Amersham station
Encyclopedia
Amersham station is a London Underground
and National Rail
station in the town of Amersham
, in the Chiltern
district of Buckinghamshire
, England
.
Amersham station is a terminus
of the London Underground's Metropolitan Line
. It is situated 23.7 miles (38.1 km) north west of Charing Cross
, making it the farthest Underground station from central London and the second most westerly station on the whole London Underground system, after . As a consequence, it is in Travelcard Zone 9 (previously zone D).
Amersham station is also served by Chiltern Railways
, which runs trains between London Marylebone
and Aylesbury
. From Aylesbury a shuttle service to Princes Risborough
provides access to through services between Marylebone and Birmingham Snow Hill
. The journey times to Central London
range between 33 and 60 minutes. Ticket barriers are in operation at this station.
In 2009, because of financial constraints, Transport for London
(TfL) decided to stop work on a project to provide step-free access at Amersham and five other stations, on the grounds that these are relatively quiet stations and some are already one or two stops away from an existing step-free station. The next station towards London, Chalfont & Latimer
, and Chesham station, around two miles north, both have step-free access.
It is a popular starting station for those participating in the Tube Challenge
.
(MetR) extension from Chalfont Road (now Chalfont & Latimer) to Aylesbury. On 12 March 1922, its name was changed to "Amersham & Chesham Bois", but the original name was restored during 1937. It is located on Station Approach, Amersham.
From 1899, the Great Central Railway
served the station through its extension
to Marylebone. Consequently, the station became joint MetR/GCR owned. On 1 January 1923, the GCR became part of the London and North Eastern Railway
(LNER) as part of the Railways Act 1921
, and on 1 July 1933, the MetR became part of the London Passenger Transport Board
(LPTB), thus becoming the Metropolitan Line of the London Underground. Finally, on 1 January 1948, the LNER was nationalised, its share of the station initially coming under the control of the Eastern Region of British Railways
, before being transferred to the London Midland Region
in 1958.
In 1959/60, the tracks from Rickmansworth
to Amersham were electrified
, partially fulfilling plans first proposed some thirty years earlier. The rolling stock ordered by London Underground as part of this project, the A60 stock, is named after Amersham.
When the sectorisation
of British Rail took place in 1982, services to Aylesbury on what had by now become the London to Aylesbury Line
came under the operation of Network SouthEast
. Following the privatisation of British Rail
in the mid-1990s, these services have been provided by Chiltern Railways.
From December 2010, off-peak Metropolitan line services to and from Amersham were reduced to two per hour, simultaneously with a corresponding increase in through services on the Chesham branch
. This is a return to the historically normal frequency of two Metropolitan trains per hour from the four Metropolitan trains per hour service that had been operating for the previous five years. When the Chiltern Railways services are included, Amersham still has four trains an hour to London in total, with extra trains from both operators in the peak. The new timetable on the Metropolitan line means that services are divided 50:50 between Amersham and Chesham. This is expected to divide park-and-ride or kiss-and-ride motorist users more evenly between the two stations and help spread the load on local roads, though the original reason for making the change was dictated by purely operating considerations.
London Underground
The London Underground is a rapid transit system serving a large part of Greater London and some parts of Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire and Essex in England...
and National Rail
National Rail
National Rail is a title used by the Association of Train Operating Companies as a generic term to define the passenger rail services operated in Great Britain...
station in the town of Amersham
Amersham
Amersham is a market town and civil parish within Chiltern district in Buckinghamshire, England, 27 miles north west of London, in the Chiltern Hills. It is part of the London commuter belt....
, in the Chiltern
Chiltern (district)
Chiltern is one of four local government districts of Buckinghamshire in south central England. It is named after the Chiltern Hills on which the region sits.The main towns in the district are Amersham and Chesham...
district of Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan home county in South East England. The county town is Aylesbury, the largest town in the ceremonial county is Milton Keynes and largest town in the non-metropolitan county is High Wycombe....
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
.
Amersham station is a terminus
Terminal Station
Terminal Station is a 1953 film by Italian director Vittorio De Sica. It tells the story of the love affair between an Italian man and an American woman. The film was entered into the 1953 Cannes Film Festival.-Production:...
of the London Underground's Metropolitan Line
Metropolitan Line
The Metropolitan line is part of the London Underground. It is coloured in Transport for London's Corporate Magenta on the Tube map and in other branding. It was the first underground railway in the world, opening as the Metropolitan Railway on 10 January 1863...
