||
| Future Services | ||||
| Woburn Sands | East West Rail |
Stewartby | ||
Community Rail Partnership
editRidgmont station, in common with others on the Marston Vale Line, is covered by the Marston Vale Community Rail Partnership,[7] which aims to increase use of the line by involving local people.
References
edit- ^ What train services will run on East West Rail (Western Section)? East West Rail Consortium, 2015. Retrieved 31/03/18
- ^ Restored Ridgmont Station Now Open! Friends of Fenny Stratford (undated)
- ^ "Bletchley to Bedford | Timetable from Monday 20 November 2023". London Northwestern Railway.
- ^ "GB eNRT May 2023 Edition, Table 63" (PDF). Network Rail.
- ^ "Train timetables and schedules | Ridgmont". London Northwestern Railway.
- ^ "Marston Vale Line: Limited Timetable Running Until Early 2024". London Northwestern Railway. 20 November 2023.
- ^ Marston Vale Community Rail Partnership
External links
edit
- Train times and station information for Ridgmont railway station from National Rail
- Historic England. "Details from listed building database (1114037)". National Heritage List for England.