Rickmansworth station

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


Rickmansworth
Location
Place	Rickmansworth
Local authority	Three Rivers

Operations
Station code	RIC
Managed by	London Underground
Platforms in use	2
Live departures and station information from National Rail
Transport for London
Zone	7
2004 annual usage	1.461 million †
2007 annual usage	1.869 million †
History
Key dates	Opened 1887
Transport for London List of London stations: Underground \| National Rail
† Data from Transport for London [1]
London Transport Portal

Rickmansworth is a London Underground station (also served by National Rail) in the town of Rickmansworth, in the Three Rivers district of Hertfordshire to the north-west of London. It is one of the few stations beyond Greater London served by the London Underground, and as a consequence is in Travelcard Zone 7, previously Zone A.

On the London Underground, the station is served by trains on the Amersham branch of the Metropolitan Line, where it is located between Moor Park and Chorleywood stations. There are also occasional services between Rickmansworth and Watford early in the morning.

On the National Rail network, the station is served by Chiltern Railways trains between Marylebone and Aylesbury whose next stopping points in each direction are Chorleywood and Harrow-on-the-Hill stations. However, during peak time, Chiltern trains do not stop at Rickmansworth as a result of the short platforms making it unsafe to board or alight from 5 or 6 car trains.

There are two tracks through the station, shared in both directions by London Underground and National Rail trains.

Until 1961, Rickmansworth station was the changeover point from steam to electric locomotives for Metropolitan Line trains from Aylesbury to London. The electrification was then extended north to Amersham and Chesham, leaving Aylesbury services to be served by British Rail Class 115 diesel multiple unit trains (since replaced by Chiltern Railways Class 165 and Class 168 units). Locomotive hauled trains (steam and electric) on the Metropolitan Line were then replaced by the new trains of A60 and A62 Stock.

However, Rickmansworth is still the changeover point for drivers on the Metropolitan Line. The majority of LU trains heading north to Amersham are timetabled to stop at Rickmansworth for about five minutes to change train staff. It is also the headquarters of the operational side of the northern section of the Met: It controls signals on the line from Northwood in the south to Watford/Chorleywood in the north and is one of the few locations on the Met where train drivers are based.

Many evening running Metropolitan Line trains terminate at Rickmansworth due to the various sidings around the station.

[edit] History

1 September 1887: station opened by the Metropolitan Railway, from the previous terminus at Pinner
8 July 1889: extension to Chesham opened
15 March 1899(?): Great Central Railway services began
2 November 1925: extension to Watford opened from both Rickmansworth and Moor Park; extension of electric train services as far as Rickmansworth
3 January 1960: line closed between Rickmansworth and Croxley
12 September 1960: electric train services extended from Rickmansworth to Chesham and Amersham
10 September 1961: last regular steam services withdrawn
11 May 1987: early morning services to Croxley and Watford reinstated

[edit] External links

Train times and station information for Rickmansworth station from National Rail

Preceding station	London Underground	Following station
Chorleywood towards Amersham or Chesham	Metropolitan line	Moor Park towards Baker Street or Aldgate
National Rail
Chorleywood	Chiltern Railways Aylesbury route	Harrow-on-the-Hill