Wokingham railway station
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Wokingham | |||
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|---|---|---|---|
| Location | |||
| Place | Wokingham | ||
| Local authority | Wokingham | ||
| Operations | |||
| Station code | WKM | ||
| Managed by | South West Trains | ||
| Platforms in use | 2 | ||
| Live departures and station information from National Rail | |||
| Annual Rail Passenger Usage | |||
| 2004/05 * | 1.803 million | ||
| 2005/06 * | 1.838 million | ||
| History | |||
| Key dates | Opened 4 July 1849 | ||
| National Rail - UK railway stations | |||
| * Annual passenger usage based on sales of tickets in stated financial year(s) which end or originate at Wokingham from Office of Rail Regulation statistics. | |||
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Wokingham railway station is a railway station in the town of Wokingham in Berkshire, England. It is situated at the junction of the Waterloo to Reading line with the North Downs Line. The station is managed by South West Trains, who provide services along with First Great Western.
[edit] History
The London & South Western Railway (LSWR) line reaching Wokingham from Ascot was opened on 9 July 1856, using running powers over the already existing South Eastern Railway (formally the Reading, Guildford & Reigate Railway) metals to reach Reading. LSWR electric services began on 1 January 1939. Although many intermediate stations either lost or reduced ticketing facilities with multi-skilling conductor guards being introduced on trains by British Rail in 1967, Wokingham received a new station building, although regrettably, it is of the rather unphotogenic concrete (or CLASP) design, which was already standard on ex-Southern lines, with other stations being similarly treated. Wokingham's signal box, brought into use in 1933 to replace the junction and goods yard boxes, is still in use to control the lines in the area as well as the level crossing and Wokingham Junction (the divergence of the lines to Waterloo and Guildford). It is now the only intermediate signal box between Reading, Guildford and Feltham. In the early 2000s, part of the emergency wartime loop south of the station was reinstated and electrified. Originally this was undertaken for the berthing of a peak-hour Waterloo-Wokingham service, which did materialise but was very short-lived.
There are several level crossings in the Wokingham area, all of which are encountered on the Waterloo line. Such as;
- Wokingham Station- the gates at the station crossing were replaced by full-lifting barriers in 1976. Pedestrians can use the adjacent footbridge when the crossing is being traversed by trains. This bridge was originally built from former running rails (of the old 'double-head' sort), but was replaced by a more angular design.
- Tan House- this is a footpath crossing which lies just short of Wokingham Junction on the Waterloo roads. Lying in the 'V' of the junction, the path which crosses it alternately crosses the Guildford lines by means of a footbridge. The crossing point is restricted by means of wicket gates, but more recently, further protection was made with the installation of higher wire fencing.
- Gipsy Lane- this is another user-worked crossing which is restricted to farm traffic, as the intersecting road only leads to a farm on the opposite side.
- Star Lane- this is the first major level crossing, which lies on the 'B' road to Crowthorne. It had its own box, which latterly served as a block post before closure in 1957. It received automatic half-barriers (AHBs) in 1964, but was upgraded to full barriers in 1997. Motorists often complain of a lengthy wait before the passing of each train, thus often generating long traffic queues.
- Waterloo- this is situated half a mile east of Star Lane. It received AHBs in 1965. Being automatic, there is a shorter wait for passing trains in comparison to Star Lane.
- Amen Corner or Amen crossing. A third major crossing lay on the same section of line towards Bracknell. This too received AHBs at the same time as Waterloo, but was closed in 1982 to be replaced by the overbridge carrying the then re-routed A329.
Industries in the Wokingham area that were served by rail;
- Binfield Tile & Brick Works- A siding used to come off the London-bound track just along from Amen Corner, and reverse into the brickworks. Several tramways also served the works. They were taken out of use in 1965.
- Charringtons- the famous coal merchants used to receive fuel from goods trains at Wokingham's station goods yard. Goods facilities at Wokingham were withdrawn in 1969, but the sidings were usable until 1972.
[edit] Services
South West Trains operate services between London Waterloo and Reading: these run every 30 minutes Monday to Saturday, and every 60 minutes on Sundays.
First Great Western operate an hourly semi-fast service between Reading and Gatwick Airport and an hourly stopping service between Reading and Redhill, giving a total service frequency of about two trains per hour on this route off-peak.
Wokingham station is an important interchange for passengers between the Waterloo-Reading line and the North Downs Line. Virgin trains also used the line through Wokingham as a diversionary route to Gatwick Airport/Bournemouth from Reading, with the occasional train from Guildford, although these trains do not stop at Wokingham.
[edit] External links
- Train times and station information for Wokingham railway station from National Rail
| Preceding station | National Rail | Following station | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reading | First Great Western North Downs Line semi-fast services to Gatwick Airport |
Blackwater | ||
| Reading | First Great Western North Downs Line local stopping services to Redhill |
Crowthorne | ||
| Bracknell | South West Trains Waterloo to Reading line |
Winnersh | ||
