Elstree & Borehamwood railway station

Elstree & Borehamwood railway station is a railway station in the town of Borehamwood, Hertfordshire, England. It primarily serves Borehamwood as well as the nearby village of Elstree, 1.3 mi to the south-west. The station is situated on the Midland Main Line, 12 mi down the line from London St Pancras and is situated between Mill Hill Broadway to the south and Radlett to the north. Its three-letter station code is ELS.

Elstree & Borehamwood is also the first station down the line that is located outside the Greater London area; however, it is still within London's Travelcard zone area, and is located in Zone 6.

The station is served by Thameslink-operated trains on the Thameslink route.

History
In 1862:
 * "The London and Midland Junction Railway Bill is here referred to as providing for a new line of Railway into the metropolis. It commences from the Midland Railway at Hitchin, passes by St. Albans, Elstree, Edgware, Finchley and Highgate, and terminates by a junction with the Metropolitan Underground Railway at King's Cross, previously throwing out a Branch to the Cattle Market at Copenhagen Fields."

On 22 June 1863, the Midland Railway (Extension to London) Bill was passed:
 * "An Act for the Construction by the Midland Railway Company of a new Line of Railway between London and Bedford, with Branches therefrom; and for other Purpose".

Situated north of the Elstree Tunnels, it was built by the Midland Railway as simply "Elstree" in 1868 when it built its extension to St Pancras station. By the 1920s, it had been renamed Elstree and Boreham Wood station. It was modernised in 1959. The station was renamed from Elstree & Borehamwood to Elstree on 6 May 1974, but reverted to Elstree & Borehamwood by mid 1988.

A new footbridge and step-free lifts, installed under Network Rail's Access for All programme, opened on 1 October 2014 in order to make Elstree & Borehamwood entirely step-free.

Services
All services at Elstree & Borehamwood are operated by Thameslink using EMUs.

The typical off-peak service in trains per hour is:
 * 6 tph to St Albans City of which 2 continue to Luton
 * 2 tph to Rainham via Dartford
 * 4 tph to Sutton (2 of these run via Mitcham Junction and 2 run via Wimbledon)

During the peak hours, the station is served by additional services between Luton and Orpington via Catford, as well as some late evening services to and from Bedford.

The station is also served by a night service between Bedford and Three Bridges on Sunday to Friday nights.