. It is situated 23.7 miles (38.1 km) north west of Charing Cross
Charing Cross
Charing Cross denotes the junction of Strand, Whitehall and Cockspur Street, just south of Trafalgar Square in central London, England. It is named after the now demolished Eleanor cross that stood there, in what was once the hamlet of Charing. The site of the cross is now occupied by an equestrian...
, making it the farthest Underground station from central London and the second most westerly station on the whole London Underground system, after . As a consequence, it is in Travelcard Zone 9 (previously zone D).
Amersham station is also served by Chiltern Railways
Chiltern Railways
Chiltern Railways is a British train operating company. It was set up at the privatisation of British Rail in 1996, and operates local passenger trains from Marylebone station in London to Aylesbury and main-line trains on the Chiltern Main Line to Birmingham Snow Hill with its associated branches...
, which runs trains between London Marylebone
Marylebone station
Marylebone station , also known as London Marylebone, is a central London railway terminus and London Underground complex. It stands midway between the mainline stations at Euston and Paddington, about 1 mile from each...
and Aylesbury
Aylesbury
Aylesbury is the county town of Buckinghamshire in South East England. However the town also falls into a geographical region known as the South Midlands an area that ecompasses the north of the South East, and the southern extremities of the East Midlands...
. From Aylesbury a shuttle service to Princes Risborough
Princes Risborough
Princes Risborough is a small town in Buckinghamshire, England, about 9 miles south of Aylesbury and 8 miles north west of High Wycombe. Bledlow lies to the west and Monks Risborough to the east. It lies at the foot of the Chiltern Hills, at the north end of a gap or pass through the Chilterns,...
provides access to through services between Marylebone and Birmingham Snow Hill
Birmingham Snow Hill station
Birmingham Snow Hill is a railway station and tram stop in the centre of Birmingham, England, on the site of an earlier, much larger station built by the former Great Western Railway . It is the second most important railway station in the city, after Birmingham New Street station...
. The journey times to Central London
Central London
Central London is the innermost part of London, England. There is no official or commonly accepted definition of its area, but its characteristics are understood to include a high density built environment, high land values, an elevated daytime population and a concentration of regionally,...
range between 33 and 60 minutes. Ticket barriers are in operation at this station.
In 2009, because of financial constraints, Transport for London
Transport for London
Transport for London is the local government body responsible for most aspects of the transport system in Greater London in England. Its role is to implement the transport strategy and to manage transport services across London...
(TfL) decided to stop work on a project to provide step-free access at Amersham and five other stations, on the grounds that these are relatively quiet stations and some are already one or two stops away from an existing step-free station. The next station towards London, Chalfont & Latimer
Chalfont & Latimer station
Chalfont & Latimer station is a London Underground and National Rail station in Travelcard Zone 8 on the Metropolitan Line, in Buckinghamshire. It is the junction between the through service to and a shuttle service every half an hour to...
, and Chesham station, around two miles north, both have step-free access.
It is a popular starting station for those participating in the Tube Challenge
Tube Challenge
The Tube Challenge is the accepted name for the Guinness World Record attempt to visit all the stations on the London Underground network in the fastest time possible. Participants do not have to travel along all lines to complete the challenge, merely to pass through all the stations on the system...
.
History
The station was opened on 1 September 1892 as part of the Metropolitan RailwayMetropolitan railway
Metropolitan Railway can refer to:* Metropolitan line, part of the London Underground* Metropolitan Railway, the first underground railway to be built in London...
(MetR) extension from Chalfont Road (now Chalfont & Latimer) to Aylesbury. On 12 March 1922, its name was changed to "Amersham & Chesham Bois", but the original name was restored during 1937. It is located on Station Approach, Amersham.
