Leicester railway station - Definition and Overview

Leicester station is a railway station in Leicester, England. It is just east of the city centre, on the A6 road. The first station on this site was constructed by the Midland Counties Railway and was first used on 4 May 1840, when a train of four first and six second-class carriages, pulled by the 'Leopard' steam engine, arrived from Nottingham. All that remains of the first station are a pair of Egyptian-looking gateposts in Campbell Street. The station was subsequently operated by the Midland Railway, who rebuilt it in 1894.

Leicester used to have several other railway stations, including Leicester Belgrave Gate (on the Great Northern Railway), and Leicester Central (on the Great Central Railway). Until the others shut down in 1969, this was known as Leicester London Road.

Rail routes run north-south through Leicester, going south to London St Pancras and north to Nottingham and beyond (this route being called the Midland Main Line). There are four platforms at Leicester. Junctions north and south of the city connect to other lines. Train operators using the station include Midland Mainline, and Central Trains.

The station frontage is the a well-preserved late Victorian building, but the interior of the boooking hall and the structures on the platforms were reconstructed by British Railways in the 1970s.