Derby (, also known as Derby Midland) is a main line railway station serving the city of Derby, in Derbyshire, England. It lies north of on the Midland Main Line. Owned by Network Rail and managed by East Midlands Railway, the station is also served by CrossCountry services. It is the busiest station in Derbyshire and the third busiest station in the East Midlands. It is situated to the south-east of Derby city centre, close to the west bank of the River Derwent.

Overview

The decision by the Midland Railway to have its headquarters in Derby made the town a busy node of the rail network. First opened in 1839, it was at the time one of the largest stations in the country and was unusual for being shared by more than one company. Until its closure in 1990, Derby Railway Works, consisting of major carriage and locomotive workshops, as well as the Research Division in the Railway Technical Centre were housed there.

The station is an interchange point between the Midland Main Line from to , and long-distance services on the Cross Country Route from through to or .

Local services from to , along the Derwent Valley line, serve the station, as well as local and semi-fast services to , , Birmingham New Street and .

Derby station has six platforms in regular use, connected by a footbridge which is used as an exit to Pride Park and a car park.

In 2018, the station was remodelled and resignalled as part of a major upgrade programme. A bay platform was removed and a new island built on the site of the former goods lines and carriage sidings. At the same time, the remaining platforms were straightened. The updated design has separated the London and Birmingham lines allowing more movements to pass through the station and has increased line speed through all the platforms. There is a service platform (numbered 7), which was used for passenger services during the initial phase of the project, but is not in regular service.

History

Early East Midlands railway schemes

After the building of the Stockton and Darlington Railway in 1825, a number of ambitious projects for long-distance lines between cities had been mooted. Among these was a line between London and Edinburgh, for both goods and passengers, via Bedford and Leeds, passing in between Carlisle and Newcastle.

Meanwhile, a number of short lines were built for specific purposes. Among these were the Mansfield and Pinxton and the Leicester and Swannington. The Mansfield and Pinxton was a feeder for a canal and was a wagonway, but these short lines were pivotal in later events. Possibly the longest was the Cromford and High Peak Railway, opened in 1833, to connect the Cromford Canal with the Peak Forest Canal. It attracted interest because it provided access to Manchester through the Peak District of Derbyshire, even today an obstacle to transport.

In the 1830s, lines were already in progress between Bristol and London and from each to Birmingham and thence to Liverpool and Manchester, and their promoters were looking ahead. Three schemes came to the fore for the East Midlands. The Midland Grand Junction Railway would connect Birmingham with Sheffield and Derby, with a branch to Nottingham and another branch from Sheffield to Manchester. There would also be a line to the East Coast at Goole. In 1824, the London Northern Railway Company was formed to link Birmingham, Derby, Nottingham, Hull and Manchester with London. Two options were proposed. One would branch at Loughborough, with branches for Nottingham and Derby, and proceeding to Manchester by the Cromford and High Peak Railway. The other option would pass through Northampton, with a branch to Birmingham, go on to Derby, with a branch to Nottingham, and thence to the Cromford and High Peak. The Grand Midland Railway was a proposal to branch from the London to Birmingham railway, already under consideration, at Northampton, and bring it through Leicester, Loughborough and Derby to the Cromford and High Peak.

Towards the end of the 1820s, the economic climate of the country had deteriorated and many investors were waiting to see how the new Liverpool and Manchester Railway would succeed. What investment that was forthcoming was for ventures with a reasonable expectation of a good, and rapid, return. Although the surveys were useful in the planning of later lines, the three lines were never built.

Derby investors, naturally, favoured the scheme by the Midland Grand Junction to connect through Derby (at what was to be called the Grand Central Station) to the Cromford and High Peak Railway and thence to Manchester, since the London Northern would pass through Sandiacre some ten miles away. In the event neither line was built; the Cromford and High Peak Railway was not ideally suited to passenger working, and an alternative via Bakewell and Chapel-en-le-Frith would encounter very difficult terrain. (Manchester was not, in fact, reached until later in the century by the Manchester, Buxton, Matlock and Midland Junction Railway and its extensions.)

Three railways

The Midland Counties Railway was originally proposed to connect the Mansfield and Pinxton Railway to Leicester to supply coal. However, supplies provided by the canal network and the River Trent to Nottingham, meant that few people were willing to invest.

