List of Great Northern route stations

The Great Northern route is a suburban rail route in London and the East of England. The route consists of services on the southern end of the East Coast Main Line, which is the main railway link between the cities of London and Edinburgh, as well as its associated branches, including the Cambridge line, Fen line, Hertford Loop line, and Northern City Line.

The route is currently operated by Great Northern, which is one brand under the umbrella of Greater Thameslink Railway, having taken over from Govia Thameslink Railway in 2026. Services originating at London King's Cross operate to Peterborough, Letchworth Garden City, Cambridge, Ely, and King's Lynn, whereas services originating at Moorgate operate to Welwyn Garden City, Hertford North, Gordon Hill, and Stevenage.

Statistics

In all, there are 57 stations on the route, of which London King's Cross is Grade I listed and various parts of eight stations (Biggleswade, Cambridge, Downham Market, Huntingdon, King's Lynn, Letchworth Garden City, Moorgate, and Welwyn North) are Grade II listed. Historic England define Grades I and II as buildings of "exceptional interest" and of "special interest" respectively. The total number of stations will grow to 58 when the new station with allocated funding, at Tempsford, opens to passengers.

Of the stations on the route, Greater Thameslink Railway only share eight stations (King's Cross, Stevenage, Peterborough, Cambridge, Cambridge North, Cambridge South, Waterbeach and Ely) with other National Rail operators; this will rise to nine once Tempsford opens. Five stations are served by the London Underground (Moorgate, Old Street, Highbury & Islington, London King's Cross, and Finsbury Park), and four stations have out of station interchange capability (London King's Cross, Moorgate, Harringay, and Bowes Park). Until Greater Anglia withdrew their services to King's Lynn in May 2023, all the Fen line stations were shared between the two operators, but this is no longer the case.

Great Northern manages all except nine of their stations; one is managed by Network Rail (London King's Cross), one is managed by LNER (Peterborough), four are managed by Greater Anglia (Cambridge, Cambridge North, Cambridge South, and Ely), and three are managed by London Underground (Moorgate, Old Street, and Highbury & Islington). Once East West Rail opens, it will provide interchange with three stations on the route at Tempsford (construction approved), Cambridge South, and Cambridge.

There are also nineteen former stations on lines that remain open as part of the route, of which five were replaced by now-open stations (Chesterton, Cambridge South, Enfield, Maiden Lane, and Stevenage). Almost half of these closures came during the 1950s and 1960s, a period which included the Beeching cuts. The length of time these stations remained open varies greatly, from four days (Trumpington) to 122 years (Stevenage). Various proposals for the reopening of other closed stations exist, but none are promoted by the Campaign for Better Transport.

Stations

+Great Northern route stations that are currently openStationStation buildingListingLine(s)Number of platformsOpenedLocal authorityAnnual usage (thousands)Managed byEast Coast Main Line4 (facing 6 tracks)1 May 1859London Borough of Haringey1,890Great NorthernEast Coast Main Line2 (facing 4 tracks)7 August 1850Central Bedfordshire688Great NorthernCambridge line221 October 1850South Cambridgeshire173Great NorthernCambridge line221 October 1850North Hertfordshire569Great NorthernHertford Loop line22 June 1924East Hertfordshire78.9Great NorthernIIEast Coast Main Line47 August 1850Central Bedfordshire895Great Northern 21 November 1880London Borough of Haringey525Great NorthernEast Coast Main Line419 July 1926Welwyn Hatfield275Great NorthernII830 July 1845Cambridge11,200Greater Anglia321 May 2017Cambridge1,460Greater Anglia428 June 2026Cambridge—Greater AngliaHertford Loop line24 April 1910London Borough of Enfield119Great NorthernHertford Loop line24 April 1910Welwyn Hatfield663Great NorthernII227 October 1846King's Lynn and West Norfolk441Great NorthernNorthern City Line214 February 1904London Borough of Islington729Great Northern3 (facing 4 tracks)30 July 1845East Cambridgeshire2,730Greater AngliaHertford Loop line24 April 1910London Borough of Enfield1,170Great NorthernNorthern City Line214 February 1904London Borough of Islington698Great Northern 8 (facing 6 tracks)1 July 1861London Borough of Islington13,400Great NorthernCambridge line224 February 1858South Cambridgeshire99.0Great NorthernHertford Loop line34 April 1910London Borough of Enfield1,150Great NorthernHertford Loop line24 April 1910London Borough of Enfield493Great NorthernEast Coast Main Line41 May 1885London Borough of Enfield362Great Northern East Coast Main Line Suffragette line (LO)2 (facing 6 tracks)1 May 1885London Borough of Haringey1,140Great NorthernEast Coast Main Line3 (facing 4 tracks)7 August 1850Welwyn Hatfield2,460Great NorthernHertford Loop line31 March 1858East Hertfordshire1,030Great Northern 2 National Rail platforms (numbered 4 and 6)26 September 1850London Borough of Islington27,200London Underground2 (facing 4 tracks)7 August 1850North Hertfordshire3,110Great NorthernEast Coast Main Line2 (facing 6 tracks)7 August 1850London Borough of Haringey1,660Great NorthernIIEast Coast Main Line3 (facing 5 tracks)7 August 1850Huntingdonshire1,570Great NorthernII2 (facing 4 tracks)28 August 1871King's Lynn and West Norfolk854Great NorthernEast Coast Main Line41 February 1884North Hertfordshire437Great NorthernIICambridge line218 May 1913North Hertfordshire1,780Great Northern225 October 1847East Cambridgeshire252Great Northern IFrom London King's Cross railway station: East Coast Main Line From King's Cross St Pancras tube station (OSI):

