Northampton Bridge Street is a former railway station in Northampton, the main town of Northamptonshire, on the Northampton and Peterborough Railway which connected Peterborough and Northampton.

History

Originally named Northampton, this was the first station serving the town. It opened in 1845, with buildings designed by architect John William Livock. The service was from Peterborough to Northampton via Wellingborough. It was renamed Northampton Bridge Street in 1876, after a new station was built for the line to Market Harborough. The station meant that people could travel to Wellingborough, Irthlingborough and Peterborough more quickly than before. The station closed to passengers in 1964, the buildings being demolished in 1969. Freight trains continued to use Bridge Street regularly until 1972; a lone remaining group of corporate sidings finally closed in 2005.

Stationmasters

Former services

Today's usage

The actual station was between the Old Towcester Road and the line; this land is now a housing development. The line still runs past the station site, although the line past the level crossing has been de-commissioned and is likely to become a road/cycle/walking route [NBC CAAP 2013]. There is still a Network Rail depot on the south side of the line, which includes an old LNWR shed.

Future plans

On 22 October 2013, the West Northamptonshire Development Corporation announced that it had agreed to purchase the disused Northampton Bridge Street branch line from Network Rail for £1.5 million to create a two-mile (3 km) cycle and pedestrian path linking the Brackmills Industrial Estate to the Northampton Enterprise Zone.