Provision of coal supplies to Derby were via the Derby Canal but this had not been a resounding success. People in Derby were supportive of any scheme which would bring a railway to the town.

George Hudson encouraged the building of North Midland Railway, later becoming its chairman. Meanwhile, financiers in Birmingham, including G. C. Glyn, a banker and chairman of the London and Birmingham Railway, were looking to expand their system. The Birmingham and Derby Junction Railway would give it a link from Yorkshire to London, with access to the coalfields.

The promoters of the Midland Counties Railway suggested a line linking Nottingham, Derby and Leicester, with an extension to Rugby for London. Their original plan in 1833 had been to bring their line to Derby at Darby's Yard and Exeter Gardens, at the east side of the present Market Place, with a bridge over the Derwent. Following Vignoles's reassessment in 1835 a new route was proposed, either north or south of the Derby Canal to a terminus near St. Mary's Bridge with a branch to Full Street near to John Lombe's Silk Mill. Both options would cross the North Midland lines north of the latter's station.

The North Midland planned to build their station near Nottingham Road, avoiding a river bridge, while the Birmingham and Derby planned to build theirs nearby. They realised the value of a link with the North Midland, and decided to bridge the river and share its station. In 1836 the town council suggested a single station for all three companies and the Midland Counties agreed.

One site considered was an island bounded by the River Derwent and the canal, called The Holmes, now Bass's Recreation Ground. The space was restricted and susceptible to flooding, and the trackwork would be complicated. The selected site was further south on the west bank, Borough's Fields, in Litchurch, at the southern side of the Castlefields estate. It was a mile from the town, but the council built a carriageway to the town centre, along Siddals Lane (now Siddals Road). The station was built by the North Midland, with the other two companies renting spaces. The whole arrangement was confirmed by the North Midland Railway Act 1839.

The Tri Junct Station

thumb|Derby Station <br />North Midland Railway

Although some sources refer to it as the 'Tripartite Station'. it became known as the 'Tri Junct Station', It was long, with one through platform plus a north and a south bay; the main platform and bays were connected to seven stabling roads by a series of carriage turntables (rolling-stock was moved around the station by hand). These platform and stabling roads were all beneath a three-bay train shed.

Whishaw described it thus:

thumb|right|Sketch diagram showing platform arrangement when first opened

The platform was in three parts with the centre section built forward as in the diagram, which allowed trains some freedom of movement. With one platform for passengers to board and alight, it was not necessary for them to cross running lines when changing trains. The station offices were also partitioned into three sections, each line having its own facilities.

Fronting this was a magnificent two-storey stone building designed by Francis Thompson. The North Midland also built a cluster of workers' houses of which the present Midland Terrace, Railway Terrace and Calvert Street remain preserved as a conservation area. These are thought to be the oldest railway workers' houses in the world, these were saved from demolition in the 1970s by local architect Derek Latham and was one of the early projects completed by the Derbyshire Historic Building Trust.

At each end was a hotel. The Midland Hotel, for first class passengers, is said to be the first provincial railway hotel following on after that at Euston in London. The first train to Birmingham departed on 12 August in the same year, from another temporary platform further south. The Tri Junct Station finally opened when the North Midland line was completed to Rotherham Masborough on 11 May 1840, reaching Leeds seven weeks later. The station's official name was Derby Station.

Midland Railway

thumb|left|The Midland Railway's [[coat of arms at the station's entrance]]

thumb|The Victorian frontage to the station by Charles Trubshaw

In 1844, all three railways amalgamated to become the Midland Railway, with headquarters at Derby station. Joseph Paxton, a director of the railway, produced his first sketch for the Crystal Palace during a board meeting there.

In 1858, the station was extended with extra offices, improved facilities and a porte-cochère for carriages, designed by John Holloway Saunders, the Midland Railway architect. An island platform, the present 2 and 3, was added which was accessed via a level crossing from platform 1.

thumb|left|From the Illustrated London News 30 May 1891

In 1881, platforms 4 to 6 (with 5 being a bay to the south) were added, being long and wide. The level crossing which gave access from platforms 1 to 2 was removed and access provided by a new footbridge wide with staircases down to each platform. Platforms 2 and 3 were lengthened by about and new waiting rooms and refreshment rooms were provided, designed by the company architect John Holloway Sanders. A subway was installed to allow better transfer of luggage between platforms with hydraulic lifts to raise and lower luggage. The turntables were removed and replaced by scissors crossovers, the whole complex controlled by a signal box on the centre platform. (). The station signal box was also rebuilt, described by the staff as 'a cupboard under the stairs'. In 1954, part of the roof was replaced by concrete awnings.

