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Wokingham railway station

Coordinates: 51°24′40″N 0°50′35″W / 51.411°N 0.843°W / 51.411; -0.843
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Wokingham
National Rail
General information
LocationWokingham RG40 2AP
Wokingham, Wokingham
England
Coordinates51°24′40″N 0°50′35″W / 51.411°N 0.843°W / 51.411; -0.843
Grid referenceSU805686
Managed bySouth Western Railway
Platforms2
Other information
Station codeWKM
ClassificationDfT category C2
History
Original companyReading, Guildford and Reigate Railway
Pre-groupingLondon and South Western Railway
Post-groupingSouthern Railway
Key dates
4 July 1849Station opened
1 January 1939Line electrified
1973Station rebuilt
1987Platforms lengthened
October 2013New station building opened
Passengers
2018/19Increase 2.465 million
 Interchange Increase 0.132 million
2019/20Decrease 2.360 million
 Interchange Decrease 0.113 million
2020/21Decrease 0.484 million
 Interchange Decrease 23,467
2021/22Increase 1.281 million
 Interchange Increase 54,616
2022/23Increase 1.560 million
 Interchange Decrease 52,270
Location
Map
Notes
Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road
A 1909 Railway Clearing House map showing (left) lines in the area of Wokingham

Wokingham railway station serves the market town of Wokingham in Berkshire, England. It is 62 miles 8 chains (62.10 mi; 99.9 km) down the line from London Charing Cross via Redhill.[1] It is at the junction of the Waterloo–Reading line with the North Downs Line.

South Western Railway manages the station and provides services along with Great Western Railway.[2]

History

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The line from Reading to Redhill was built by the Reading, Guildford and Reigate Railway (RG&RR), and was opened in stages. The first sections, from Reading to Farnborough North, which included a station at Wokingham, also from Dorking West to Redhill, were opened on 4 July 1849. Other sections followed, with the last section, from Guildford (Surrey) to Shalford, on 20 October 1849.[3][4] From its beginning the RG&RR was worked by the South Eastern Railway (SER), which bought the RG&RR in 1852.[3]

The Staines, Wokingham & Woking Junction Railway (SW&WJR) opened a line between Staines and Wokingham (Staines Junction) on 9 July 1856. The London and South Western Railway (LSWR) worked the SW&WJR and was authorised to run over the SER to Reading.[5] This gave Wokingham a direct route to London Waterloo.

In 1933 the Southern Railway opened the current signal box. It controls part of the North Downs Line, part of the Waterloo route, and the level crossing. On 1 January 1939 the SR extended its Waterloo – Virginia Water electric service to Wokingham and Reading.[6]

In 1973 British Railways replaced Wokingham's station building with one built with CLASP prefabricated concrete sections. In 1987 BR slightly extended the platforms to accommodate eight-car Waterloo trains. Platform 2 ("down") 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.

In 1976 the busy level crossing adjacent to the station was modernised with lifting barriers.

In February 2024 Network Rail closed the signal box as part of a £375 billion resignalling scheme of both Feltham PSB (Power Signal Box) and Wokingham SB (Signal Box). With control moving to Basingstoke Rail operating centre.[7]

Footbridge

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At the southern end of the station there is a footbridge over the railway made from old sections of rail. The footbridge is over 130 years old, and was built after two deaths at the station's level crossing in 1886. It is now Grade II listed[8] and is believed to be the only one of its type left in the UK. In 2017, various defects were found in the bridge's structure and Network Rail started restoration work in 2021 after initially having a planning application rejected.[9][10][11]

Services

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Services at Wokingham are operated by South Western Railway and Great Western Railway.

The typical off-peak service in trains per hour is:[12]

Additional services call at the station during the peak hours.

On Sundays, only one eastbound train per hour runs to Gatwick Airport, with one train per hour running only as far as Redhill.

Preceding station National Rail National Rail Following station
Bracknell   South Western Railway
  Winnersh
Great Western Railway
Limited Service

Redevelopment 2013

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The Grade II listed footbridge at the station

In 2011, it was announced that Wokingham station would be redeveloped from spring 2012 to spring 2013[13] at a cost of £6 million.[14] The initial plan involved a new station building further along the platform, nearer to Reading than the existing building and creating a new spur road linking Wellington Road to the Reading Road. An artist's impression of the new station building was released to the news media in July 2011.[15] Enabling work for the link road was started on 11 February 2013.[16] In August 2013, the new footbridge was opened to the public and, in October the same year, the new station building was opened, with the old 1973 CLASP building being demolished to make way for the new station sign and clock tower.[17] However, following the development, South West Trains chose a new café chain to serve in the new building in place of that which had served in the old building, despite local opposition.[18]

Automatic ticket gates were installed at the station in early 2019.

References

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  1. ^ Padgett, David; Kelman, Leanne (November 2019) [1994]. Munsey, Myles (ed.). Railway Track Diagrams 5: Southern & TfL (4th ed.). Frome: Trackmaps. map 28B. ISBN 978-1-9996271-2-6.
  2. ^ "Wokingham Station". National Rail.
  3. ^ a b Kidner, R.W. (1982) [1974]. The Reading to Tonbridge Line. Locomotion Papers. Salisbury: Oakwood Press. p. 6. LP79.
  4. ^ Butt, R.V.J. (1995). The Directory of Railway Stations. Yeovil: Patrick Stephens Ltd. p. 253. ISBN 1-85260-508-1. R508.
  5. ^ Kidner 1982, p. 7
  6. ^ Kidner 1982, p. 51.
  7. ^ "Network Rail completes final phase of £375m investment to install state of the art signalling system which will improve the reliability of the line between Feltham and Wokingham". Network Rail Media Centre. Retrieved 7 August 2024.
  8. ^ "FOOTBRIDGE IMMEDIATELY SOUTH OF WOKINGHAM STATION, Wokingham – 1268457 | Historic England". historicengland.org.uk. Retrieved 6 November 2021.
  9. ^ Creighton, Phil (26 January 2021). "Why the footbridge at Wokingham Station is covered over". Wokingham Today. Retrieved 6 November 2021.
  10. ^ "Railway Footbridge". Wokingham Virtual Museum. Wokingham Town Council. Retrieved 1 April 2021.
  11. ^ Riccio, Leon (9 September 2020). "National Rail applies to repair Wokingham station footbridge". Bracknell News. Retrieved 1 April 2021.
  12. ^ Table 148, 149 National Rail timetable, June 2024
  13. ^ "Major improvements coming to Wokingham railway station". Wokingham Borough Council. 3 February 2011. Retrieved 25 March 2013.
  14. ^ "Wokingham railway station gets £6 million upgrade". BBC Berkshire. 24 October 2012. Retrieved 25 March 2013.
  15. ^ "First glimpse of new station". Wokingham Times. 6 July 2011. Retrieved 25 March 2013.
  16. ^ "Enabling work starts on Wokingham station link road". Wokingham Borough Council. 15 February 2013. Retrieved 25 March 2013.
  17. ^ "Old station demolished". Retrieved 20 November 2013.
  18. ^ "Café owner's disgust". Retrieved 20 November 2013.
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