Thatcham railway station
Thatcham  | |
|---|---|
|
Train leaving platform 2 towards Reading | |
| Location | |
| Place | Thatcham |
| Local authority | West Berkshire |
| Coordinates | 51°23′38″N 1°14′35″W / 51.394°N 1.243°WCoordinates: 51°23′38″N 1°14′35″W / 51.394°N 1.243°W |
| Grid reference | SU528663 |
| Operations | |
| Station code | THA |
| Managed by | Great Western Railway |
| Number of platforms | 2 |
| DfT category | E |
|
Live arrivals/departures, station information and onward connections from National Rail Enquiries | |
| Annual rail passenger usage* | |
| 2002/03 | 0.406 million |
| 2004/05 |
 0.436 million |
| 2005/06 |
0.455 million |
| 2006/07 |
0.489 million |
| 2007/08 |
0.523 million |
| 2008/09 |
0.529 million |
| 2009/10 |
 0.500 million |
| 2010/11 |
0.505 million |
| 2011/12 |
0.500 million |
| 2012/13 |
0.533 million |
| 2013/14 |
0.522 million |
| History | |
| Key dates | Opened 21 December 1847 |
| Original company | Great Western Railway |
| Pre-grouping | GWR |
| Post-grouping | GWR |
| National Rail – UK railway stations | |
| * Annual estimated passenger usage based on sales of tickets in stated financial year(s) which end or originate at Thatcham from Office of Rail and Road statistics. Methodology may vary year on year. | |
| UK Railways portal | |
Thatcham railway station is a railway station in Thatcham, Berkshire, England. The station is served by Great Western Railway local services from Reading to Newbury and Bedwyn. Most services are operated by Class 165 DMUs, of either 2 car or 3 car units. It was served before privatisation by Network SouthEast and from 1996 until 2004 by Thames Trains. A limited semi-fast FGW InterCity 125 service between London and Exeter St Davids, Westbury, Taunton, Frome and Penzance also serves the station.
Services
Thatcham station is served by GWR local services from Reading to Newbury and from London Paddington to Bedwyn. A limited number of services starting from Reading continue to Bedwyn. It is also served by limited semi-fast InterCity 125 services from Paddington to the West Country.
These services are summarised as follows.
| Preceding station | National Rail |
Following station | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Theale | Great Western Railway HST services Reading to Taunton line |
Newbury | ||
| Theale | Great Western Railway Paddington to Bedwyn Local services Reading to Taunton line |
Newbury | ||
| Midgham | Great Western Railway Reading to Newbury Local services Reading to Taunton line |
Newbury Racecourse | ||
History
Thatcham station was opened on 21 December 1847 as part of the Berks and Hants Line to Hungerford.[1] Traffic through the station increased when the line was extended to Taunton in 1906. The station remained as part of the Great Western Railway (GWR) until railway nationalisation in 1948. After the sectorisation of British Rail in 1982 the station became part of Network South East until the privatisation of British Rail. From 1996 services were provided by Thames Trains until the franchise was merged with First Great Western.
Thatcham Ordnance Depot
In 1940 the 332nd Engineer General Service Regiment of the United States Army built an ordnance depot next to the main line just west of the station. This included a number of sidings that were used for the delivery of equipment.[2] After the Second World War the site was developed as a base for what later became the Royal Logistics Corps and had a number of steam locomotives used for shunting.
The base was closed in 1999 and its site has now been developed as a housing estate.[3]
Current Layout
Thatcham station has two platforms, one on each side of the main line. At the western end of the station there is a footbridge over the line.[4] At the western end of the platform there is a level crossing.
On the up platform is a ticket office that is open Mondays to Saturdays and two access points to the station car park. On the north side of the line west of the station is a Royal Mail sorting office next to where the ordnance depot used to be.
On the down platform is a small shelter and access to a small car park. The Kennet and Avon Canal runs parallel to the station and can be reached from the road at the western end of the station.
References
- ↑ "Basingstoke Railway History in Maps". Christopher Tolley. 2001. Archived from the original on 6 December 2008. Retrieved 20 February 2015.
- ↑ Robertson, K (1987). The Last Days of Steam in Berkshire. Stroud: Alan Sutton Publishing. ISBN 0-86299-395-4.
- ↑ Thatcham Town Council timeline
- ↑ National Rail Enquiries Information. Accessed 2 September 2007.
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Thatcham railway station. |
- Train times and station information for Thatcham railway station from National Rail