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Ridgmont railway station

Coordinates: 52°01′34″N 0°35′42″W / 52.026°N 0.595°W / 52.026; -0.595
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Ridgmont
National Rail
General information
LocationRidgmont, Central Bedfordshire
England
Coordinates52°01′34″N 0°35′42″W / 52.026°N 0.595°W / 52.026; -0.595
Grid referenceSP965373
Managed byLondon Northwestern Railway
Platforms2
Other information
Station codeRID
ClassificationDfT category F2
Passengers
2019/20Decrease 26,208
2020/21Decrease 6,400
2021/22Increase 10,604
2022/23Increase 11,570
2023/24Decrease 9,142
Location
Map
Notes
Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road

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.

It is on the BletchleyBedford Marston Vale line.

Trains

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Although 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

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It 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

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The 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

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Ridgmont 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.

View of Ridgmont Railway Station from the A507 bypass

Services

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All 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, 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 National Rail Following station
Aspley Guise   London Northwestern Railway
  Lidlington
  Future Services  
Woburn Sands   East West Rail
  Stewartby

Community Rail Partnership

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Ridgmont 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

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  1. ^ What train services will run on East West Rail (Western Section)? East West Rail Consortium, 2015. Retrieved 31/03/18
  2. ^ Restored Ridgmont Station Now Open! Friends of Fenny Stratford (undated)
  3. ^ "Bletchley to Bedford | Timetable from Monday 20 November 2023". London Northwestern Railway.
  4. ^ "GB eNRT May 2023 Edition, Table 63" (PDF). Network Rail.
  5. ^ "Train timetables and schedules | Ridgmont". London Northwestern Railway.
  6. ^ "Marston Vale Line: Limited Timetable Running Until Early 2024". London Northwestern Railway. 20 November 2023.
  7. ^ Marston Vale Community Rail Partnership
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