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Leighton Buzzard
Location
Place	Linslade
Local authority	Central Bedfordshire
Grid reference	SP910250
Operations
Station code	LBZ
Managed by	London Midland
Number of platforms	4
Live arrivals/departures and station information from National Rail Enquiries
Annual rail passenger usage*
2004/05	1.200 million
2005/06	1.279 million
2006/07	1.385 million
2007/08	1.449 million
2008/09	1.422 million
2009/10	1.401 million
2010/11	1.515 million
History
Original company	London and North Western Railway
9 April 1838	Opened as Leighton
14 February 1859	Rebuilt 160m to the south
1 July 1911	Renamed Leighton Buzzard
6 February 1967	Goods services withdrawn
September 1989	Rebuilt
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* Annual estimated passenger usage based on sales of tickets in stated financial year(s) which end or originate at Leighton Buzzard from Office of Rail Regulation statistics. Methodology may vary year on year.
UK Railways portal

Leighton Buzzard railway station serves the Leighton Buzzard and Linslade area of Bedfordshire and nearby parts of Buckinghamshire. Actually situated in Linslade, the station is 40 miles (64 km) north west of London Euston and is served by London Midland local services from Northampton to London on the West Coast Main Line. Until the 1960s the station was the start of a branch to Dunstable and Luton, with a junction just north of the present station. There have been past proposals about reopening this route, as little of it has been lost to new construction, either for rail or as a guided busway.

Page's Park railway station, terminus for the Leighton Buzzard Railway (a narrow gauge heritage railway), is on the opposite side of the town.

Contents [hide] 1 History 2 Services 3 Other information 4 References 5 Sources 6 External links

[edit]History

The first station simply known as Leighton was opened by the London and Birmingham Railway on 9 April 1838^[1] as part of the first section of its line from London Euston to Denbigh Hall.^[2] The line had originally been planned to pass through Buckingham but opposition from the Duke of Buckingham ensured that it forced east through Linslade.^[3] A station with two-facing platforms was opened a ¼-mile south of the Linslade tunnels. These are arranged unusually for a four track main line: the southbound slow line has a tunnel to itself as does the northbound fast line, however the northbound slow and southbound fast lines share a tunnel. This stems from the fact that the line was built as double-track and when quadrupled, the two extra lines could only be placed along both sides, as single-track tunnels.^{[citation needed]}

In May 1848, the station became a junction when a branch line to Dunstable was opened.^[4] The London and North Western Railway replaced the first station in February 1859 by another more permanent structure located 8 chains (160 m) to the south.^[5] The new building had an imposing frontage featuring arched windows.^[3] Access to the Dunstable branch was controlled by Leighton No. 2 signal box situated to the north of the station, while the actual branch signals were controlled by the main line box to the south.^[6] In 1874, land was purchased to the south of the station alongside the Dunstable branch for the construction of goods sidings, which eventually became known as Wing Yard.^[7]

The LNWR was absorbed by the London, Midland and Scottish Railway in the 1923 railway grouping and, in 1927, it added a crossover between the fast and slow lines. This was to play a significant role in the derailment of Royal Scot No. 6114 "Coldstream Guardsman" at Linslade on 22 March 1931 when the driver took the crossover at 50-60 mph instead of the regulation 15 mph. There had been a diversion in place on the fast lines and the driver had missed the warning signals.^[8] The engine overturned and six people were killed including the driver and fireman.^[9] The Great Train Robbery of 1963 occurred just south of this s