History
Plans for a line between Hitchin and Royston were placed before Parliament in 1846 by the Royston and Hitchin Railway company. The line was initially planned to be a single track spur from Hitchin, but during debate in the Lords it was recommended that the line be two track in the view of its possible later use as part of a route from Cambridge to Bedford although this was later superseded by the Varsity Line via Sandy. The line was opened in 1851 then extended to Cambridge although this was resisted by the company already operating a service from Liverpool Street via the West Anglia Main Line. The line was then leased by the Great Northern in 1850 and subsequently purchased in 1898 and through services run from London King's Cross to Cambridge.
As part of the Great Northern Route electrification in the mid 70's, the through service was severed by the need to switch from the electrified service to Royston to a DMU stopping at all stations to Cambridge. The electrification was extended to Cambridge in the mid 80's and the track improved to increase speed. Occasional services are run by 12 car trains allowing them to only stop at Royston & Letchworth Garden City where the platform is long enough to accommodate them. The platform extenstion at Letchworth Garden City has now been completed since December 2011.
The flat junction at Hitchin has always been an issue with conflicting train movements, but is being replaced by a bridge and viaduct to the north of the existing junction to carry north-bound services up and over the East Coast Main Line.
Read more about this topic: Cambridge Line
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