Garston (Hertfordshire) railway station

This article is about the station in Hertfordshire. For the former station on Merseyside, see Garston (Merseyside) railway station.

Garston
Location
Place	Garston
Local authority	Watford
Grid reference	TQ119999
Operations
Station code	GSN
Managed by	London Midland
Number of platforms	1
DfT category	F2
Live arrivals/departures, station information and onward connections from National Rail Enquiries
Annual rail passenger usage*
2004/05	81,113
2005/06	77,654
2006/07	86,038
2007/08	93,079
2008/09	89,108
2009/10	78,916
2010/11	86,812
2011/12	92,954
2012/13	95,582
2013/14	85,532
History
Station opened	1966
National Rail – UK railway stations
* Annual estimated passenger usage based on sales of tickets in stated financial year(s) which end or originate at Garston from Office of Rail and Road statistics. Methodology may vary year on year.
UK Railways portal

Garston railway station serves the Garston area of Watford in Hertfordshire, England. It is the third station on the Abbey Line after Watford Junction and Watford North. The station and all trains serving it are operated by London Midland.

Like all the other stations on the branch, Garston is an unstaffed railway halt. At opening by British Rail in 1966 it was a welcome addition to a branch which was otherwise being heavily rationalised.

History

The station was opened by the Mayor of Watford on 7 February 1966. It consisted of just a short wooden platform, and was probably the first new station (as opposed to a relocation) in Great Britain following the Beeching Report of 1963, which led to the closure of many stations.

In 2010 the station was improved with new signage, a new shelter, new lighting & artwork by children from Berry Grove Primary School (now The Grove Academy) - a local school located at the end of Fourth Avenue.

Services

Trains operate between Watford Junction and St Albans Abbey every 40 – 45 minutes in each direction Monday to Saturday, and every hour on Sundays.

Preceding station	National Rail			Following station
Watford North		London Midland Abbey Line		Bricket Wood

Bus routes

Bus routes 319, 324 and W1 serve the station.

Future

Possible changes on the line include new means of buying tickets, and the restoration of a passing loop at Bricket Wood, which would facilitate a 30-minute train service. In October 2009 the Department for Transport announced plans to convert the line to light rail.

External links

• Train times and station information for Garston (Hertfordshire) railway station from National Rail
• Garston station at abbeyline.org.uk