Alton Line

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

v • d • e Alton Line

Legend Deepcut Locks Basingstoke Canal South Western Main Line Brookwood Pirbright Junction Tunnel Hill Mytchett Lakes Ascot to Guildford line Great Bottom Flash Ash Vale North Camp North Downs Line and Ascot to Guildford line Farnborough Airfield Basingstoke Canal Aldershot Lock to North Downs Line Aldershot Ash Green Halt Tongham Junction closed 1960 Farnham River Wey Farnham Depot Bentley Bordon branch line Alton Basingstoke line Meon Valley line Watercress Line

The Alton Line is a railway line operated by South West Trains. Today Alton station is the terminus of a main line branch, although it was at one time the junction for three lines. The branch leaves the South Western Main Line at Pirbright Junction near Brookwood. The line was electrified (750 V DC third rail) during the interwar years by Southern Railway.

Freight trains operated by EWS and steam trains from the Watercress Line (see below) are often seen on the Alton Line.

Contents 1 History 2 Passenger services 3 Freight services 4 See also 5 References 6 Further reading 7 External links

[edit] History

The line from Farnham to Alton was opened on 28 July 1852. On 2 October 1865 the Alton, Aldershot & Winchester Railway opened between those three places; Alton station moved to new site. The section of this line between Alton and New Alresford is now the Watercress heritage railway, having been closed to passengers by British Rail in 1973. On 2 May 1870 connection from Farnham to Pirbright Junction opened. Alton became a junction station on 1 June 1901 when the Basingstoke and Alton Light Railway opened. This line was closed from 1917 as the track was taken up for use in France during the First World War. Local pressure resulted in the reopening in 1924 but traffic was light and the line closed completely in 1933. On 1 June 1903 the Meon Valley Railway opened from Alton to Fareham. This line closed to passengers on 7 Feb 1955.

The line was closed briefly in August 2006 between Brookwood and Ash Vale by a landslip at Foxhills Tunnel, causing most commuter journeys to be via Guildford. It reopened on 19 August 2006.^[1]

[edit] Passenger services

There are two trains per hour in each direction between Waterloo and Alton at off-peak times during weekdays, each taking between 75 and 78 minutes for the journey. Passenger trains that serve this line during off-peak hours also stop at the following stations (from north to south):

• Clapham Junction
• Surbiton
• West Byfleet
• Woking

Although timetables show the line as "Suburban", for the purposes of South West Trains Passenger Charter discounts and Void Day refunds for season tickets, most journeys from this line fall into the Mainline group. All journeys from Alton, Bentley and Farnham are Mainline journeys. Journeys from Aldershot and Ash Vale to London Terminals (i.e. all London stations) and Zone R1256 Zones (a journey to London with Underground included) are Mainline. All other journeys from these two stations are suburban.

[edit] Freight services

A daily service runs to Holybourne Oil Terminal between Alton and Bentley. Unfortunately this disrupts the half hourly commuter service as the line between Alton and Farnham is single, with a passing place at Bentley and worked on the absolute block system.^[2]

[edit] See also

• South West Trains
• Meon Valley line

[edit] References

[edit] Further reading

• Butt, R.V.J. (1995). The Directory of Railway Stations. Sparkford: Patrick Stephens Ltd. ISBN 1-85260-508-1. 

[edit] External links

• Alton Line Users Association (ALUA)
• Ordnance Survey

v • d • e Railway lines in South-East England Eastern  (Kent) Primary Routes High Speed 1 · Chatham Main Line · South Eastern Main Line Secondary Lines Ashford-Ramsgate via Canterbury Line · East Coastway · Hastings Line · Kent Coast Line · Maidstone East Line Minor/Branch Lines Bexleyheath Line · Bromley North Line · Catford Loop · Dartford Loop · Greenwich Line · Hayes Line · Marshlink Line · Medway Valley Line · Mid-Kent Line · North Kent Line · Nunhead to Lewisham link · Sheerness Line Central  (Sussex) Primary Routes Arun Valley Line · Brighton Main Line · Thameslink Secondary Lines East Coastway · New Guildford Line · North Downs Line · Redhill-Tonbridge Line · Sutton & Mole Valley Line · West Coastway Minor/Branch Lines Caterham Line · Epsom Downs Branch · Oxted Line · Seaford Branch Line · South London Line · Tattenham Corner Line Western  (Wessex) Primary Routes North Downs Line · Portsmouth Direct Line · South Western Main Line · West Coastway · West of England Main Line Secondary Lines Alton Line · Ascot-Guildford Line · Chertsey Branch · Eastleigh-Fareham Line · Eastleigh-Romsey Line · Hounslow Loop · Kingston Loop Line · Waterloo-Reading Line · West London Line Minor/Branch Lines Chessington Branch · Greenford Branch · Hampton Court Branch · Henley Branch Line · Island Line · Lymington Branch Line · Marlow Branch Line · Shepperton Branch Line · Slough-Windsor & Eton Line · Staines-Windsor & Eton Line Northern  (Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire) Primary Routes West Coast Main Line · Chiltern Main Line Secondary Lines London to Aylesbury Line · Cherwell Valley Line · Cotswold Line Minor/Branch Lines Marston Vale Line · Oxford to Bicester Line · Princes Risborough to Aylesbury Line · Varsity Line (currently partially disused)