Potters Bar railway station
Potters Bar railway station serves the town of Potters Bar in Hertfordshire, England. It is located on the Great Northern Route north of London Kings Cross on the East Coast Main Line.
Potters Bar station is the highest on the East Coast Main Line between London King's Cross and.
History
The first section of the Great Northern Railway - that from 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 and, was not opened until August 1850. Potter's Bar was one of the original stations, opening with the line on 7 August 1850.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.
The current station building, in a "post modern" style, is the third on this site. It replaced a 1955 structure designed by James Wyatt of the Eastern Region Architect's Department. 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. Neat brick clerestory-lit booking hall".
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.
Facilities
Potters Bar is a modern railway station spread across two floors.On the lower floor, there are four ticket machines, located in the main booking hall and near to the entrance to the car park, a photo booth, cash machine, two ticket counters and a newsagency. Access to the platforms is controlled by a series of automatic ticket gates. Access is in the form of a ramp, meaning that wheelchair users can easily access the platforms.
On the upper floor, where the platforms are located, there are canopies running most of the length of both platforms. Each island platform has a help-point. Platforms 1&2 have both male and female toilets, as well as a cafe, customer information office and a disabled access toilet. Platforms 3&4 are home to staff accommodation, including a mess room and station management office.
The station has four platforms, platforms 2 & 3 are the fast-line platforms which are used by fast line services, whilst platforms 1 & 4 are the slow-line platforms which are used by stopping services.
Services
Potter's Bar station is served by Great Northern and Thameslink services.Mondays-Fridays
- 2 trains per hour to London King's Cross, calling only at Finsbury Park
- 4 tph to Moorgate, calling at Hadley Wood, New Barnet, Oakleigh Park, New Southgate, Alexandra Palace, Finsbury Park, Drayton Park, Highbury and Islington, Essex Road and Old Street
- 4 tph to Welwyn Garden City, calling at Hatfield
- 2 tph to Cambridge, calling at Hatfield, Welwyn Garden City, Welwyn North, Knebworth, Stevenage, Hitchin, Letchworth Garden City, Baldock, Ashwell and Morden, Royston, Meldreth, Shepreth and Foxton
- 1 tph to London King's Cross, calling only at Finsbury Park.
- 2 tph all stations to Moorgate
- 2 tph to Welwyn Garden City calling at Brookmans Park, Welham Green and Hatfield
- 1 tph to Cambridge as above
Bus services
Proposed 2018 train timetable
Govia Thameslink Railway issued a timetable consultation document in September 2016, describing the proposed 2018 timetables.When this is implemented the number of peak time trains stopping at Potters Bar Station will roughly double to eight trains per hour in each direction.
The Thameslink routes will call at London St Pancras International rather than London Kings Cross and will continue through central London and on to Brighton or Sevenoaks.
| Southbound timetable | Frequency | Route |
| Thameslink Mainline Route TL7 | 2 trains per hour / every 30 minutes | Fast - direct to Finsbury Park |
| Thameslink Metro Route TL8 | 2 trains per hour / every 30 minutes | Semi-fast |
| Great Northern Metro Route GN5 | 4 trains per hour / every 15 minutes | Stopping service to Moorgate |
| Total | 8 trains per hour |
| Northbound timetable | Frequency | Route |
| Thameslink Mainline Route TL7 | 2 trains per hour / every 30 minutes | Stopping service to Cambridge |
| Thameslink Metro Route TL8 | 2 trains per hour / every 30 minutes | Semi-fast to Welwyn Garden City |
| Great Northern Metro Route GN5 | 4 trains per hour / every 15 minutes | Stopping service Welwyn Garden City |
| Total | 8 trains per hour |
Potters Bar rail crashes
Potters Bar has been the site of two major train crashes. On 10 February 1946 a three-train crash resulted in 2 fatalities and 17 people were hospitalised. The derailment of a fast train on 10 May 2002 resulted in 7 fatalities and 76 injured.Ticket office opening times and station staffing hours
Below are the current opening and staffing times for Potters Bar,.| Ticket Office Hours | - | - |
| Day | Opens | Closes |
| Monday to Friday | 06:15 | 20:10 |
| Saturday | 07:15 | 19:10 |
| Sunday | 08:15 | 19:30 |
| Station Staffing Hours | - | - |
| Day | From | Until |
| Monday to Friday | 06:00 | 20:30 |
| Saturday | 07:00 | 19:30 |
| Sunday | 08:00 | 19:50 |
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. 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.The station is due to come under Transport for London's Oystercard fare system during summer 2019.