Bushey

 

The London and Birmingham Railway, the first main line railway in the United Kingdom, first ran through here on 20 July 1837. A station was not initially provided, as the area was then sparsely populated. A station was provided later, in 1841, in a similar red brick style to others along the route, larger than most although smaller than that at Harrow & Wealdstone. London Underground's Bakerloo line trains served the station from 16 April 1917 until 24 September 1982. During the war years of 1939-1945 the station was often known as "Ampersand" - this was due to a typically bureaucratic application of emergency regulations. To hinder enemy troops in the event of an invasion it was ordered that all station names should be painted out on station name-boards, and this was interpreted at Bushey & Oxhey to mean the words 'Bushey' and 'Oxhey' but not the '&'. For the duration of the war, therefore, the station bore the designation '&'. Also during wartime a concrete pillbox (a small gun fortification) was provided under the viaduct, between platforms 2 and 3. The station was renamed from "Bushey & Oxhey" to "Bushey" on 6 May 1974, even though it is actually sited in the neighbouring town of Oxhey, and the nearest part of Bushey (Bushey Village) is over 1 mile (1.6 km) away. Even so, it was late in the 1980s before signage at the station reflected this change. Starting in December 2007, Transport for London began a significant upgrade programme at the station. During the following four years, the underpass was relined with plasterboard walls and corrugated steel ceilings and repainted. The doors and windows were repainted, and the orange railings replaced the old green and blue railings.A non-slip surface had been added to areas of the floor and all of the stairways. Extensive CCTV was installed throughout and signage was changed to London Overground standards (allegedly "temporary"), as at other Overground stations. The alleyway linking the entrance of the station to Kingsfield Road was upgraded, replacing the repeatedly vandalised wooden fences with metal palisade. The level access from Platform 1 to the Kingsfield Road footpath was closed permanently thus making it non-wheelchar accessible.

 

Bushey is on the London Overground "DC lines" between London Euston and Watford Junction and the London Midland services between London and Tring. As of 2009, London Overground is operating their new trains, British Rail Class 378s, on this service. A camera system monitoring the platform is now in use for train drivers on platform 2. This is due to the curvature of the platform (see above) preventing the driver seeing the whole train from the cabin window or the previous mirror. For London Overground services, Monday to Sunday daytimes there is a train every 20 minutes calling at all stations to London Euston (southbound) and Watford Junction (northbound). Early morning and late night sees a half-hourly service in each direction. A more frequent service was introduced by London Overground from 22 May 2011. For London Midland services, Monday to Saturday daytimes the half-hourly service to London Euston and Tring stops at Bushey. There is also one train to and from Crewe on weekdays. North of Bushey, a double-track curve off the DC line once allowed trains to run directly from Bushey to Croxley Green station and the nearby depot. This curve closed in 1966. The branch north of Bushey was called Colne Junction and the curve joined the Croxley Green branch at Croxley Green Junction. Platform 1 is for Watford and platform 2 for Euston on the London Overground. The station is in Travel Card Zone 8. The station has wi-fi and a waiting room but no toilets.

 

Connections: National Rail. London Bus Routes 142, 258 (Arriva) and non London Bus routes 306 and 306B (Sullivan) serve the station.

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