Stamford railway station

Stamford
General information
Location	Stamford, South Kesteven England
Coordinates	52°38′53″N 0°28′47″W / 52.6480°N 0.4798°W / 52.6480; -0.4798
Grid reference	TF029066
Managed by	East Midlands Railway
Platforms	2
Other information
Station code	SMD
Classification	DfT category E
History
Original company	Midland Railway
Pre-grouping	Midland Railway
Post-grouping	London, Midland and Scottish Railway
Key dates
1 May 1848 (1848-05-01)	Opened as Stamford
29 September 1950	Renamed Stamford Town
18 April 1966	Renamed Stamford
Passengers
2018/19	0.385 million
2019/20	0.367 million
2020/21	49,894
2021/22	0.227 million
2022/23	0.248 million
Notes Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road

Stamford railway station serves the town of Stamford in Lincolnshire, England, and is located in St Martin's. The station is 12.5 miles (20 km) west of Peterborough. It was opened by the Syston and Peterborough Railway, part of the present day Birmingham to Peterborough Line. CrossCountry operate the majority of services as part of their Birmingham to Stansted Airport route. It is owned by Network Rail and managed by East Midlands Railway

The station was formerly known as Stamford Town to distinguish it from the now closed Stamford East station in Water Street. It is often printed on timetables and train tickets as Stamford (Lincs) to distinguish it from either Stamford Hill station in London or Stanford-le-Hope station in Essex.

The station building is a fine stone structure in Mock Tudor style, influenced by the nearby Burghley House, and designed by Sancton Wood.^[1] It was upgraded to Grade II* listed building status in March 2020.^[2]

v t e Railway lines in Stamford
Legend
to Corby to Grantham (ECML) to Market Harborough / Leicester to Melton Mowbray Rockingham Saxby • Great Ponton Gretton Whissendine • Edmondthorpe & Wymondham Harringworth Corby (Glen) Ashwell • Rutland Railway Museum Uppingham Cottesmore Wharf Seaton Oakham • South Witham Welland Viaduct Manton to Sleaford Morcott to Spalding to Thrapston Bridge Street Luffenham • Bourne Wakerley & Barrowden Castle Bytham Barnwell • Ketton & Collyweston Edenham King's Cliffe Hanson Cement Oundle Little Bytham • Thurlby Nassington Stamford (Town) Elton Stamford East • Braceborough Spa Essendine Yarwell Junction Ryhall & Belmesthorpe Tallington Barnack Uffington & Barnack Ufford Bridge Wansford Road Helpston Wansford to Spalding Peakirk • St James Deeping Castor Walton Nene Valley Railway Eye Green (for Crowland) • to Wisbech (North) Ferry Meadows New England sidings Orton Mere Peterborough (North) Railworld Peterborough Nene Valley Peterborough East • Whittlesea to March Fletton Yaxley & Farcet to Ramsey (North) Holme to Huntingdon (ECML)

Opened by the Midland Railway on its Syston and Peterborough Railway, train services began on 2 October 1846 on the Peterborough to Stamford section, using a temporary station in Water Street, as the tunnel was not complete. The contract for the erection of the permanent station was obtained by Groocock and Yates of Leicester in 1847.^[3] The permanent station opened along with through services to Leicester on 20 March 1848.

The London and North Western Railway opened their single track branch line from Rugby via Market Harborough on 2 June 1851. This actually joined the Midland line at Luffenham, but trains generally worked through to Stamford and terminated in the LNWR bay, platform 3, the far side of the current Leicester platform, which is now disused and filled in.

In 1863, the weekday train service comprised 5 each way per day on the Peterborough - Stamford - Leicester route, 3 each way per day on the Stamford - Market Harborough - Rugby route, and 1 each way per day on the Stamford - Market Harborough - Northampton route, including through coaches to London Euston, then known as Euston Square.^[4]

The LNWR Rugby line was double tracked in 1878, but in 1879 the LNWR built a new line from Seaton to Wansford on their existing Peterborough to Northampton Nene valley line, and from this time, Rugby to Peterborough was operated as the main line and the Stamford to Seaton section became a branch line, and was singled again in 1907.^[5]

v t e Stamford Town in 1922
Legend
Through Services
Leicester London Road Humberstone Road Syston Rearsby Brooksby Frisby Asfordby to Nottingham Great Northern and London & North Western Joint Railway Melton Mowbray Saxby to Midland and Great Northern Joint Railway Whissendine Ashwell Oakham Manton to Market Harborough Seaton to Uppingham to Kettering Morcott to Wansford Luffenham Ketton and Collyweston Stamford Town Stamford East to Essendine to Wansford Uffington and Barnack Helpston Walton GNR main line Peterborough North to Wansford Peterborough East GNR main line to March

When Stamford East station closed in 1957, the Stamford to Essendine services were diverted to Town station, but these services ceased in 1959. Some minor stations on the Midland line closed in the 1950s and 1960s and the remaining village stations such as Helpston and Ketton & Collyweston closed in 1966, along with the Seaton branch line from Luffenham.

