Wokingham railway station
Encyclopedia
Wokingham
Wokingham is a market town and civil parish in Berkshire in South East England about west of central London. It is about east-southeast of Reading and west of Bracknell. It spans an area of and, according to the 2001 census, has a population of 30,403...
in 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...
, 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...
. It is situated at the junction of the Waterloo to Reading line
Waterloo to Reading Line
The Waterloo to Reading Line is a National Rail suburban electric railway line running generally westwards from London, England. It is operated by South West Trains...
with the North Downs Line
North Downs Line
The North Downs Line is the name of the passenger train service connecting Reading, on the Great Western Main Line, to Gatwick Airport, on the Brighton Main Line...
. The station is managed 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...
, who provide services along with 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....
.
History
The line from ReadingReading Southern railway station
Reading Southern railway station was the western terminus of the South Eastern Railway's route from . It was also used by London and South Western Railway services from London Waterloo....
to was built by the Reading, Guildford and Reigate Railway (RG&RR), and was opened in stages: the first sections, from Reading to Farnborough
Farnborough North railway station
Farnborough North railway station is a railway station in the town of Farnborough in Hampshire, England. The station is managed by First Great Western, who operate services on the North Downs Line from Reading to Guildford, Redhill and Gatwick Airport....
, which included a station at Wokingham, also from Dorking
Dorking West railway station
Dorking West railway station serves the town of Dorking in Surrey, England. It is the quietest of the three stations in the town, the others being Dorking and Dorking Deepdene...
to Redhill, were opened on 4 July 1849; other sections followed, with the last section, from Guildford
Guildford (Surrey) railway station
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 from London Waterloo....
to , on 15 October 1849. From its beginning, the RG&RR was worked by the South Eastern Railway
South Eastern Railway (UK)
The South Eastern Railway was a railway company in south-eastern England from 1836 until 1922. The company was formed to construct a route from London to Dover. Branch lines were later opened to Tunbridge Wells, Hastings, Canterbury and other places in Kent...
(SER), which bought the RG&RR in 1852.
The Staines, Wokingham & Woking Junction Railway (SW&WJR) opened a line between and Wokingham (Staines Junction) on 9 July 1856; the SW&WJR was worked by the London and South Western Railway
London and South Western Railway
The London and South Western Railway was a railway company in England from 1838 to 1922. Its network extended from London to Plymouth via Salisbury and Exeter, with branches to Ilfracombe and Padstow and via Southampton to Bournemouth and Weymouth. It also had many routes connecting towns in...
(LSWR), and they were authorised to run over the SER into Reading. This gave Wokingham a direct route into London Waterloo.
The electric service from Waterloo to Reading was introduced on 1 January 1939, being an extension of the existing electrified network from .
The current signal box
Signal box
On a rail transport system, signalling control is the process by which control is exercised over train movements by way of railway signals and block systems to ensure that trains operate safely, over the correct route and to the proper timetable...
, opened in 1933, is responsible for a large part of the south-easterly section of the North Downs Line
North Downs Line
The North Downs Line is the name of the passenger train service connecting Reading, on the Great Western Main Line, to Gatwick Airport, on the Brighton Main Line...
and an eastern portion of the Waterloo route, as well as the level crossing. Wokingham's station building was replaced in 1973 by a featureless structure built in prefabricated concrete (CLASP). The platforms were extended slightly in 1987 to accommodate eight-car Waterloo trains. Platform 2 (Reading bound) has recently undergone a further extension to accommodate longer trains and the addition of a signal at the London end. This is for reversing trains in times of disruption and during the Reading station upgrade.
Level crossings
The principal crossing adjacent to the station had its barriers first brought into use in 1976. A footbridge is also provided for pedestrians when the crossing is being traversed by trains. Originally it was built from old double-head rails, but has been replaced by a more modern angular design. A pedestrian crossing lies in the 'V' of Wokingham Junction- the splitting of the Waterloo and North Downs Lines. The latter is crossed by means of a concrete footbridge. There is also an occupation crossing located on the Waterloo line at Knoll Farm, opposite Langborough Recreation Ground, but is restricted to use by the farm opposite.A major barrier crossing lies further along the same line on Easthampstead Road at Star Lane. An extremely busy crossing that had automatic half-barriers installed in about 1964. In 1997 it was upgraded to full barriers and the provision of CCTV
Closed-circuit television
Closed-circuit television is the use of video cameras to transmit a signal to a specific place, on a limited set of monitors....
. There is a second
AHB, Waterloo Crossing where barriers were first installed here in 1965. Unlike Star Lane Crossing, it was not upgraded, and retains half barriers. There was a third crossing at Amen Corner, which survived to see instalment of AHBs before closing in 1982 as part of the A329
A329 road
The A329 is an east-west road in Southern England that runs from Wentworth in Surrey to Thame in Oxfordshire. The A329 starts at the A30 in Surrey and passes through the towns of Ascot, Bracknell, Wokingham, Earley, Reading, the village of Pangbourne, and Wallingford in Oxfordshire...
re-routing. Today, this road crosses the line by means of an overbridge located further towards Wokingham, whilst a pedestrian footbridge occupies the site of the former crossing.
Services
South West Trains operate services between London WaterlooWaterloo station
Waterloo station, also known as London Waterloo, is a central London railway terminus and London Underground complex. The station is owned and operated by Network Rail and is close to the South Bank of the River Thames, and in Travelcard Zone 1....
and : 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 and an hourly stopping service between Reading and , 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
North Downs Line
The North Downs Line is the name of the passenger train service connecting Reading, on the Great Western Main Line, to Gatwick Airport, on the Brighton Main Line...
.