Twickenham railway station is in Twickenham

Twickenham

Twickenham is a large suburban town southwest of central London. It is the administrative headquarters of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames and one of the locally important district centres identified in the London Plan...

 in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames

London Borough of Richmond upon Thames

The London Borough of Richmond upon Thames is a London borough in South West London, UK, which forms part of Outer London. It is unique because it is the only London borough situated both north and south of the River Thames.-Settlement:...

, and is in Travelcard Zone 5

Travelcard Zone 5

Fare zone 5 is an outer zone of Transport for London's zonal fare system used for calculating the price of tickets for travel on the London Underground, London Overground, Docklands Light Railway and, since 2007, on National Rail services. The zone was created in May 1983 and in January 1991 part...

. The station and all trains serving it are operated by South West Trains

South West Trains

South West Trains is a British train operating company providing, under franchise, passenger rail services, mostly out of Waterloo station, to the southwest of London in the suburbs and in the counties of Surrey, Hampshire, Dorset, Devon, Somerset, Berkshire, and Wiltshire and on the Isle of Wight...

.

History

The original station, built, after the Gothic plan, on the west side of London Road, was opened by the London and Windsor Railway on 22 August 1848.

Preparatory work for rebuilding by the Southern Railway

Southern Railway (Great Britain)

The Southern Railway was a British railway company established in the 1923 Grouping. It linked London with the Channel ports, South West England, South coast resorts and Kent...

 in its "Southern Odeon" style on the east of London Road was halted by the outbreak of the World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

, with most trackwork and the vertical edgings of the five planned through platforms in place. After the war some platforms were made level for rugby spectators' trains which were hand-flagged through the embryonic station. It was not until 28 March 1954 that the present station came into use with three through tracks inconveniently having the two up platforms facing each other. The track at platform 1 is disconnected and like that of platform 2 stops at a causeway which allows rugby crowds to reach platform 3 without entering the cramped station building. The original station was demolished immediately after closure and there are no remains to be seen.

Access avoiding stairs

With staff attendance platform 3 can be reached across the causeway from the car park and platforms 4 and 5 by a stairlift from the road-level footbridge.

Services

The typical off-peak service from the station in trains per hour is:

• 12 to London Waterloo, of which:
  • 8 run direct via Richmond
    Richmond station (London)
    Richmond station is a National Rail and London Underground station in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames in south west London which is managed by South West Trains....
    
     and Clapham Junction
    Clapham Junction railway station
    Clapham Junction railway station is near St John's Hill in the south-west of Battersea in the London Borough of Wandsworth. Although it is in Battersea, the area around the station is commonly identified as Clapham Junction....
    
    
  • 2 run circuitously via Kingston and Wimbledon
    Wimbledon station
    Wimbledon station is a National Rail, London Underground, and Tramlink station located in Wimbledon in the London Borough of Merton, and is the only London station that provides an interchange between rail, Underground, and Tramlink services...
    
    
  • 2 run circuitously via Hounslow
    Hounslow railway station
    Hounslow railway station, on the Hounslow Loop Line, is in the London Borough of Hounslow, in west London, and is in Travelcard Zone 5. The station and all trains serving it are operated by South West Trains. It was opened by the London and South Western Railway on 1 February 1850 on completion of...
    
    
• 2 to 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...
  
  
• 2 to Windsor and Eton Riverside
  Windsor and Eton Riverside railway station
  Windsor & Eton Riverside station is a station in Windsor in Berkshire, England. The station, close to the River Thames and Windsor Castle, is a grade II listed building....
  
  

Future

The RFU has petitioned the govenment to improve the station to be ready to handle the increased use during the 2015 Rugby World Cup. Network Rail has committed to a plan to improve the south-west London station and the rolling stock, but progress has stalled because of planning issues with the London Borough of Richmond and Twickenham Council. .

External links