Woburn Sands railway station serves the town of Woburn Sands and the village of Wavendon in the City of Milton Keynes in Buckinghamshire, England. The station is on the Marston Vale line between Bedford and Bletchley, about 4 miles (6.5 km) east of Bletchley station. The station is served by local trains to Bletchley and Bedford using Class 150 multiple units. This station is one of the seven stations serving the Milton Keynes urban area.[a]
Woburn Sands  | |||||
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 Woburn Sands in 2020, looking west showing the double track and platforms 1 & 2 | |||||
| General information | |||||
| Location | Woburn Sands, City of Milton Keynes England | ||||
| Coordinates | 52°01′05″N 0°39′14″W / 52.018°N 0.654°W | ||||
| Grid reference | SP924363 | ||||
| Managed by | London Northwestern Railway | ||||
| Platforms | 2 | ||||
| Other information | |||||
| Station code | WOB | ||||
| Classification | DfT category F2 | ||||
| Key dates | |||||
| 1846[1] | Opened | ||||
| Passengers | |||||
| 2018/19 |  51,606 | ||||
| 2019/20 |  46,704 | ||||
| 2020/21 | 7,534 | ||||
| 2021/22 | 19,718 | ||||
| 2022/23 | 24,618 | ||||
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Station building and signal box
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Woburn Sands has a black and white "cottage" station building, one of four of the same design that are unique to this line. Two of the others remain at Fenny Stratford and Milbrook. The building is in a half-timbered Gothic Revival style that had been insisted upon by the 7th Duke of Bedford for stations close to the Woburn Estate. It is Grade II listed.[2] It opened with the line in 1846;[1] between 1871 and July 1967 had a sizeable goods yard serving various local businesses (including a brick factory and gas works).[1]
In August 2004, Woburn Sands lost its Victorian signal box to the development and modernisation of the route.[1] Until 2004 the line was controlled by staffed signal boxes located at various stations; but the entire line is now controlled from one signalling centre at Ridgmont.
Services
editAll services at Woburn Sands 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 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bow Brickhill | London Northwestern Railway
|
Aspley Guise | ||
| Future Services | ||||
| Bletchley | East West Rail |
Ridgmont | ||
Community Rail Partnership
editWoburn Sands 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.
Location
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The station is on Station Road, about 0.5 miles (0.8 km) from the town centre. The nearest post-code is MK17 8UD.[8] In the chainage notation traditionally used on the railway, it is 4 miles 4 chains (4.05 mi; 6.52 km) from Bletchley station on the line to Bedford.[9]
Station Hotel
editThe Fenny Stratford Times featured the hotel in 1883. It described the hotel building as Gothic style, constructed of red bricks with Bath stone ornamentation. The lobby had a caustic tile floor with "station hotel" in the design. Off the central hall was a tap-room and a bar with adjoining snug parlour. At the end of the hall a staircase led to the first floor which had seven rooms for accommodation. At the rear was a yard, stabling and coach houses. The architect was a Mr Mercer of Bedford and the first owner, John Taylor Luttman.[10] The hotel building is now known as the Station Tavern.
Footnotes
edit- ^ The others are Aspley Guise, Wolverton, Milton Keynes Central, Bletchley, Fenny Stratford and Bow Brickhill.
References
edit- ^ a b c d "Disused Stations Site Record - Woburn Sands" Retrieved 7 September 2016
- ^ English Heritage Grade II listed building status Retrieved 2009-10-19
- ^ "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 | Woburn Sands". London Northwestern Railway.
- ^ "Marston Vale Line: Limited Timetable Running Until Early 2024". London Northwestern Railway. 20 November 2023.
- ^ Marston Vale Community Rail Partnership
- ^ Streetmap.co.uk
- ^ Engineer's Line References: Bletchley south junction to Bedford RailwayCodes.org
- ^ "Woburn Sands Station". Fenny Stratford Times. 22 February 1883. p. 4. Retrieved 13 April 2024.
External links
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- Train times and station information for Woburn Sands railway station from National Rail
- Postcard pictures of the station and level crossing in 1920 (at end of page)