From 1899, the Great Central Railway
Great Central Railway
The Great Central Railway was a railway company in England which came into being when the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway changed its name in 1897 in anticipation of the opening in 1899 of its London Extension . On 1 January 1923, it was grouped into the London and North Eastern...
served the station through its extension
Great Central Main Line
The Great Central Main Line , also known as the London Extension of the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway , is a former railway line which opened in 1899 linking Sheffield with Marylebone Station in London via Nottingham and Leicester.The GCML was the last main line railway built in...
to Marylebone. Consequently, the station became joint MetR/GCR owned. On 1 January 1923, the GCR became part of the London and North Eastern Railway
London and North Eastern Railway
The London and North Eastern Railway was the second-largest of the "Big Four" railway companies created by the Railways Act 1921 in Britain...
(LNER) as part of the Railways Act 1921
Railways Act 1921
The Railways Act 1921, also known as the Grouping Act, was an enactment by the British government of David Lloyd George intended to stem the losses being made by many of the country's 120 railway companies, move the railways away from internal competition, and to retain some of the benefits which...
, and on 1 July 1933, the MetR became part of the London Passenger Transport Board
London Passenger Transport Board
The London Passenger Transport Board was the organisation responsible for public transport in London, UK, and its environs from 1933 to 1948...
(LPTB), thus becoming the Metropolitan Line of the London Underground. Finally, on 1 January 1948, the LNER was nationalised, its share of the station initially coming under the control of the Eastern Region of British Railways
Eastern Region of British Railways
The Eastern Region was a region of British Railways from 1948. The region ceased to be an operating unit in its own right in the 1980s and was wound up at the end of 1992...
, before being transferred to the London Midland Region
London Midland Region of British Railways
The London Midland Region was one of the six regions created on the formation of the nationalised British Railways and consisted of ex-London, Midland and Scottish Railway lines in England and Wales. The region was managed first from buildings adjacent to Euston Station and later from Stanier...
in 1958.
In 1959/60, the tracks from Rickmansworth
Rickmansworth station
Rickmansworth is a London Underground and National Rail station in the town of Rickmansworth, in the Three Rivers district of Hertfordshire to the north-west of London...
to Amersham were electrified
Electrification
Electrification originally referred to the build out of the electrical generating and distribution systems which occurred in the United States, England and other countries from the mid 1880's until around 1940 and is in progress in developing countries. This also included the change over from line...
, partially fulfilling plans first proposed some thirty years earlier. The rolling stock ordered by London Underground as part of this project, the A60 stock, is named after Amersham.
When the sectorisation
British Rail brand names
British Rail was the brand image of the nationalised railway owner and operator in Great Britain, the British Railways Board, used from 1965 until its breakup and sell-off from 1993 onwards....
of British Rail took place in 1982, services to Aylesbury on what had by now become the London to Aylesbury Line
London to Aylesbury Line
The London to Aylesbury Line is the main railway line between London and Aylesbury, going via the Chiltern Hills; it is operated by Chiltern Railways. The line includes the only route where National Rail trains use track that is utilized by London Underground services...
came under the operation of Network SouthEast
Network SouthEast
Network SouthEast was one of three passenger sectors of British Rail created in 1982. NSE principally operated commuter trains in the London area and inter-urban services in densely populated South East England, although the network reached as far west as Exeter...
. Following the privatisation of British Rail
Privatisation of British Rail
The privatisation of British Rail was set in motion when the Conservative government enacted, on 19 January 1993, the British Coal and British Rail Act 1993 . This enabled the relevant Secretary of State to issue directions to the relevant Board...
in the mid-1990s, these services have been provided by Chiltern Railways.
From December 2010, off-peak Metropolitan line services to and from Amersham were reduced to two per hour, simultaneously with a corresponding increase in through services on the Chesham branch
Chesham branch
The Chesham branch is a short single-track railway branch line in Buckinghamshire, England. Although no part of it is within London and it runs entirely above ground, it is owned and operated by the London Underground...
. This is a return to the historically normal frequency of two Metropolitan trains per hour from the four Metropolitan trains per hour service that had been operating for the previous five years. When the Chiltern Railways services are included, Amersham still has four trains an hour to London in total, with extra trains from both operators in the peak. The new timetable on the Metropolitan line means that services are divided 50:50 between Amersham and Chesham. This is expected to divide park-and-ride or kiss-and-ride motorist users more evenly between the two stations and help spread the load on local roads, though the original reason for making the change was dictated by purely operating considerations.