page_title: Royston and Hitchin Railway
section_title: Letchworth
hierarchical_section_title: Royston and Hitchin Railway / Letchworth
caption_attribution_description: English: Letchworth Railway Station. At least, that's what it says on the front so I have no reason to doubt it.
context_page_description: The Royston and Hitchin Railway was an English railway company; it built a line from the Great Northern Railway at Hitchin to Shepreth. A Shepreth branch line was built by the Eastern Counties Railway from Shelford Junction to Shepreth, and in time the line from Hitchin to Shepreth Branch Junction was regarded as a single unit.
  The Royston and Hitchin Railway was absorbed by the Great Northern Railway in 1897. For many years the line competed with the Great Eastern Railway line for Cambridge to London traffic, and the route became famous for the Cambridge Buffet Express trains. After 1923 the two routes were under the same ownership but continued to operate in a form of competition.
  In 1978 an electrically operated passenger service operated between London and Royston, and nearly all through journeys required a change of train at Royston. In 1987 the rest of the line was electrified, and became the primary route for Cambridge to London journeys, the service on the alternative former Great Eastern Railway route being downgraded outside the commuter peaks hours. The line remains in heavy use today.
context_section_description: Sir Ebenezer Howard published his book "Tomorrow a Peaceful Path to Real Reform" in which he put forward the notion of a Garden City; his work included heavy reliance on a railway connection. As a direct result, the world's first Garden City was founded at Letchworth in 1903. Construction workers used a wooden halt there from 1903. Regular passenger services were provided at the halt from 15 April 1905; a goods depot was added on 19 August 1907, and a permanent station on 18 May 1913. This station had two island platforms, giving four platform faces, but they were never sued as such.
caption: Letchworth railway station
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