The Hertsrail project proposes improvements to the rail network, with a primary focus on Hertfordshire.

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London Colney has no railway station.

An online map showing London Colney is available here London Colney and area (opens in new window or tab) Source : openstreetmap.org © OpenStreetMap contributors

We propose London Colney as an M25 parkway station. The station would be located at M25 junction 22.

There would be a Thameslink service from London Colney connecting on to the Midland Main Line, which is the line via St Albans City and Radlett. A primary aim would be to provide improved access to St Pancras International for continental rail services for those commencing their journey by car. The service from London Colney would call at St Pancras International, central London stations and Gatwick Airport.

During the weekday morning peak, the train service would offer the same calling pattern as other Thameslink services i.e. the stops as above and additional stops. It is anticipated that during the morning peak there would be priority access for Hertfordshire residents, also for those with pre-booked tickets for continental rail travel. Outside of the morning peak, the station provides a convenient means for rail access to central London for anyone commencing their journey by car.

We do not know whether there would be a check-in facility for continental rail travel at London Colney. Also we do not know whether continental rail services themselves would be extended to London Colney.

The Crosrail 2 project, which would have provided improved access to St Pancras, although not for those commencing their journey by car, has been paused. Realistically it has probably been cancelled. A station at London Colney provides some compensation for this.

Britain's railways are expensive. It seems likely that steps will be taken to reduce rail costs and, whilst we would not wish this, it is likely that this will at some stage result in a reduction of the rail network. In the case of reduction of the rail network, it is likely that London Colney would take on an increased role, access to London by means of journeys to some existing stations being replaced by journeys to London Colney.

Motorail means putting your car on the back of the train. Although there is a short shuttle service through the Channel tunnel for cars, there is no motorail service to continental Europe. It is possible that London Colney would be a suitable location.

There is a plan to convert the St Albans Abbey branch into a busway. This takes no account of the potential for this branch line to support the regional economy as part of a joined-up rail network.

Further information : Connecting the Abbey line to Watford High Street (opens in new window or tab).

There are multiple possibilities. One possibility is light rail London Colney to St Albans Abbey and intermediate stations to Watford Junction, Watford High Street, terminating at Watford's hospital. A second possibility is an extension of the London Overground (Lioness) line to St Albans Abbey with a Thameslink service from St Albans Abbey. A third possibility is an extension of the London Overground (Lioness) line to Luton Airport Parkway, changing direction at St Albans Abbey. With either the Croxley rail link or Ebury Way rail link, there is the possibility of an Oxford to Cambridge service via Watford Junction. It is not our role to make a choice between these or other possibilities.

There is the potential to extend the Hertford East branch line to provide a service via Watton at Stone and Stevenage. This was illustrated as part of aspiration 1 above and is also illustrated below.

The East Coast Main Line (ECML) has four tracks from Stoke tunnel, south of Grantham, to London Kings Cross, except between Peterborough and Huntingdon and between Knebworth and Welwyn Garden City. There are only two tracks between Knebworth and Welwyn Garden City including two tunnels in succession, Welwyn North tunnel and Welwyn South tunnel and then Digswell viaduct. This bottleneck might be expected to be working at capacity but for the fact that Welwyn North station is located on the bottleneck.

This bottleneck has been the subject of discussion for many years and with no obvious resolution. If the service currently terminating at Hertford East were to be extended to provide a service via Stevenage, it would enable capacity release on the ECML two track section between Knebworth and Welwyn, in other words, take pressure off this two track section by diverting some ECML trains via the West Anglia Main Line (WAML).

We hypothesise two alternatives for extending the Hertford East service. The first is a service from Peterbourough terminating at Liverpool Street. The second is a service from Oxford via Bletchley, Bedford and Stevenage terminating at Liverpool Street. Either of these would take pressure off the ECML bottleneck, the second having the advantage of providing Oxford with an ECML interchange at Stevenage for Lumo services.

Taking pressure off the bottleneck enables more services to run on the ECML. However one of the problems faced by the railways is that an increase in passenger numbers does not result in a reduction in the subsidy paid by the taxpayer. A limited number of additional passengers off-peak will make use of empty seats but generally speaking an increase in passengers implies more trains and more staff and which is not paid for by the additional revenue. It would be reasonable to describe Britain's railways as an unsustainable mess. We understand travel by train to offer advantages but we are certainly not train enthusiasts. Everything is expensive including capacity enhancements.

In these circumstances it would be reasonable to prevent costs rising unnecessarily by means of a blanket refusal to fund capacity enhancements for passenger services. We would not wish to dispute the wisdom of any such approach. If there is no room on the train, find another means of travel or change job. At the same time, Britain's population is increasing, which indicates we need to reduce car-centric travel including for reasons of congestion and of demands on space. It seems to us that new roads including parking demand more space than new houses. This is unsustainable as the population increases. We are faced with a conundrum. Railways are unsustainable and the same is true of the alternative of car-centric travel. Some planners propose to resolve this by an increased emphasis on bus travel : in general terms we find that to be implausible. As a means of travel, buses are poor quality and no amount of marketing is going to persuade us otherwise. It is commonplace to find problems with bus travel that do not exist with trains. Given this conundrum, we respectfully suggest that, if any sense prevails at all, someone may find a means to radically reduce the costs of railways. Whilst it may be politically unpopular to say so, the Victorians knew what they were doing. Railways then were technology-leading and cost-effective to the taxpayer, shareholders taking the risk.

