Waterloo to Reading Line

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Waterloo to Reading Line

Legend 0m 0ch London Waterloo Vauxhall Queenstown Road (Battersea) West London Line Clapham Junction South Western Main Line Wandsworth Town Point Pleasant Jn London Underground District line Putney Barnes Hounslow Loop Line Vine Lane White Hart Lane Sheen Lane Mortlake North Sheen North Sheen London Underground District line North London Line Richmond River Thames St. Margarets Twickenham Kingston Loop Line Whitton Hounslow Loop Line 14m 68ch Feltham for Heathrow Airport Bedfont Lane 17m 40ch Ashford (Middlesex) 19m 02ch Staines Staines to Windsor & Eton Line River Thames Thorpe Lane Pooley Green M25 motorway 21m 02ch Egham Rusham 23m 15ch Virginia Water Chertsey Branch 25m 11ch Longcross London Road 26m 71ch Sunningdale 28m 79ch Ascot Ascot to Guildford line 31m 09ch Martins Heron 32m 24ch Bracknell Waterloo Star Lane Milepost Change 36m 34ch/61m 74ch North Downs Line Wokingham level crossing 62m 08ch Wokingham M4 motorway 64m 10ch Winnersh 64m 72ch Winnersh Triangle 66m 01ch Earley River Kennet 68m 68ch Reading Great Western Main Line

The Waterloo to Reading Line is a suburban railway line operated by South West Trains (SWT) in England. With its three connecting lines, it's the most northern of the SWT franchise. The three lines are:

• the Hounslow Loop Line, leaving the Reading line at Barnes, returning via Whitton and Feltham.
• the Windsor branch running from Staines railway station to Windsor and Eton Riverside railway station (the former GWR branch, from Slough, runs to Windsor and Eton Central railway station).
• the Chertsey Branch, leaving the Reading line at Virginia Water, passing through Chertsey and Addlestone, and connecting to SWT at its terminus, Weybridge

[edit] The routes

[edit] Dates of opening

• the Reading line:
  • 27 July 1846: the Richmond Railway opened, purchased by London and South Western Railway (L&SWR) 1847
  • 22 August 1848: the Windsor, Staines and South Western Railway (WS&SWR) (under L&SWR auspices) extended the line to Staines and Datchet
  • 1 December 1849: extended to Windsor
  • 4 June 1856: the Staines, Wokingham and Woking Junction Railway (Staines - Ascot) opened, worked by the L&SWR
  • 9 July 1856: extended to Wokingham, the junction with the South Eastern Railway line to Reading, opened in 1849

This line was electrified (750v DC third rail) 30th January 1916 by LSWR.

• the Hounslow Loop
  • 22 August 1849: Barnes to Isleworth opened by WS&SWR
  • 1 February 1850: completion of loop to Feltham Junction - junction facing eastwards
  • 1 January 1883: completion of triangular junction at Whitton to enable trains to travel eastwards to return to Waterloo

This line was electrified (750v DC third rail) 12th March 1916 by LSWR

• the Chertsey branch
  • 14 February 1848: Weybridge to Chertsey opened
  • 1 October 1866: Chertsey to Virginia Water opened

This line was electrified (750v DC third rail) on 3rd January 1937 by Southern.

The Waterloo to Reading line is renowned as a slow line, taking over 1 hour and 15 mins to get from Reading to London, due to the large number of stations called at. However the fares are usually cheaper than the more direct trains services from Reading to London Paddington. Generally, however, the line's major usage is for people residing near intermediate stations and their commutes to either London and Reading, as opposed to travel between the two termini.

v • d • e Railway lines in South-East England: Eastern  (Kent) Primary Routes: High Speed 1 · Chatham Main Line · South Eastern Main Line Secondary Lines: Ashford-Ramsgate via Canterbury Line · East Coastway · Hastings Line · Kent Coast Line · Maidstone East Line Minor/Branch Lines: Bexleyheath Line · Bromley North Line · Catford Loop · Dartford Loop · Greenwich Line · Hayes Line · Marshlink Line · Medway Valley Line · Mid-Kent Line · North Kent Line · Nunhead to Lewisham link · Sheerness Line Central  (Sussex) Primary Routes: Arun Valley Line · Brighton Main Line · Thameslink Secondary Lines: East Coastway · New Guildford Line · North Downs Line · Redhill-Tonbridge Line · Sutton & Mole Valley Line · West Coastway Minor/Branch Lines: Caterham Line · Epsom Downs Branch · Oxted Line · Seaford Branch Line · South London Line · Tattenham Corner Line Western  (Wessex) Primary Routes: North Downs Line · Portsmouth Direct Line · South Western Main Line · West Coastway · West of England Main Line Secondary Lines: Alton Line · Ascot-Guildford Line · Chertsey Branch · Eastleigh-Fareham Line · Eastleigh-Romsey Line · Hounslow Loop · Kingston Loop Line · Waterloo-Reading Line · West London Line Minor/Branch Lines: Chessington Branch · Greenford Branch · Hampton Court Branch · Henley Branch Line · Island Line · Lymington Branch Line · Marlow Branch Line · Shepperton Branch Line · Slough-Windsor & Eton Line · Staines-Windsor & Eton Line Northern  (Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire) Primary Routes: West Coast Main Line · Chiltern Line Secondary Lines: London to Aylesbury Line · Cherwell Valley Line · Cotswold Line Minor/Branch Lines: Marston Vale Line · Oxford to Bicester Line · Princes Risborough to Aylesbury Line · Varsity Line (currently partially disused)