Guildford (Surrey) railway station

Guildford
Guildford Station, looking north
(from Farnham Road road bridge)
Location
Place Guildford
Local authority Borough of Guildford
Operations
Station code GLD
Managed by South West Trains
Number of platforms 8 (7 in use)
Live arrivals/departures and station information
from National Rail Enquiries
Annual rail passenger usage
2004/05 *   6.543 million
2005/06 * 6.699 million
2006/07 * 7.186 million
2007/08 * 7.983 million
2008/09 * 8.115 million
2009/10 * 7.762 million
History
Opened 5 May 1845 (5 May 1845)
National Rail - UK railway stations
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
* Annual estimated passenger usage based on sales of tickets in stated financial year(s) which end or originate at Guildford from Office of Rail Regulation statistics. Please note: methodology may vary year on year.
UK Railways portal

Guildford railway station is an important railway junction on the Portsmouth Direct Line serving the town of Guildford in Surrey, England. It is 30.3 miles (48 km) from London Waterloo.

It provides an interchange station for three other railway lines: the North Downs Line northwards towards Reading, and with connection to Aldershot; the same line eastwards to Redhill; the New Guildford Line, the alternative route to Waterloo, via Cobham or Epsom. It is one of two stations in Guildford, the other being London Road (Guildford), on the New Guildford Line.

Contents

History

The station was opened by the London and South Western Railway (LSWR) on 5 May 1845, but was substantially enlarged and rebuilt in 1880.

The Reading, Guildford and Reigate Railway opened its services on 4 July 1849, and was operated by the South Eastern Railway. LSWR services to Farnham via Tongham began on 8 October 1849 and the New Guildford Line to Leatherhead and Epsom Downs on 2 February 1885. On the latter line is the other Guildford station: London Road: the line to it describes a curve around the town on an embankment, crossing the River Wey by a high bridge.

Guildford station was also the northern terminus of the (now-closed) Cranleigh Line of the London Brighton and South Coast Railway, which opened 2 October 1865 and closed almost one hundred years later on 12 June 1965.[1] This line ran to Horsham by way of Cranleigh, Rudgwick and Christ's Hospital.

Platform layout

The main station buildings are on the Down side. At the end of the Down side platform is a bay for the New Guildford Line. There are now three islands with seven platform faces plus the bay linked by both a long footbridge and a subway. Platforms 6 and 7 are opposite sides of the same line: these were used for unloading mail and parcels until the mid 1990s. The station was completely rebuilt (except for the platforms) in the late 1980s.

Platforms 6 and 7 are on opposite sides of the same single line. Automatic train doors only open on the platform 6 side. Doors are not opened on platform 7 due to the live rail being on that side. Platform 6 is signalled for bi-directional working – trains may approach from either direction.

Motive Power Depot

Guildford station was the site of an important motive power depot opened by the LSWR in 1845. The original building was demolished in 1887 to make room for the enlargement of the station, and was replaced by a semi-roundhouse which was substantially enlarged in 1897. This was closed and demolished in 1967.[2] The Farnham Road multi-storey car park was built on the site in the 1990s.

Airtrack

Guildford station was to have been the southern terminus for the proposed Heathrow Airtrack rail service. The project, promoted by BAA, envisaged the construction of a spur from the Waterloo to Reading Line to Heathrow Airport, creating direct rail links from the airport to Guildford, Waterloo, Woking and Reading. Airtrack was planned to open in 2015, subject to government approval.[3] In April 2011, BAA announced that it was abandoning the project,[4] citing the unavailability of government subsidy and other priorities for Heathrow,[5] such as linking to Crossrail and HS2.

Services

The station is currently served by services operated by First Great Western from Reading to Gatwick Airport and South West Trains from London Waterloo to Portsmouth Harbour, Waterloo to Guildford via Cobham or Epsom and Ascot to Guildford via Aldershot. Occasional CrossCountry trains to Newcastle and Southern services on the Sutton and Mole Valley route towards West Croydon & London Bridge also calls.

South West Trains

First Great Western

Southern (peak hours only)

CrossCountry

Preceding station National Rail Following station
Worplesdon   South West Trains
Portsmouth Direct Line
Slow services		   Farncombe
Woking   South West Trains
Portsmouth Direct Line
Fast services		   Haslemere
London Road (Guildford)   South West Trains
New Guildford Line		   Terminus
Wanborough   South West Trains
Ascot to Guildford line		   Terminus
Reading   Cross Country Trains
Cross Country Network		   Terminus
North Camp   First Great Western
North Downs Line
semi-fast services		   Dorking Deepdene
Wanborough   First Great Western
North Downs Line
stopping services		   Shalford
London Road (Guildford)   Southern
Mole Valley Line
Peak periods only		   Terminus
Disused railways
Terminus   British Rail
Southern Region
Cranleigh Line		   Bramley & Wonersh

References

  1. ^ "Cranleigh Railway website". 2007-04-23. http://cranleighrailway.info. 
  2. ^ Griffiths, Roger and Smith, Paul (1999). The directory of British engine sheds and principal locomotive servicing points: 1. Southern england, the midlands, East Anglia and Wales. Oxford: Oxford Publishing Company. pp. 77. ISBN 0860935426. 
  3. ^ "Heathrow Airtrack". BAA. http://www.heathrowairport.com/portal/page/Heathrow%5EGeneral%5EOur+business+and+community%5EHeathrow+transformation%5EHeathrow+AirTrack/100046e4daa55110VgnVCM10000036821c0a____/448c6a4c7f1b0010VgnVCM200000357e120a____/. Retrieved 6 January 2010. 
  4. ^ "Heathrow Airtrack Waterloo rail link shelved by BAA". BBC News London. 11 April 2011. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-13042740. Retrieved 11 April 2011. 
  5. ^ Samuel, A. (11 April 2011). "Heathrow: 'No option but to withdraw proposed Airtrack link to Staines'". Rail News from Rail.co. http://www.rail.co/2011/04/11/heathrow-no-option-but-to-withdraw-proposed-airtrack-link-to-staines/. Retrieved 11 April 2011. 

External links