The Royston and Hitchin Railway was an English railway company; it built a line from the Great Northern Railway at Hitchin to Shepreth. A Shepreth branch line was built by the Eastern Counties Railway from Shelford Junction (later called Shepreth Branch Junction) to Shepreth, and in time the line from Hitchin to Shepreth Branch Junction was regarded as a single unit.
The Royston and Hitchin Railway was absorbed by the Great Northern Railway in 1897. For many years the line competed with the Great Eastern Railway line for Cambridge to London traffic, and the route became famous for the Cambridge Buffet Express trains. After 1923 the two routes were under the same ownership but continued to operate in a form of competition.
In 1978 an electrically operated passenger service operated between London and Royston, and nearly all through journeys required a change of train at Royston. In 1987 the rest of the line was electrified, and became the primary route for Cambridge to London journeys, the service on the alternative former Great Eastern Railway route being downgraded outside the commuter peaks hours. The line remains in heavy use today.