25 places with two stations: 1 Hertford

Saturday 11th January 2025

Welcome to a new blog series featuring towns and cities around Britain which, by a quirk of history, are blessed with having two railway stations on different lines serving completely different destinations. To kick things off I’ve been to Hertford and had a look at that town’s contrasting pair of stations: Hertford East and Hertford North.

As you can see from the map, Hertford East is located, unsurprisingly, a short distance to the east of the town centre while Hertford North is oddly to the west, rather than the north, but is located on North Road.

The former came first, in 1843, with an extension beyond the terminus at Railway Place in 1858 when tracks looped around north of the town centre then headed westwards towards Welwyn. That station was replaced in 1888 and the line to Welwyn was cut back in 1966 to the current terminus from where trains head south to London Liverpool Street, with useful connections available on to the Underground network at Tottenham Hale (for the Victoria Line).

A slightly younger Hertford North celebrated its centenary anniversary last year.

The station was built in 1924 on what became known as the ‘Hertford Loop’, branching off the East Coast Main Line at Alexandra Palace (formerly called Wood Green) and rejoining it at Stevenage.

Trains terminate in London at Moorgate using the former Northern City line from Finsbury Park but in past decades passengers could travel to Kings Cross and at peak times to Moorgate along the ‘widened lines’ (now used by Thameslink as far as Farringdon) or from Finsbury Park some peak trains continued to Broad Street, next door to Liverpool Street using some tracks now used by trains on the Windrush Line.

Both Hertford East and Hertford North see half hourly daytime services into London which is the same frequency that applied when I lived in North London as a child 60 and more years ago, indicating not much progress over the ensuing decades albeit both lines were electrified in the 1960s (East) and 1970s (North) and more recently both lines have seen new trains – Great Northern’s Siemens Mobility Class 717 Desiro City trains in 2019 for Hertford North and Greater Anglia’s Bombardier’s Class 720 Aventras for Hertford East from 2021.

Three extra peak hour journeys supplement Hertford East’s timetable to Stratford as well as the full half hourly service terminating there on Sundays. Hertford North’s peak timetable has an enhanced 15 minute frequency.

Hertford East has by far the more substantial looking station building including an arched entrance and another on the southern side…

… whereas Hertford North was for many years much more basic, but last year received a welcome improvement to its facilities and now, in my view, offers a much warmer and welcoming ambiance than over at East, although you do have to like climbing steps at North.

For example, at Hertford North, there’s a very nice shop selling groceries…

… including fresh produce, magazines and newspapers as well as coffees, teas and pastries….

… for passengers which also includes a nice area to sit and wait for the train with a real time departure board to keep you updated.

There’s a ticket office with the potential of offering three windows…

… but it looks like just one is in use these days but there are two ticket machines – a large and slim line one. There’s also a gateline with three gates including a green arrow or red cross above to indicate which way to enter or leave.

There’s now a lift alongside the rather steep stairs giving access to platforms 2 and 3 but not to the London bound platform 1. That’s because the lift (and stairs) take you to a subway under the tracks…

… from which there are only stairs up to platform 1 but there’s a lift (and stairs) to the island platforms 2 and 3.

Platform 3 has a buffer stop for terminating trains while platform 2 (and 1) are the through platforms taking trains northbound to Watton-at-Stone and the East Coast Main Line at Stevenage.

Whereas platforms 2 and 3 have a substantial canopy as well as toilet…

… it’s unfortunate they’re the least used by waiting passengers as the London bound platform 1 is more exposed although does have a couple of shelters including a rather nice wooden one a third of the way along it.

Some sidings south of the station are used to stable trains not needed for service between the peaks, at weekends and overnight.

There’s also a couple of rather nice garden sheds back to back on the island platform 2/3 just north of the lift shaft.

Hertford North was included in the Oyster and Contacless Pay As You Go scheme in 2019 with Hertford East’s inclusion beating that by four years, being included in 2015. At the latter there are no ticket gates or barriers but instead two Oyster card readers can be found at the entrance to both platforms.

Although there are two terminating platforms, most trains leave from platform 2 (on the left) with platform 1 (on the right) only seeing action at peak times.

Both platforms are long enough to cater for 10 coach trains and have a canopy cover for only a realtively short distance as you can see in the above photo, giving a long section without any cover or shelters…

Platform 2 sports a rather nice “community art project” which was “created by pupils from Richard Hale School to celebrate their 400th Anniversary and Hertford’s historical past and present.”

The branch line (with its single track sections) through Ware, St Margarets and Rye House before joining the main line to Liverpool Street at Broxbourne is called the New River Line, after the New River which meanders through this area alongside the more substantial River Lea Navigation.

Hertford East’s concourse area, larger than Hertford North’s, is split into two sections. The outer entrance area has a coffee shop…

… and leads into another sizeable area from where access to both platforms is available.

… as well as two ticket machines (large and slim line size again).

Dotted around the station are old style Network South East clocks to give a sense of nostalgia for that period…

… together with some of NSE original style seats.

Both stations have their own idiosyncrasies and characteristics and both were nice and clean and well presented but with an absence of any staff presence (during my visit) at Hertford East.

Roger French

Blogging timetable: 06:00 TThS.