Leighton Buzzard railway station serves the towns of Leighton Buzzard and Linslade in the county of Bedfordshire and nearby areas of Buckinghamshire. Actually situated in Linslade, the station is 40 miles (64 km) north west of London Euston and is served by London Northwestern Railway services on the West Coast Main Line. Until the 1960s the station was the start of a branch to Dunstable and Luton, with a junction just north of the present station. The station has four platforms. Platforms 1 & 2 serve the fast lines and are used by Avanti West Coast services running non-stop to/from London Euston. Platforms 3 & 4 are served by slower London Northwestern railway services to/from London Euston.

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Leighton Buzzard
General information
Location	Linslade, Central Bedfordshire England
Grid reference	SP910250
Managed by	London Northwestern Railway
Platforms	4
Other information
Station code	LBZ
Classification	DfT category C2
History
Original company	London and Birmingham Railway
Key dates
9 April 1838	Opened as Leighton
14 February 1859	Rebuilt 160m to the south
1 July 1911	Renamed Leighton Buzzard
6 February 1967	Goods services withdrawn
September 1989	Rebuilt
Passengers
2018/19	1.842 million
2019/20	1.753 million
2020/21	0.294 million
2021/22	0.906 million
2022/23	1.143 million
Location
Notes Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road

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Page's Park railway station, terminus for the Leighton Buzzard Light Railway (a narrow gauge heritage railway), is on the opposite side of the town.

The first station simply known as Leighton was opened by the London and Birmingham Railway on 9 April 1838^[1] as part of the first section of its line from London Euston to Denbigh Hall.^[2] The line had originally been planned to pass through Buckingham but opposition from the Duke of Buckingham ensured that it forced east through Linslade.^[3] A station with two-facing platforms was opened a ¼-mile south of the Linslade tunnels. These are arranged unusually for a four track main line: the southbound slow line has a tunnel to itself as does the northbound fast line, however the northbound slow and southbound fast lines share a tunnel. This stems from the fact that the line was built as double-track and when quadrupled, the two extra lines could only be placed along both sides, as single-track tunnels.^{[citation needed]}

In May 1848, the station became a junction when a branch line to Dunstable was opened.^[4] The London and North Western Railway replaced the first station in February 1859 by another more permanent structure located 8 chains (160 m) to the south.^[5] The new building had an imposing frontage featuring arched windows.^[3] Access to the Dunstable branch was controlled by Leighton No. 2 signal box situated to the north of the station, while the actual branch signals were controlled by the main line box to the south.^[6] In 1874, land was purchased to the south of the station alongside the Dunstable branch for the construction of goods sidings, which eventually became known as Wing Yard.^[7]

The LNWR was absorbed by the London, Midland and Scottish Railway in the 1923 railway grouping and, in 1927, it added a crossover between the fast and slow lines. This was to play a significant role in the derailment of Royal Scot No. 6114 "Coldstream Guardsman" at Linslade on 22 March 1931 when the driver took the crossover at 50–60 mph instead of the regulation 15 mph. There had been a diversion in place on the fast lines and the driver had missed the warning signals.^[8] The engine overturned and six people were killed, including the driver and fireman.^[9] The Scotland amateur football team was on the train, but remained unscathed.^[10]

In 1957–1958 the platform buildings were rebuilt and a concrete awning placed over the platform. At the entrance a larger booking / waiting hall, central heating, electric lighting and the cycle storage, parcels and loading bay were improved.^{[11][full citation needed]}

The Great Train Robbery of 1963 occurred just south of this station, at Bridego Bridge near Ledburn, at a bridge on the southbound stretch towards Cheddington.^[12] Wing Yard was closed in February 1967^[13] and it is now used as a car park,^[14] while the branch to Dunstable was closed from June.^[7] In 1989, the platforms were lengthened to accommodate 12-coach trains and a £1.8m project to rebuild the station was started.^[7]

Leighton Buzzard station is served by several local buses. The F70 and F77 bus route, operated by Arriva Shires & Essex, provides a direct Bus rapid transit service to Milton Keynes and Luton via the Luton to Dunstable Busway, with an onward connection to Luton Airport^{[22][23][24][25]}

On 22 March 1931, a passenger train was derailed due to excessive speed through a crossover. Six people were killed.^[27]