View source for Bedford St Johns railway station

{{short description|Railway station in Bedfordshire, England}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2017}}
{{Use British English|date=February 2017}}
{{Infobox station
| name                = Bedford St Johns
| symbol_location     = gb
| symbol              = rail
| image               = bedfordstjohnsbridge.jpg
| caption             = The station, looking south
| borough             = [[Bedford]], [[Borough of Bedford]]
| country             = England
| coordinates         = {{coord|52.1294|-0.4677|type:railwaystation_region:GB_scale:10000|display=inline,title}}
| grid_name           = [[Ordnance Survey National Grid|Grid reference]]
| grid_position       = {{gbmapscaled|TL049490|25|TL049490}}
| manager             = [[London Northwestern Railway]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/stations/BSJ/details.html|title=National Rail Enquiries - Station facilities for Bedford St Johns|website=www.nationalrail.co.uk}}</ref>
| platforms           = 1
| code                = BSJ
| classification      = [[United Kingdom railway station categories|DfT category]] F2
| years               = 18 November 1846
| events              = Opened as "Bedford"
| years1              = 2 June 1924
| events1             = Renamed "Bedford St Johns"
| years2              = 1 January 1968
| events2             = Closure of [[Varsity Line]]
| years3              = 15 July 1968
| events3             = Closed to freight and became unstaffed halt
| years4              = 14 May 1984
| events4             = Resited
| mpassengers =
{{Rail pass box |pass_year=2019/20 |passengers={{decrease}} 180,520}}
{{Rail pass box |pass_year=2020/21 |passengers={{decrease}} 39,046}}
{{Rail pass box |pass_year=2021/22 |passengers={{increase}} 108,408}}
{{Rail pass box |pass_year=2022/23 |passengers={{increase}} 141,586}}
{{Rail pass box |pass_year=2023/24 |passengers={{increase}} 151,452}}

| footnotes           = Passenger statistics from the [[Office of Rail and Road]]
|mapframe=yes
|mapframe-zoom = 13
}}

'''Bedford St Johns''' is one of two [[railway station]]s in [[Bedford]] in [[Bedfordshire]], England, on the [[Marston Vale Line]] linking {{rws|Bletchley}} and {{rws|Bedford}}. It is unstaffed and is operated by [[London Northwestern Railway]].

St Johns was Bedford's first station, on the [[Varsity Line]] (the original Oxford to Cambridge line). Its role was diminished following the substantial closure of that line in 1967, leaving only the section to Bletchley in operation. [[British Rail]] closed the original station on 14 May 1984 and diverted services to/from Bletchley along a new chord line to [[Bedford railway station|Bedford Midland station]], where a new bay platform was opened for this service. The current Bedford St Johns station was built (also in 1984) on this chord.

==Services==
All services at Bedford St Johns are operated by [[West Midlands Trains|London Northwestern Railway]].

The typical off-peak service is one train per hour in each direction between {{stnlnk|Bletchley}} and {{stnlnk|Bedford}} which runs on weekdays and Saturdays only using {{brc|150}} [[Diesel multiple unit|DMUs]]. There is no Sunday service.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.londonnorthwesternrailway.co.uk/media/2967/download?inline|title=Train times {{!}} Bletchley to Bedford|website=London Northwestern Railway}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url= https://www.londonnorthwesternrailway.co.uk/travel-information/journey-planning/train-timetables-and-schedules?station=Bedford%20St%20Johns&crs=BSJ|title=Train timetables and schedules {{!}} Bedford St John's|website=London Northwestern Railway}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.londonnorthwesternrailway.co.uk/travel-information/service-disruptions/marston-vale-line-limited-timetable-running-until-early-2024|title= Marston Vale Line: Limited Timetable Running Until Early 2024|website=London Northwestern Railway|date=20 November 2023}}</ref>

{{adjacent stations|noclear=y
|system1=National Rail
|line1=London Northwestern Railway|type1=Marston Vale Line|left1=Kempston Hardwick|right1=Bedford
|header2=Planned future service
|note-row2=
{{rail line|previous={{stnlnk|Stewartby}}|next={{stnlnk|Bedford}}|route=[[East West Rail]] <br/> {{smalldiv|[[East West Rail|Oxford to Cambridge]]}}|col={{temporary rail colour}} }}
}}

==Community Rail Partnership==
In common with others on the Marston Vale Line, the station is covered by the Marston Vale [[Community rail|Community Rail]] Partnership,<ref>[https://www.marstonvalecommunityrail.org.uk/ Marston Vale Community Rail Partnership]</ref> which aims to increase use of the line by involving local people.