Let us assume that, at some point in the future, railways become cost-effective, or more so, at least in comparison with the current farcical levels of cost. It would be prudent to plan ahead for such a scenario. However as the population increases and houses are built on every spare blade of grass, planning of new railway lines that run through centres of population becomes increasingly difficult. Furthermore, as recent experience with High Speed 2 has demonstrated, the decision to build new lines is emotionally charged and liable to swing in an opposing direction at any moment.

We do have a proposed solution to this combination of less than ideal set of constraints. The proposed solution to this set of circumstances is to plan ahead, specifically, to separate the calm and hopefully level-headed process of planning lines and safeguarding them from the politically-charged decisions as to whether or not to build any specific line.

We hope we have made the point. Railways are too expensive but the situation might impove. Specifically, we do not propose that an extension of the Herford East branch should be built. We do however propose that a decision should be made to plan such an extension and safeguard the route.

That concludes our diatribe against the human race, at least for the time being.

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It seems clear the key choices are in the Rickmansworth, Watford and St Albans area :

It should be borne in mind that our diagrammatic maps are intended to illustrate railway infrastructure and are not to scale.

Hertsrail is a proposal for a joined-up rail network in Hertfordshire. It is based on comprehensive research by rail researcher RailAble.

RailAble, also known as RailEnable, researches an improved rail network. Hertsrail, our proposal for a joined-up rail network in Hertfordshire, is the RailAble project : "East west rail - Oxford to Cambridge". For much more information on our proposal visit RailAble (opens in new window or tab).

Hertfordshire County Council's plans include a South Hertfordshire east west road-based Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) project centred on the A414. Formerly known as the A414 Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) project, also known as the South Hertfordshire MRT project, it is now known as HERT, Hertfordshire - Essex Rapid Transit.

HERT is a collection of bus services. A comparison with the rail network shows that it takes no account of the existence of the Watford to St Albans branch railway, nor of the Hertford East branch.

Hertfordshire - Essex Rapid Transit (HERT) is a proposal to close the Watford Junction to St Albans Abbey branch line with a high-frequency bus service Watford to Harlow, also Hemel Hempstead to Harlow. HERT converts the St Albans Abbey line to a guided busway : HERT converts the Abbey line to a guided busway
The proposal is flawed since buses will make congestion worse on the A414. It reduces capacity on the A414 thereby undermining Hertfordshire's competitiveness. HERT needs to be abandoned. Our alternative is a joined-up rail network in Hertfordshire.

HERT is a bus network. Hertsrail is a rail network. They are alternatives. A rail network is a better proposal for Hertfordshire and also provides better travel opportunities well beyond Hertfordshire.

To support our proposals for a joined-up rail network in Hertfordshire, we invite you to read our previous newsletters and sign up to receive them at Hertsrail newsletter (opens in new window or tab).

Our step by step proposals are as follows.

Step 1. Service every 30 minutes on the St Albans Abbey line. A service every 30 minutes would be more attractive to passengers, requiring two trains and an upgrade to the infrastructure enabling the two trains to pass, known as a passing loop. One possibility is that trains might pass at How Wood station or vicinity. This is further north than the midpoint, giving more time for the train driver to change ends at St Albans Abbey than at Watford Junction. The Abbey station is unstaffed, so the train crew could use the time available to do ticketing i.e. revenue protection, which helps to ensure a better case for keeping the line open.

In June 2022 it was announced that the bid for a passing loop at Bricket Wood, enabling a more frequent service than currently operates, was rejected by the Department for Transport (DfT). However we are proposing trains passing at How Wood or vicinity and which awaits evaluation.

Further information : A more frequent service on the Watford Junction to St Albans Abbey line

The timetable from 11 December 2022 reduces service frequency off-peak. We are opposed to this Opposing the reduction in service frequency on the Abbey line

Beyond step 1, further steps are to be determined. Readers may wish to select from the choices offered at RailAble (opens in new window or tab).

We are hoping Hertfordshire County Council will recognise that a St Albans to Hatfield railway would be useful. Having included it in the county rail strategy, the approach we suggest is to develop route options, select a route and safeguard it. This provides land and property owners with the opportunity to make arrangements to sell, if and when they choose to do so. This is better than a debate as to whether the line should be built followed by development of route options, selection of a route and disruption that could have been avoided.

To support our proposals for a joined-up rail network in Hertfordshire, we invite you to read our previous newsletters and sign up to receive them at Hertsrail newsletter (opens in new window or tab).

We conclude our home page with a view of St Albans Abbey station on a sunny day in 2017. The links at the top of the page are for further information.

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Last revised 19 April 2024