A new station to delimit the western end of the new central business district of Milton Keynes was a key objective for Milton Keynes Development Corporation. In the cash-strapped circumstances of the 1960s and 1970s, British Rail was unenthusiastic but eventually came round after a deal was done in 1978 on cost sharing. In 1979, MKDC architect Stuart Mosscrop designed the station building and office blocks to either side, framing a new Station Square and the vista uphill along Midsummer Boulevard.
Opening
The station opened on 14 May 1982, with an official opening by Charles, Prince of Wales conducted three days later. The adjacent office wings were completed three years later. Before Milton Keynes Central opened, Bletchley was the main station for Milton Keynes, served by British Rail InterCity services. These services moved to the new station, downgrading Bletchley.
2006–08 developments
In May 2006, the Department of Transport announced a plan to upgrade the station. The first phase added a down fast line platform 6, so that the existing platform 5 could be used for stopping express trains in either direction.station. The second phase provided an additional terminating bay platform, nominally to extend the Marston Vale Line / service via the West Coast Main Line to Milton Keynes Central. This 5-car bay platform is indented into platform 1. The original bay platform 1 line was extended northwards to become a through platform, and platform 2 line is now a terminating and reversing line, avoiding conflicting crossing movements.station. This work was completed on 29 December 2008., a direct service between Bedford and Milton Keynes is not in any published plan, being overtaken by later events.
Platforms and layout
Milton Keynes Central has a total of seven platforms. Platforms 1 and 3 are the south and northbound slow platforms, while 4 and 6 are the south and northbound fast platforms. Platforms 2 and 5 are reversible, being slow and fast respectively. Platform 2 is used mainly by terminating services from London Euston or East Croydon, whilst platforms 1 and 3 are used by West Midlands Trains services between Euston and Northampton, Birmingham New Street or Crewe. Platforms 4, 5 and 6 are used by Avanti West Coast inter-city express services between London and the West Midlands, north Wales, the north-west or Scotland. Platform 2A is a five-car south-facing bay platform, originally intended for the extension of Marston Vale Line services from into Milton Keynes Central: this proposal no longer appears in plans for East West Rail, being replaced by a planned service to/from or . Meanwhile, platform 2A is used only by exception when additional platform capacity is needed, such as when there is a service delay. To the north of the station the six lines reduce to four and there is a mile of five-track running to the south before this also reduces back to four. The station is generally accessible: there are no unavoidable steps and there are lifts from the concourse to each platform. As with all mainline railway stations, passengers with mobility limitations may need to pre-book assistance to get from the platform to the train. Ticket gates are in operation.
Local facilities and interchange
The station building has a shop and café. There are other shops and restaurants on the south side of the station square. There are a number of hotels on Midsummer Boulevard. The station forecourt is the terminus or key intermediate destination for many bus services; almost all local and district bus services stop there. These services are operated mostly by Arriva Shires & Essex as well as some routes by Stagecoach East and a number of independent operators. Numerous bus services each hour traverse Midsummer Boulevard, connecting the station to the shopping centre, the theatre and Xscape. Stagecoach East operate four major long-distance coach routes from here. Their route 99 express service runs to Luton Airport via Luton railway station, providing a direct link between the West Coast Main Line and the Midland Main Line. Route X5 route between Oxford and Cambridge stops here, as do their X4 and X7 interurban bus routes to Northampton, Leicester and Peterborough. Arriva Shires & Essex also operate route X60 to Aylesbury, which terminates at the station. However, National Express services run from the Milton Keynes Coachway, about away, served from this station by the 300 bus or the X5. The Milton Keynes redway system, a comprehensive network of cycle/pedestrian shared use paths, connects to the station and its cycle parking facilities. Also in the station forecourt, there is a taxi rank and a pick-up space for private hire cars, plus limited short term parking. There are multi-storey car-parks to the north and south of the station. Parking in the surrounding streets is heavily restricted to discourage commuter parking. The station square itself is a favourite site for skateboarding and freestyle BMX and as a result the granite facings of the planting surrounds have suffered from the continuous bumping and grinding. This has lessened somewhat since the opening of a dedicated skateboarding park close to the former central bus station.
Milton Keynes Central is a principal start and terminus for London Northwestern Railway services to/from London Euston, and a major stop on others terminating/initiating at, or. During off-peak daytime hours, LNR operate five departures per hour to Euston, two trains per hour to Birmingham New Street, one train per hour to Crewe, and one train per hour that terminates at Northampton. There are additional LNR services during the rush hour.
Avanti West Coast
Many Avanti West Coast inter-city services call here, with three calls an hour in each direction off-peak on weekdays. Southbound services are to London Euston, northbound services are to Glasgow/Edinburgh via, to and to . Additional services operate in the morning peak and evening peaks to and from,, Glasgow Central, and other destinations.
From 2025, services are planned to operate to via Bletchley, calling at and. This work will reopen Claydon Junction and thus the route to via and. A desire to extend services to and beyond remains unfulfilled because it depends on a new alignment eastwards from Bedford to Cambridge. In January 2020, East West Rail announced the preferred route.
In June 2018, the Office of Rail & Road approved an application by Alliance Rail Holdings for five services per day between London Euston and, calling at Milton Keynes Central. These will be operated by sister Arriva company Grand Central, with services scheduled to commence in early 2021.
Service summary
Location
The station is at the western end of Central Milton Keynes, near the junction of the A5 with the A509. The nearest post-code is MK9 1BB. In the chainage notation traditionally used on the railway, its location on the line is from Euston.
In film
The station and its plaza were used in the 1987 movie as a substitute for the United Nations building. Other scenes were shot in the Central Milton Keynes area.
