| Milton Keynes Central | |||
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|---|---|---|---|
| Location | |||
| Place | Milton Keynes | ||
| Local authority | Milton Keynes | ||
| Operations | |||
| Station code | MKC | ||
| Managed by | London Midland | ||
| Platforms in use | 5 | ||
| Live departures and station information from National Rail | |||
| Annual Passenger Usage | |||
| 2004/05 * | 3.815 million | ||
| 2005/06 * | 4.134 million | ||
| History | |||
| Key dates | Opened 15 May 1982 | ||
| National Rail - UK railway stations | |||
| * Annual passenger usage based on sales of tickets in stated financial year(s) which end or originate at Milton Keynes Central from Office of Rail Regulation statistics. | |||
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Milton Keynes Central is a railway station that serves the central area of Milton Keynes. The station is located on the West Coast Main Line where it is served by Virgin Trains inter-city services and by London Midland local services. It lies exactly 50 miles north of London Euston station. This station is one of the five stations serving Milton Keynes. The others are Wolverton (Milton Keynes North), Bletchley (Milton Keynes South), Fenny Stratford (also Milton Keynes South) and Bow Brickhill (Milton Keynes South-east). In addition, Woburn Sands railway station is just outside the Milton Keynes boundary and serves the south-east of the Borough.
Contents |
Scale and planned development
At present, there are three south-bound tracks and two north-bound tracks. In May 2006, the Department of Transport confirmed funding for a third north-bound track (for Inter-city services) and a fourth south-bound track (for services to Bedford).[1] In June 2005, Silverlink announced their intent to extend their Marston Vale Line Bedford/Bletchley service via the WCML to Milton Keynes Central, when the new platform is built. On 4 December 2006, work began on both projects, with completion scheduled for December 2008. The overall effect will be to upgrade the present two fast lines and three slow lines to three fast lines and four slow lines. In detail, (using the current numbering scheme which may change) the works will [2] [3] ;
- extend the current track 1 to rejoin the slow line north of the station (converting platform 1 from a bay platform to a through platform)
- insert a (reversible) track 1a for the Marston Vale Line service extension (and possibly a service to Oxford) and insert a new bay platform 1a by reshaping the current island platform 1-2.
- convert the current (through) track 2 to reversible operation.
- create multiple crossings between the tracks.
- convert (fast) track 5 to two-way operation. This will allow more intercity trains in either direction to stop without blocking the line.
- add a new fast track 6 and a new platform 6 for north-bound services.
More speculatively, a "strong" case has been made to Government to reopen the historic Varsity Line between Oxford and Bletchley and extend the service via the WCML to Milton Keynes Central [4].
Local facilities
The station is the terminus for many bus services and is on the Milton Keynes redway system, a network of cycle paths. The station itself has a small shop and there are other shops and restaurants on the south side of the station square. There are a number of hotels on Midsummer Boulevard (which begins opposite the station and leads up into Central Milton Keynes). The station square itself is a favourite site for skateboarding and freestyle BMX and as a result the granite facings of the planting surrounds have suffered from the continuous bumping and grinding. This has lessened somewhat since the opening of a dedicated skateboarding park (Sk8 MK) close to the central bus station [5]. There has been very limited maintenance of the square, which has led local commentators to speculate that Milton Keynes Partnership has plans to alter the space.
Services
Inter-city passengers wishing to go to Northampton should change to a north-bound London Midland service here. Passengers for all stations to Bedford should take a south-bound London Midland service here as far as Bletchley and change to the Marston Vale Line. Virgin Trains also provide a coach service ("VT99") to London Luton Airport and Luton railway station. Coach services are also provided to Oxford via Bicester and Cambridge via Bedford. For local urban bus services, see MK Metro.
| Preceding station | National Rail | Following station | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wolverton | London Midland West Coast Main Line |
Bletchley | ||
| Rugby | Virgin Trains West Coast Main Line |
Watford Junction | ||
| Northampton | Virgin Trains Northampton Loop |
Watford Junction | ||
In film
The station and its plaza was used in the movie Superman IV as a substitute for the United Nations building. Other scenes were shot in the Central Milton Keynes area.
References
- ^ West Coast Main Line: Progress Report - May 2006PDF
- ^ http://www.dft.gov.uk/pgr/rail/pi/wcml/westcoastmainlineprogressrep3458
- ^ http://www.networkrail.co.uk/browse%20documents/StrategicBusinessPlan/R18%20-%20WCML.pdf page 14
- ^ East-West Rail Consortium: Western Section: Final Report 5.1 p38
- ^ http://www.sk8m8.com/sk8m8-skatepark.php?siteid=Sk8MK%20Skate%20Plaza%20-%20Milton%20Keynes
External links
- Train times and station information for Milton Keynes Central railway station from National Rail
- Street map and aerial photo of Milton Keynes Central railway station from Multimap.com
- Milton Keynes Central railway station is at coordinates Coordinates:
- High resolution aerial photograph from MKWEB