From 6 May 1968, the station was renamed Derby on timetables and platforms, though the full name of Derby Midland was retained on the station's main sign.

Post-privatisation

Upon the privatisation of British Rail, the station became owned by Railtrack and later Network Rail. Day-to-day operation was initially with Midland Mainline, which refurbished it with the installation of a large electronic departure board in the station entrance hall and smaller boards on all platforms. The station is now managed by East Midlands Railway.

thumb|The station's departures board

In 2005, the footbridge connecting the platforms, which had been temporarily supported for at least 30 years, was replaced. Whilst doing this, engineers discovered that there were stresses in the concrete of the 1950s canopy. Work to demolish the canopies and erect new ones began in mid-2007 and was completed in October 2009.

A £15m signalling centre, the Derby Rail Operating Centre, (formerly known as East Midlands Control Centre), was opened immediately south of the station on 3 April 2008. This replaced the 1960s-era panel boxes here and at Trent Junction (near Nottingham), plus the 1986 one at Leicester and various small manual & panel boxes elsewhere in the area. When fully complete, it will be one of 12 and supervise over 350 route miles of railway.

Footbridge

On 14 February 2001, Derby City Council, Midland Mainline and Railtrack agreed a £1,736,000-scheme to connect Derby Midland station to the Pride Park development. Derby City Council provided £270,000 to extend the station footbridge to reach Pride Park and the car park. Railtrack and Midland Main Line entered into a Covenant With Regard to the Footbridge, that the non-travelling public are free to cross during station hours

On 3 April 2009, East Midlands Trains sought an amendment from Derby City Council to install gates to "reduce unauthorised use of trains and improve security". The barriers must be left open if they are not staffed at both ends,

Pass scheme

Before the start of barrier introduction, posters and a roadshow were held, introducing a pass scheme for footbridge users. Derby City Council may audit withdrawn passes.

Station Masters

  • George Henry Rickman 1839 – 1866
  • James Maxey 1866 – 1897 (formerly station master at Market Harbrough)
  • John Mitchell 1897 – 1901
  • George Cook 1901 – 1914 (formerly station master at Burton upon Trent)
  • John Lewis Shannon 1914 – 1924
  • John W. Palmer 1924 – 1933 (formerly station master at Rotherham)
  • Alfred Marston 1933 – 1939
  • Sydney Hurst 1939 – 1943
  • V. L. Ward 1943 – 1947 (formerly station master at Wellingborough, afterwards station master at St Pancras)
  • Frank J. Mayall 1947 – 1948 (formerly station master at Burton)
  • J. L. Hadfield 1948 – 1952 (formerly station master at Normanton)
  • George William Morrison 1952 – 1955 (formerly station master at Blackburn, afterwards station master at London St Pancras)
  • Fred Wynne 1955 (formerly station master at Willesden)

Facilities

Derby station has lifts providing step-free access to all platforms from both ends of the station. Platform 1 is accessible directly from the main ticket hall; alternatively, there is also a subway tunnel running from platform 1 to the platform 4/5 island. There are public toilets on all platforms, but does not currently have a "changing places toilet" with space and special facilities for those who need them.

The ticket office is open from 06:00 to 21:00 each day. Ticket machines are available along the outside wall and by the barriers.

  • 2 tph to
  • 2 tph to
  • 1 tph to , via
  • 1 tph to
  • 1 tph to (semi-fast); of which:
  • 1 tp2h continues to
  • 1 tph to Lincoln, via (stopping service).

CrossCountry

  • 1 tph to , with occasional extensions to , or
  • 1 tp2h to , via
  • 1 tph to , via , with occasional extensions to
  • 1 tp2h to
  • 2 tph to Nottingham
  • 2 tph to ; of which:
  • 1 tph continues to and .

References

Citations

Sources

Further reading

  • Derby Train Station Information
  • Further info on the station
  • Science and Society: Trackside view of original station
  • Science and Society: 'Derby railway station and Midland Hotel', 1840
  • "Geograph British Isles" Derby station as it is now
  • Derby Midland signalling 1839–2006
  • Falco completes work at Derby station