With the end of steam traction, the service in the 1970s and early 1980s generally comprised a stopping service formed of 2-car DMUs running between Peterborough and Leicester every two hours, supplemented by a two or three times a day Peterborough to Stamford shuttle service. There was also a four or five times daily through Birmingham to Norwich service usually formed by a Class 31 with four or five Mark 1 coaches, these services generally ran non-stop between Peterborough and Leicester.

General goods services in Stamford finished in the late 1960s but the coal yard remained in use until 16 May 1983.

When the coal yard closed, the opportunity was also taken to close the signal box. All pointwork was removed and mechanical signals were replaced by colour lights controlled by Ketton signal box. Ketton signal box was retained due to the need to monitor the level crossing. With no crossover, the Peterborough to Stamford shuttles were for a time reversed at Ketton, before being withdrawn altogether.

With the line to the bay platform lifted, the bay was filled in to form a flowerbed.

In the late 1990s, the toilets were closed, having been the subject of vandalism and variously available since the 1960s. The ticket office is only open in the mornings. The small bicycle rack outside the station was removed.

This section needs to be updated. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information. (November 2023)

Central Trains undertook internal modifications and refurbishment to the ticket office and booking hall towards the end of their franchise. Network Rail also invested £500,000 on refurbishment of the station building, modern lighting, overbridge and foot crossing to further update the station in late 2007.^[6]

In late July 2008, Network Rail was granted listed building consent to make alterations to the then Grade II listed station building to enable larger freight trains of W10 loading gauge to travel on the Peterborough to Nuneaton route. This will involve changes to the platform alignment and the platform canopy and a temporary platform will be provided during the works.^[7]

It was planned that both platforms would be extended by up to five metres by no later than 2012.^[8]

Timetable for February 1863

The table below shows the train departures from Stamford Town on weekdays in February 1863.^[9]

Timetable for July 1922

The table below shows the train departures from Stamford Town on weekdays in July 1922.^[10]

In 1853, the station master Thomas Liddell had travelled to Barrowden, intending to return by train but on arriving at Luffenham, he discovered it was too late for the train home. When he got to Ketton, he persuaded a porter to get out a truck, which he proposed to ride home in, thinking that the line from Ketton to Stamford was on a descent, he would be able to travel the 3 miles without propulsion. After initial success, the truck stopped at the bridge approaching Easton-wood and he could not get it moving again on his own. After assistance from the gatekeeper, he managed to reach Stamford. The incident reached the directors of the Midland Railway and an officer arrived and took him into custody.^[11]

From 1908, it was agreed that the station be run as a joint station with the Midland Railway, with only one stationmaster.^[20]

v t e Birmingham to Stansted Airport service
Legend
Birmingham New Street Water Orton to Derby Coleshill Parkway West Coast Main Line Nuneaton West Coast Main Line Hinckley Narborough South Wigston Midland Main Line Leicester Syston Midland Main Line Melton Mowbray Oakham to St Pancras Stamford East Coast Main Line Peterborough Nene Valley Railway East Coast Main Line Whittlesea March Manea to Kings Lynn to Norwich Ely to Ipswich Waterbeach to Ipswich Cambridge to King's Cross Shelford Whittlesford Great Chesterford Audley End to Liverpool Street Stansted Airport

From Stamford, CrossCountry operates a generally hourly service in each direction:^[21]

• Westbound towards Birmingham New Street, via Oakham, Melton Mowbray, Leicester, Narborough, Hinckley, Nuneaton and Coleshill.
• Eastbound towards Stansted Airport, via Peterborough, March, Ely , Cambridge and Audley End.

Despite managing the station, East Midlands Railway only operates three daily services to the station, mainly for train crew route knowledge purposes; there are two early morning services to Norwich and a late night service to Nottingham.^[22]

Preceding station		National Rail		Following station
Oakham		CrossCountry Birmingham-Stansted Airport		Peterborough
Oakham Limited Service		East Midlands Railway Nottingham-Norwich (via Loughborough) Limited Service

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Stamford railway station.

• Train times and station information for Stamford railway station from National Rail
• Brief history of Stamford railways