Midgham railway station is a railway station named after the village of Midgham

Midgham

Midgham is a village and civil parish in the Kennet Valley about east of Newbury, Berkshire. It has a population of 282.The village extends to the Berkshire Arms public house in the west, New Road Hill in the east, Midgham Marsh to the south of the A4 road and Midgham Green to the north...

 in the county of Berkshire

Berkshire

Berkshire is a historic county in the South of England. It is also often referred to as the Royal County of Berkshire because of the presence of the royal residence of Windsor Castle in the county; this usage, which dates to the 19th century at least, was recognised by the Queen in 1957, and...

 in England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

. In fact the station is in the nearby valley bottom village of Woolhampton

Woolhampton

Woolhampton is a village and civil parish in the English county of Berkshire. The village is situated on the London to Bath road between the towns of Reading and Newbury...

 and some distance downhill from Midgham village itself.

History

The line from to was planned by the Berks and Hants Railway, and before it was opened, it was absorbed by the Great Western Railway

Great Western Railway

The Great Western Railway was a British railway company that linked London with the south-west and west of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, received its enabling Act of Parliament in 1835 and ran its first trains in 1838...

 (GWR). The station at Woolhampton was opened with the line on 21 December 1847; it was originally named Woolhampton, but on 1 March 1873 was renamed Midgham. According to local legend, the name Midgham was used in preference to Woolhampton in order to avoid possible confusion with the much larger Wolverhampton railway station

Wolverhampton Low Level railway station

Wolverhampton Low Level was a railway station on Sun Street, in Springfield, Wolverhampton, England .It was built by the Great Western Railway, on their route from London to Birkenhead via Birmingham...

; the GWR having reached Wolverhampton in 1854.

The station was subsequently renamed twice: on 2 November 1964 it became Midgham Halt, but on 5 May 1969 it reverted to Midgham.

Description

Midgham station lies close to the centre of Woolhampton village, on an unclassified road just south of its junction with the A4 road. There are two flanking platforms on each side of the double track line. The Reading bound platform has a small shelter and a small car park. The unclassified road crosses the railway line at the eastern end of the station by means of a level crossing

Level crossing

A level crossing occurs where a railway line is intersected by a road or path onone level, without recourse to a bridge or tunnel. It is a type of at-grade intersection. The term also applies when a light rail line with separate right-of-way or reserved track crosses a road in the same fashion...

, and this crossing also provides the only access between the platforms.

Services

The station is served by local services operated by First Great Western

First Great Western

First Great Western is the operating name of First Greater Western Ltd, a British train operating company owned by FirstGroup that serves Greater London, the South East, South West and West Midlands regions of England, and South Wales....

 from Reading

Reading railway station

Reading railway station is a major rail transport hub in the English town of Reading. It is situated on the northern edge of the town centre, close to the main retail and commercial areas, and also the River Thames...

 to Newbury

Newbury railway station

Newbury railway station is a railway station in the centre of Newbury, Berkshire, England. It was opened on 21 December 1847 by the Great Western Railway...

 and Bedwyn

Bedwyn railway station

Bedwyn railway station is a railway station in the village of Great Bedwyn, Wiltshire, England. It is also, along with , a station for the market town of Marlborough away...

. Trains run hourly in both directions on Mondays to Saturdays, and every other hour on a sunday. Typical journey times are approximately 12 minutes to Newbury and 20 minutes to Reading. Passengers for London Paddington must normally change trains at Reading.

External links