From St Pancras railway station (OSI):

From Euston railway station (OSI):11 National Rail platforms (numbered 0–10)14 October 1854London Borough of Camden29,300Network RailCambridge line23 August 1852South Cambridgeshire246Great Northern IIFrom Moorgate station:

From Liverpool Street station (OSI):2 National Rail platforms (numbered 9 and 10)23 September 1866City of London9,170London UndergroundEast Coast Main Line47 August 1850London Borough of Barnet1,270Great NorthernEast Coast Main Line47 August 1850London Borough of Enfield920Great NorthernEast Coast Main Line41 December 1873London Borough of Barnet924Great Northern 2 National Rail platforms (numbered 3 and 4)17 November 1901London Borough of Islington6,080London UndergroundHertford Loop line21 April 1871London Borough of Enfield1,560Great Northern7 (facing 9 tracks)7 August 1850City of Peterborough6,260London North Eastern RailwayEast Coast Main Line47 August 1850Hertsmere2,540Great NorthernCambridge line221 October 1850North Hertfordshire1,330Great NorthernEast Coast Main Line2 (facing 4 tracks)7 August 1850Central Bedfordshire679Great NorthernCambridge line23 August 1851South Cambridgeshire110Great Northern523 July 1973Stevenage5,870Great NorthernEast Coast Main Line47 August 1850Huntingdonshire1,080Great Northern330 July 1845South Cambridgeshire372Great Northern227 October 1846King's Lynn and West Norfolk134Great NorthernHertford Loop line218 October 1869East Hertfordshire168Great NorthernEast Coast Main Line429 September 1986Welwyn Hatfield253Great NorthernEast Coast Main Line4 (facing 6 tracks)20 September 1926Welwyn Hatfield2,520Great NorthernIIEast Coast Main Line27 August 1850Welwyn Hatfield387Great NorthernHertford Loop line21 April 1871London Borough of Enfield1,410Great Northern

Future stations There is one station that has been confirmed to have funding allocated to it, Tempsford, which was guaranteed in January 2025 to serve both the East Coast Main Line and East West Rail by Rachel Reeves, the Chancellor of the Exchequer. Interest by local and campaign groups in opening new stations and reopening old stations is common; examples include in Harston and Offord. However, the Campaign for Better Transport does not include any projects related to the Great Northern route in its suggestions.

+Future Great Northern route stationsStationStation buildingNumber of platformsLine(s)Local authorityExpected openingUnknownEast Coast Main Line East West Rail (later)Central BedfordshireUnknown; five years before EWR to Cambridge.

Former stations There are nineteen stations on the route which have been closed to passengers, even though the line that they were once on remains open today. Of these, three were closed at the same time a replacement opened (Enfield, Maiden Lane, Stevenage) and two were replaced at a later date (Chesterton and Trumpington). One station, Tempsford, has funding to be replaced in the future.

Trumpington station was the shortest-lived station on the route, closing permanently on 8 July 1922 only four days after it originally opened. Stevenage was the longest-lasting at 122 years and 11 months, but if excluding stations that have since been replaced, the longest-lasting is Harston at 111 years and 2 months. Eight of the former stations were closed during the 1950s and 1960s (at the height of the British Rail Modernisation Plan and Beeching cuts).

+Closed Great Northern route stationsStationPhotographLine(s)OpenedClosedTenureReplaced byLocal authorityEast Coast Main Line—HuntingdonshireFen line Cambridge and St Ives branch lineCambridge North (166 years later)CambridgeFen line—King's Lynn and West NorfolkHertford Loop lineEnfield Chase (immediately)London Borough of EnfieldCambridge line—South CambridgeshireFen line—King's Lynn and West NorfolkEast Coast Main Line—London Borough of IslingtonFen lineAt least —King's Lynn and West NorfolkEast Coast Main Line—HuntingdonshireEast Coast Main LineLondon King's Cross (immediately)London Borough of CamdenEast Coast Main Line—HuntingdonshireFen line—King's Lynn and West NorfolkEast Coast Main Line Hertford Loop lineStevenage (immediately)StevenageFen line—King's Lynn and West NorfolkFen line—King's Lynn and West NorfolkEast Coast Main Line—Central BedfordshireEast Coast Main Line—North HertfordshireCambridge line West Anglia Main Line4 daysCambridge South (104 years later)CambridgeEast Coast Main Line—Huntingdonshire

Notes

References