St Margaret's Bus Station, Leicester | |
---|---|
General information | |
Location | Gravel Street, Leicester LE1 3AG |
Coordinates | 52°38′21″N1°08′03″W / 52.6393°N 1.1342°W Coordinates: 52°38′21″N1°08′03″W / 52.6393°N 1.1342°W |
Operated by | Leicester City Council National Express |
Bus stands | 24 |
Bus operators | Arriva Midlands Centrebus Diamond East Midlands First Leicester Kinchbus(including Skylink Derby) National Express New Bharat Coaches |
Connections | National Express New Bharat Coaches |
Construction | |
Bicycle facilities | Yes |
Accessible | Yes |
Other information | |
Station code | LEI (for National Express) |
Website | https://www.leicesterbuses.co.uk |
History | |
Opened | 3 May 1985 (original) 27 June 2022 (redeveloped station) |
Closed | 31 December 2020 (original) |
St Margaret's Bus Station is located on Gravel Street to the north of Leicester City Centre, England. It is named after St Margaret's Church, which stands just across Burleys Way.
The use of the site as a bus station dates back to the early 1940s. The previous bus station was built in 1985 and at the time was a state-of-the-art arrival and departure point in the city. Councillor Derek Fryett, Chair of the Planning Committee opened it on 3 May 1985. The contractor was Costain Construction. Although considered one of the best stations in the country, Leicester City Council set about a programme of refurbishment in 2006. The major refurbishment was complete in March 2007 and the station was reopened by Councillor Patrick Kitterick on 24 May 2007.
As part of a £14.3 million rebuilding scheme a new access road was completed in November 2020 allowing buses to access the A594 ring road directly from the bus station, shortening journey times. [1]
During December 2020, Leicester City Council announced the bus station would close from 31 December [2] [3] [4] for around 18 months to allow for a total redevelopment of the bus station and surrounding roads.
St Margaret's is the first carbon neutral bus station in the United Kingdom. An official opening day was held on Sunday 26 June 2022 by the Mayor of Leicester Sir Peter Soulsby, ahead of bus services returning the following day. [5] [6]
Long-distance coach services operated by National Express operate from the new bus station with a purpose built travel centre and waiting facilities which opened on 5 July 2022. [7]
Bus services serving the bus station are operated by Arriva Midlands, [8] Centrebus, Diamond East Midlands, First Leicester and Kinchbus to outlying areas of Leicestershire including: South Wigston, Lutterworth, Rugby, Coventry, Hinckley, Market Bosworth, Coalville, Loughborough, Derby, Birstall, East Midlands Airport, Uppingham, Groby and Ratby.
The new bus station facilities include a newsagents, cafe, public toilets, information kiosk, bicycle storage area and the National Express travel centre with waiting facilities for passengers. [9]
Leicester is a city, unitary authority area, unparished area and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands.
Leicester railway station is a mainline railway station in the city of Leicester in Leicestershire, England. The station is managed by East Midlands Railway and owned by Network Rail. The station is served by CrossCountry and East Midlands Railway services.
Leicester Forest East (LFE) is a large suburban village in Leicestershire, England, west of Leicester, straddling the M1 motorway. It is part of the Blaby district.
Belgrave is an area, suburb, electoral ward and administrative division of the city of Leicester, England. Belgrave is the location of and known for the National Space Centre, Space Park Leicester, the Golden Mile and Belgrave Hall.
Thurmaston is a village and civil parish in Leicestershire, England, located within the Borough of Charnwood. At the 2011 census, it had a population of 9,668.
Birstall is a large village and civil parish within the Charnwood borough of Leicestershire, England. It is three miles north of Leicester city centre and is part of the wider Leicester Urban Area.
Luton railway station is located in the town centre of Luton, Bedfordshire, England. The station is about three minutes' walk from The Mall Shopping Centre. It is situated on the Midland Main Line and is operated by Thameslink.
Midland Red was a bus company that operated in The Midlands from 1905 until 1981. It was one of the largest English bus companies, operating over a large area between Gloucester in the south and Derbyshire in the north, and from Northampton to the Welsh border. The company also manufactured buses.
Leicester City Centre is Leicester's historical commercial, cultural and transport hub and is home to its central business district. Its inner core is roughly delineated by the A594, Leicester's inner ring road, although the various central campuses of the University of Leicester, De Monfort University and Leicester College are adjacent to the inner ring road and could be considered to be a continuation of the City centre. In a similar way, the Leicester Royal Infirmary precinct, the New Walk business district (Southfields), the Welford Road Stadium of Leicester Tigers' RUFC and the King Power Stadium of Premier League Leicester City to the south, and the Golden Mile to the north could also be deemed to be extensions to the central core.
Loughborough railway station is a Grade II listed railway station in the town of Loughborough, Leicestershire, on the Midland Main Line, 111 miles (179 km) north of London St Pancras. The station is north-east of the town centre.
Lincoln railway station serves the city of Lincoln in Lincolnshire, England. The station is owned by Network Rail and managed by East Midlands Railway. East Midlands Railway provides the majority of services from the station, with other services being provided by Northern and London North Eastern Railway.
Arriva Midlands East, is a bus company operating services in Leicestershire. It is a trading division of Arriva Midlands which is a subsidiary of Arriva plc which is itself owned by the government of Germany through Deutsche Bahn.
Rushey Mead is an area, suburb, electoral ward and administrative division of the city of Leicester, England. The population of the ward at the 2011 census was 15,962. It comprises the northern Leicester suburb of Rushey Mead in its entirety, as well as a part of the neighbouring area, suburb and electoral ward of Belgrave and historical parts of neighbouring Northfields and Thurmaston.
Arriva Midlands is a bus operator providing services in the East Midlands and West Midlands areas of England. It is a subsidiary of Arriva UK Bus.
Centrebus is a bus company based in Leicester operating services in Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire, Nottinghamshire and Rutland.
Star Trak was a real-time bus information system operating in Leicester and Derby between 2000 and 2011. It was run by the Leicester City Council.
Haymarket bus station is the main bus station serving the city of Leicester. Originally built in 1994, it lies next to and operates as a transport hub for Haymarket Shopping Centre.
Skylink is the brand name for bus services that serve East Midlands Airport in Leicestershire. Services are presently operated by Kinchbus and trentbarton, both a part of Derbyshire-based Wellglade Group.
Diamond East Midlands, formerly Midland Classic, is a bus company from Burton upon Trent, Staffordshire, England. Since August 2022, the company is a subsidiary of Rotala.
ArrivaClick is a demand responsive transport service operated by Arriva UK Bus. Passengers book and pay for journeys via a smartphone app, which then matches passengers traveling between similar points, calculating an ad hoc route to the destinations required.