==History==

===Opening===
The station was opened in November 1846 by the Bedford Railway as the eastern terminus of its line from Bletchley, the first line to reach the town.<ref name="subbrit">{{cite web|url=http://www.disused-stations.org.uk/b/bedford_railway/index.shtml|title=Disused Stations: Bedford Railway|website=www.disused-stations.org.uk}}</ref> The station was on the west side of the [[A600 road|A600 London Road]] ({{gbmapping|TL 052 489}}), with the main station buildings on the south side of the line facing the [[public house]]. The goods yard was further west nearer the [[River Great Ouse]] to receive river traffic. A second connecting line to the goods yard created a triangle which diverted drainage to produce a pond which supplied the station and small two-road [[locomotive shed]].{{sfn|Simpson|1981|p=74}}

===1875 accident===
[[File:Bedford No 1 Signal Box Diagram.jpg|thumb|Signalling diagram from the former Bedford No1 signal box (L&NWR)]]
A second station was opened in Bedford in 1857 on the [[Midland Railway]]'s {{rws|Leicester}} to {{rws|Hitchin}} line. The route chosen by the Midland took it across the earlier line at a point near the Bletchley end of the triangle, and a [[level crossing]] was built. In March 1875, a Midland passenger train collided with the rear coaches of a Bedford service, killing one passenger and injuring four others. The subsequent enquiry identified a badly-positioned Bedford starter signal as a major cause of the accident. To remedy the problem a 29-lever [[signal box]] was opened in 1877 to control new interlocked signals, and [[British absolute block signalling|block signalling]] was introduced throughout the Bedford line, which had been extended to [[Cambridge]].{{sfn|Simpson|1981|p=78}}

===Decline and relocation===
[[File:Bedford St Johns Station.jpg|thumb|Original station in June 1962]]
[[File:Bedford 10 67SJ456 1.jpg|thumb|An Oxford-bound train in October 1967, shortly before withdrawal of this service]]
[[File:Bedford_St_Johns_Station_(original)_2018.jpg|thumb|The site of the original station in 2018]]
Although the [[Second World War]] saw the Oxford-Cambridge line handle unprecedented levels of traffic, it suffered from a lack of investment in the post-war years. The [[1955 Modernisation Plan]] proposed improvements to the line, believing it could be a strategic cross-country route for freight across three [[British Rail]]ways regions without having to pass through London. The policy was however to change within a few years, leaving the [[Bletchley Flyover]] as a testament of the change of course. The first attempt to close the line came in 1959, but was unsuccessful in the face of local opposition. Hopes for the line thereafter rose when it did not figure in the [[Beeching Report]], but it was nevertheless proposed for closure in 1964, with the Oxford — Bletchley and Bedford — Cambridge routes closing after the last day of service on 30 December 1967.<ref name="subbrit"/>

The Bletchley - Bedford route, now known as the Marston Vale Line, survived in a downgraded form as freight facilities were withdrawn and the stations became unstaffed halts. The station, now a terminus, came under the authority of then area manager at Bedford Midland. By March 1971 the main station buildings and water tower had been demolished, leaving it as a terminus halt.{{sfn|Simpson|1981|p=148}} A third attempt to close the line in 1972 was resisted by the Bedford Rail Users' Association.{{citation needed|date=January 2017}}

