Hemel Hempstead railway station  Hemel Hempstead railway station is on the West Coast Main Line, on the western edge of the town of Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, England. The station is north-west of London Euston on the West Coast Main Line. Hemel Hempstead is managed by London Northwestern Railway and all train services are operated by London Northwestern Railway and Southern. Hemel Hempstead railway station is one of two railway stations now serving the town, the other being Apsley. Both were built when Hemel Hempstead was still small; before it was designated a New Town in 1946 and grew rapidly in size. Bus services run from there to the town centre. Also in the vicinity of the station are two pubs and the Grand Union Canal, about away. There are four full-length (12 car) through platforms and one disused south-facing bay (on the slow lines). Ticket Barriers are in operation. Hemel Hempstead station was opened by the London and Birmingham Railway on 20 July 1837. Originally called "Boxmoor" station, it was the first terminus of the new line from the south, engineered by Robert Stephenson, which was subsequently extended to Tring in October of the same year and then to Birmingham in 1838. The decision to locate the station outside Hemel Hempstead town centre was a result of the opposition faced by the L&BR during construction of the line. There were vociferous protests from local landowners who sought to protect their estates from invasion by the "iron horse", including influential figures such as the Earl of Essex (Cassiobury Estate), the Earl of Clarendon (The Grove Estate) and the eminent anatomist Sir Astley Cooper (Gadebridge Estate). Turbulent public meetings were held in Berkhamsted and Watford, and in the House of Lords on 22 June 1832, Lord Brownlow of Ashridge voiced his opposition to ""the forcing of the proposed railway through the land and property of so great a proportion of dissentient landowners."" In order to obtain Parliamentary approval, the L&BR was forced to choose an alternative route which was less favourable to Hemel Hempstead but satisfied Hertfordshire landowners. In 1846 the L&BR was taken over by the London and North Western Railway (LNWR). As competition with the rival Midland Railway's new line through Hemel town centre increased, the LNWR operated a horse bus into the town, later replaced by a motor bus service, to poach passengers onto their own, less conveniently placed railway line.