Luton Bute Street railway station

Template:Short description Template:Use dmy dates Template:Use British English Template:Template other Template:Routemap Luton Bute Street railway station was the first to be built in Luton, England. It was opened by the Luton, Dunstable and Welwyn Junction Railway Company in 1858, which was an extension of the Welwyn and Hertford Railway. The track to Welwyn was completed in 1860 and taken over by the Great Northern the following year.

History

The station was valuable to Luton people not only for passengers but also for facilitating the London market for the town's trade in plaited straw goods. The station, and the line to Welwyn, closed in 1965.

Following closure to passengers in 1965, the station buildings were quickly demolished despite the line remaining open for freight until 1989–1990. The site of the station was used later as a car park for Luton railway station. Throughout the years, various local pressure groups have been supportive of reopening the station as part of a viable branch line between Dunstable and Luton. In the mid-1990s, there was a debate about reopening it, either with the operation of diesel Class 158s or electric Class 319s.

The site has since been redeveloped, as the new Luton Gateway transport interchange on the Luton to Dunstable Busway guided busway system.

Routes

Template:Disused Rail Start |- | rowspan="1" style="vertical-align: middle; text-align:center; border-left: 0px none; border-right: 1px #aaa solid; border-top: 1px #aaa solid; border-bottom:0px none;"| Chaul End
Line and station closed | style="background:#Template:GNR colour; color:inherit; border-left: 0px none; border-right: 0px none; border-top:1px #aaa solid; border-bottom:0px none;" |   | rowspan="1" style="vertical-align: middle; text-align: center; border-left: 1px #aaa solid; border-right: 1px #aaa solid; border-top:solid 1px #aaa; border-bottom:0px none;" | Great Northern Railway
Dunstable Branch Line | style="background:#Template:GNR colour; color:inherit; border-left: 0px none; border-right: 0px none; border-top:1px #aaa solid; border-bottom:0px none;" |   | rowspan="1" style="vertical-align: middle; text-align:center; border-left: 1px #aaa solid; border-right: 0px none; border-top: 1px #aaa solid; border-bottom:0px none;"|Luton Hoo
Line and station closed |}

See also

• List of closed railway stations in Britain

External links

• Station history and photos
• Luton Borough Council guided busway plans

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