In 1984, a replacement station was opened in the former freight yard, at the north end of the triangle, which enabled services to continue to Bedford Midland. The new connection runs over the route of the Midland's [[Bedford–Hitchin line|Hitchin line]], which closed in 1964.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://homepage.ntlworld.com/ms.draper/FNRM_SoE/Talks_Reports/my1302.html |archive-url=https://archive.today/20070802000041/http://homepage.ntlworld.com/ms.draper/FNRM_SoE/Talks_Reports/my1302.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=2 August 2007 |last=Crane |first=R. |title=The Oxford to Cambridge Line - Then and Now |publisher=The Friends of the National Railway Museum |date=13 May 2002 }}</ref> The old station site was abandoned, although some of the furniture, such as the lampposts, was not removed. The site has now been reclaimed by nature.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.disused-stations.org.uk/b/bedford_st_johns/index26.shtml |last=Catford |first=Nick |title=Disused Stations site record |work=Station Name: Bedford St. Johns |date=29 June 2012 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.subbrit.org.uk/sb-sites/stations/b/bedford_st_johns/index.shtml |work=Subterranea Britannica |title=Bedford St Johns |date=23 April 2007}}</ref>

{{Disused Rail Start}} 
{{rail line |previous={{rws|Kempston and Elstow Halt}} |next=[[Willington railway station (Bedfordshire)|Willington]] |route=[[British Railways]]<br /><small>[[Varsity Line]]</small> |col={{BR(LM) colour}} }}
{{s-end}}

===Future===
{{main|East West Rail}}
The [[East West Rail|East West Rail Company]] is working to reinstate the entire {{rws|Oxford}} to {{rws|Cambridge}} route. In May 2023, the company announced that its preferred route between Bedford and Cambridge will continue to use the current route via St Johns across the Midland Main Line, then north via [[Bedford railway station]] before turning east towards {{rws|Tempsford}} (rather than following the old Varsity Line alignment through the original Bedford St Johns station site).<ref name=BBC260523>{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-beds-bucks-herts-65720726 |title=East-West Rail: Route for £5bn Bedford to Cambridge link announced |work=BBC News |date=26 May 2023 |first1=Pete |last1=Cooper |first2=Ben |last2=Schofield}}</ref> The St Johns station is to be relocated a little further to the north (to Kempston Road), to permit the track to be dualled.<ref name="EWRMay2023">{{cite web|url=https://eastwestrail-production.s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/public/Route-Update-Announcement/f263d4e3c2/Route-update-report.pdf|title=East West Rail Route Update Report|publisher=East West Rail|date=May 2023|accessdate=26 May 2023|archive-date=26 May 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230526144657/https://eastwestrail-production.s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/public/Route-Update-Announcement/f263d4e3c2/Route-update-report.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref> {{as of|2024|11}}, services have now been proposed to stop additionally at Bedford St Johns and Stewartby. However, as the route is still undergoing consultation, the plans have not been fully decided. <ref>{{cite web|url=https://eastwestrail-production.s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/public/2024-con-docs-/50762a4465/EWR_2024_Con-Doc_v3.pdf|title=Connecting People, Building Communities - Consultation Document November 2024|date=November 2024|access-date=15 Nov 2024|publisher=East West Rail}}</ref>   

==References==

{{reflist}}

==Sources==
*{{cite book |last=Simpson |first=Bill |title=Oxford to Cambridge Railway |publisher=Oxford Publishing Co. |location=Poole |year=1981 |pages=74 |isbn=0-86093-121-8 }}

==External links==
{{commons category|Bedford St Johns railway station}}
{{stn art lnk|BSJ|MK429ER}}

{{Railway stations in Bedfordshire}}

[[Category:Buildings and structures in Bedford]]
[[Category:Railway stations in Bedfordshire]]
[[Category:DfT Category F2 stations]]
[[Category:Former London and North Western Railway stations]]
[[Category:Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1846]]
[[Category:Railway stations in Great Britain closed in 1984]]
[[Category:Railway stations opened by British Rail]]
[[Category:Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1984]]
[[Category:Railway stations served by West Midlands Trains]]
[[Category:Transport in Bedford]]
[[Category:1846 establishments in England]]
[[Category:East West Rail]]