Potters Bar National Rail
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
2018–19Increase 2.043 million[2]
2019–20Increase 2.091 million[2]
2020–21Decrease 0.562 million[2]
2021–22Increase 1.417 million[2]
2022–23Increase 2.073 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; -0.194
 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 has a ticket office which is staffed for most of the day.[11]

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 refreshment kiosk,[12] and 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

Current Services

Services at Potters Bar are operated by Thameslink and Great Northern using Class 700 and 717 EMUs.

The typical off-peak service in trains per hour is:[13]

During the peak hours, the service to Letchworth Garden City is extended to Cambridge and the service between Moorgate and Welwyn Garden City is increased to 4 tph.

In addition, during peak hours a 2 tph Thameslink service operates to and from Sevenoaks via the Thameslink Core.

Preceding station National Rail National Rail Following station
Great Northern
Stopping Services
Thameslink
Peak Hours Only

In September 2016, Govia Thameslink Railway released a consultation for their May 2018 timetables, following the completion of the Thameslink Programme.[14]

It was proposed that the local Great Northern services between Moorgate and Welwyn Garden City would be increased from 3 to 4 tph with the Cambridge to London King's Cross services transferred to Thameslink and extended to Maidstone East via London Bridge. The peak hour Welwyn Garden City to London King's Cross were also to be transferred to Thameslink and extended to Sevenoaks via Catford.

In May 2018, the local Great Northern services were increased to 4 tph as planned, although they have subsequently been reduced to 2 tph due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Cambridge to London services were also transferred to Thameslink but were not extended to Maidstone East and this extension has now been postponed to an unknown date.[15]

The Welwyn Garden City to London services were transferred to Thameslink in May 2018 as planned and were subsequently extended to Sevenoaks in May 2022.[13]

Connections

The station is served by London Buses routes 298 and 313, Metroline routes 242 and PB1, Sullivan Buses routes 84 and 398 and Uno route 610.[16]

Accidents and incidents

The station has been the site of two major train crashes, one in 1946 and one in 2002.

  • On 10 February 1946, a local passenger train travelling towards London King's Cross crashed into the barriers at Potters Bar Station causing debris to foul the fast lines. The debris was then hit by two express trains on the fast lines causing two deaths and 17 injuries.[17]
  • On 10 May 2002, a northbound express train derailed whilst passing through the station resulting in seven deaths and 76 injuries.[18]

Oyster card ticketing

As of 30/08/2019 Oyster cards are accepted on journeys to Potters Bar. 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.[19] 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.[20] The station came under Transport for London's Oystercard fare system during summer 2019.[21]

References

  1. ↑ "Potters Bar Station Plan". National Rail Enquiries. Archived from the original on 18 December 2019. Retrieved 18 December 2019.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 "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. 1 2 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. ↑ "Potters Bar Station Information". Great Northern. Retrieved 2 November 2022.
  12. ↑ "Potters Bar Station Plan". Archived from the original on 21 October 2012. Retrieved 12 June 2010.
  13. 1 2 Table 24, 25 National Rail timetable, May 2022
  14. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 14 April 2017. Retrieved 13 June 2017.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  15. ↑ "Thameslink at Maidstone East will not launch in December 2019". Kent Online. Retrieved 2 November 2022.
  16. ↑ "Potter's Bar bus map" (PDF). Intalink. Retrieved 1 November 2022.
  17. ↑ "Accident at Potters Bar on 10th February 1946". Railways Archive. Retrieved 2 November 2022.
  18. ↑ "Seven die in train crash". The Guardian. Retrieved 2 November 2022.
  19. ↑ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 February 2017. Retrieved 27 January 2017.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  20. ↑ "Oyster card coming to Welwyn Garden City, Hatfield and Potters Bar". 13 July 2016.
  21. ↑ Louis, Nathan (12 December 2018). "Oyster card extension to Radlett and Potters Bar welcomed by Hertsmere". Watford Observer. Retrieved 29 July 2020.
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