Woburn Sands railway station

Woburn Sands
Woburn Sands in 2020, looking west showing the double track and platforms 1 & 2
General information
Location	Woburn Sands, City of Milton Keynes England
Coordinates	52.018°N 0.654°W / 52.018; -0.654
Grid reference	SP924363
Managed by	London Northwestern Railway
Platforms	2
Other information
Station code	WOB
Classification	DfT category F2
Key dates
1846	Opened
Passengers
2018/19	51,606
2019/20	46,704
2020/21	7,534
2021/22	19,718
2022/23	24,618
Location
Notes Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road

Woburn Sands railway station serves the town of Woburn Sands and the village of Wavendon in the City of Milton Keynes in Buckinghamshire, England. The station is on the Marston Vale line between Bedford and Bletchley, about 4 miles (6.5 km) east of Bletchley station. The station is served by local trains to Bletchley and Bedford using Class 150 multiple units. This station is one of the seven stations serving the Milton Keynes urban area.

Station building and signal box

Woburn Sands' cottage-type station building, in an 1852 illustration

Woburn Sands has a black and white "cottage" station building, one of four of the same design that are unique to this line. Two of the others remain at Fenny Stratford and Milbrook. The building is in a half-timbered Gothic Revival style that had been insisted upon by the 7th Duke of Bedford for stations close to the Woburn Estate. It is Grade II listed. It opened with the line in 1846; between 1871 and July 1967 had a sizeable goods yard serving various local businesses (including a brick factory and gas works).

In August 2004, Woburn Sands lost its Victorian signal box to the development and modernisation of the route. Until 2004 the line was controlled by staffed signal boxes located at various stations; but the entire line is now controlled from one signalling centre at Ridgmont.

Services

All services at Woburn Sands are operated by London Northwestern Railway.

The typical off-peak service is one train per hour in each direction between Bletchley and Bedford which runs on weekdays and Saturdays only using Class 150 DMUs. There is no Sunday service.

As of November 2024, the stopping pattern of EWR services between Bletchley and Bedford remains to be determined, so the service pattern shown here is speculative.

Preceding station	National Rail			Following station
Bow Brickhill		London Northwestern Railway Marston Vale Line Monday-Saturday only		Aspley Guise
	Future Services
Bletchley		East West Rail Oxford to Cambridge		Ridgmont

Community Rail Partnership

Woburn Sands station, in common with others on the Marston Vale line, is covered by the Marston Vale Community Rail Partnership, which aims to increase use of the line by involving local people.

Location

Stations in and around Milton Keynes
West Coast Main Line towards Glasgow Central Northampton loop to Northampton Roade Bedford–Northampton line towards Northampton Stratford-upon-Avon and Midland Junction Railway Salcey Forest Hanslope Junction Castlethorpe Olney Wolverton and Stony Stratford Tramway towards Bedford Deanshanger Old Stratford Wolverton–Newport Pagnell line Stony Stratford Newport Pagnell Wolverton Works Great Linford Wolverton Bradwell East West Rail / Marston Vale line to Bedford Woburn Sands Milton Keynes Central Bow Brickhill Denbigh Hall Fenny Stratford Bletchley TMD Bletchley with planned high-level platforms former Varsity Line / planned East West Rail to Oxford Bletchley Flyover Leighton Buzzard West Coast Main Line towards Euston

The station is on Station Road, about 0.5 miles (0.8 km) from the town centre. The nearest post-code is MK17 8UD. In the chainage notation traditionally used on the railway, it is 4 miles 4 chains (4.05 mi; 6.52 km) from Bletchley station on the line to Bedford.

Station Hotel

The Fenny Stratford Times featured the hotel in 1883. It described the hotel building as Gothic style, constructed of red bricks with Bath stone ornamentation. The lobby had a caustic tile floor with "station hotel" in the design. Off the central hall was a tap-room and a bar with adjoining snug parlour. At the end of the hall a staircase led to the first floor which had seven rooms for accommodation. At the rear was a yard, stabling and coach houses. The architect was a Mr Mercer of Bedford and the first owner, John Taylor Luttman. The hotel building is now known as the Station Tavern.

External links

• Train times and station information for Woburn Sands railway station from National Rail
• Postcard pictures of the station and level crossing in 1920 (at end of page)