Syston railway station

52°41′39.00″N 01°4′57.00″W / 52.6941667°N 1.0825000°W / 52.6941667; -1.0825000

Syston
National Rail
Station platform, looking north. The fast lines are on the left; the slow line is on the right. The line to Peterborough branches off to the right in the background.
General information
LocationSyston, Borough of Charnwood
England
Grid referenceSK621111
Managed byEast Midlands Railway
Platforms1
Tracks3
Other information
Station codeSYS
ClassificationDfT category F1
Key dates
5 May 1840Opened
4 March 1968Closed
27 May 1994Reopened
Passengers
2018/19Increase 0.225 million
2019/20Increase 0.232 million
2020/21Decrease 50,490
2021/22Increase 0.109 million
2022/23Increase 0.149 million
Notes
Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road

Syston railway station (/ˈsstən/ SY-stən) is a railway station serving the town of Syston in Leicestershire, England. The station is on the Midland Main Line from Leicester to Loughborough, 103 miles 63 chains (167.0 km) down the line from London St Pancras.

Early history

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The station was opened on 5 May 1840 as a minor intermediate station on the Midland Counties Railway line from Leicester to Nottingham and Derby.[1] Shortly afterwards, the Midland Counties merged with the North Midland Railway and the Birmingham and Derby Junction Railway to form the Midland Railway.

Syston became a junction station on 1 September 1846 with the opening of the Syston and Peterborough Railway to Melton Mowbray, which was extended in 1848 to Peterborough.[2] The north to east curve was opened in 1854.

A replacement station was opened in 1874 when the Midland Main Line was increased from two to four tracks.[3]

Closure

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The station closed on 4 March 1968.[4] The station building, having been hidden by fencing for many years, was later dismantled and rebuilt at Midland Railway - Butterley with the help of David Wilson Homes, who erected a housing estate over the old station land in 2006.

Reopening

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The station reopened on 27 May 1994 as part of phase one of the Ivanhoe Line.

Express trains do not stop at Syston, as the single platform is on the bidirectional "slow" line, adjacent to the main line. Trains on the line to and from Peterborough do not call at the station either, although it is possible for them to do so.

Network Rail adopted a Route Utilisation Strategy for freight in 2007[5] which will create a new cross country freight route from Peterborough (East Coast Main Line) to Nuneaton (West Coast Main Line). One of the next stages (around 2013) will create additional lines through Leicester during a re-signalling scheme, during this time Syston station will be rebuilt.[6]

Facilities

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The station is unstaffed and facilities are limited although there is a self-service ticket machine for ticket purchases and a shelter on the platform.[7]

There is a small car park as well as bicycle storage available at the station. Step-free access is available to the platform at the station.

Services

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All services at Syston are operated by East Midlands Railway using Class 158 and 170 DMUs.

The typical off-peak service in trains per hour is:[8][9]

Fast trains on the Midland Main Line pass by the station but do not stop.

The station is closed on Sundays.

Preceding station   National Rail Following station
East Midlands Railway
Ivanhoe Line
Monday-Saturday only
  Historical railways  
Line open, station closed
Midland Railway
Line and station open
Midland Railway
Line open, station closed

References

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  1. ^ Higginson, M, (1989) The Midland Counties Railway: A Pictorial Survey, Derby: Midland Railway Trust.
  2. ^ Radford, B., (1983) Midland Line Memories: a Pictorial History of the Midland Railway Main Line Between London (St Pancras) & Derby London: Bloomsbury Books
  3. ^ British Railways Pre-Grouping Atlas and Gazetteer.
  4. ^ Passengers No More by G.Daniels and L.Dench
  5. ^ "Route Utilisation Strategy > Freight". Archived from the original on 15 December 2007. Retrieved 19 January 2021.
  6. ^ "East Midlands". Network Rail. Retrieved 29 August 2008.
  7. ^ "Syston station information". East Midlands Railway. Archived from the original on 1 December 2020. Retrieved 11 February 2021.
  8. ^ Table 53 National Rail timetable, May 2020
  9. ^ "May 2021 Timetable Changes - Syston". East Midlands Railway. Archived from the original on 19 May 2021. Retrieved 17 May 2021.
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