Woking railway station

Woking National Rail
Woking railway station's (now removed) canopy above its apron.
Location
Place Woking
Local authority Borough of Woking
Coordinates 51°19′05″N 0°33′25″W / 51.318°N 0.557°W / 51.318; -0.557Coordinates: 51°19′05″N 0°33′25″W / 51.318°N 0.557°W / 51.318; -0.557
Grid reference TQ006587
Operations
Station code WOK
Managed by South Western Railway
Number of platforms 6
DfT category B
Live arrivals/departures, station information and onward connections
from National Rail Enquiries
Annual rail passenger usage*
2012/13 Increase 7.463 million
2013/14 Increase 7.698 million
2014/15 Increase 7.963 million
2015/16 Increase 7.989 million
2016/17 Increase 7.998 million
History
Original company London and Southampton Railway
Pre-grouping London and South Western Railway
Post-grouping Southern Railway
21 May 1838 (1838-05-21) Station opened as Woking Common
c. 1843 Renamed Woking
National Rail – UK railway stations
* Annual estimated passenger usage based on sales of tickets in stated financial year(s) which end or originate at Woking from Office of Rail and Road statistics. Methodology may vary year on year.
UK Railways portal

Woking railway station is a major stop in Woking, England, on the South Western Main Line used by many commuters. It is 24 miles 27 chains (39.2 km) down the line from London Waterloo. The station is managed by South Western Railway, who operate all trains serving it. Many South Western Railway services call at Woking, including:

Fast trains from Woking take approximately 26 minutes to reach London Waterloo (some stop at Clapham Junction). Trains from the Alton Line take roughly 35 minutes, and the stopping service 50 minutes, to Waterloo.

A twice-hourly RailAir bus service runs between the terminus beside the station and Heathrow Airport, a journey of about 50 minutes.

The station's southern exterior is an art deco rounded-edge building in a mixture of concrete and stock brick courses. It features less uniformity and glass than the town centre side

History

Class 33 008 Woking station with Mk1 Coaches heading towards Basingstoke

The London and Southampton Railway (L&SR) was authorised on 25 July 1834.[1] It was built and opened in stages, and the first section, that between the London terminus at Nine Elms and Woking Common was opened on 21 May 1838.[2] Woking Common became a through station with the opening of the next section of the line, as far as Winchfield, on 24 September that year.[3] On 4 June 1839, the L&SR was renamed the London and South Western Railway (LSWR),[4] and Woking Common station assumed its current name of Woking around 1843.[5]

Woking became a junction with the opening of the Guildford Junction Railway (GJR) on 5 May 1845;[6] it had been authorised less than a year earlier, on 10 May 1844.[7] The GJR was always operated by the LSWR, and was absorbed by that company on 4 August 1845.[8]

Platforms

Woking station
Note: cafés on south and central platforms
 
Townside ticket hall
1
National Rail South Western Main Line
stopping service to/from London
National Rail Main Line, westbound
5
Platform 6 (little-used)
 
Downside ticket hall etc.

Woking Station has six platforms, two of which act as termini with buffers.

  • Platform 1 – Semi-fast and fast London-bound trains. Adjoins the main station house and town centre to the north.
  • Platform 2 – Fast London services. Part of a single island with 3 and 4 below.
  • Platform 3 – Stopping service to/from London, terminus. At the far east end of platforms 2 to 4.
  • Platform 4 – Fast trains to Basingstoke, Southampton, Weymouth, Salisbury and Exeter.
  • Platform 5 – Portsmouth line, Alton line, Basingstoke stopping.
  • Platform 6 – a west-facing bay platform, terminus, the first train of the day to Portsmouth Harbour via Eastleigh starts from this platform, and it is often used to stable diesel locomotives in the event of a train failure.

Services

A Class 159 DMU calls at the station


Preceding station National Rail Following station
Clapham Junction
or London Waterloo		   South Western Railway
Portsmouth Direct Line		   Guildford
  South Western Railway
Portsmouth Direct Line
(Stopping service)		   Worplesdon
  South Western Railway
South Western Main Line		   Farnborough (Main)
or Winchester
  South Western Railway
West of England Main Line		   Basingstoke
West Byfleet   South Western Railway
Alton Line		   Brookwood
  South Western Railway
Waterloo to Woking
(Stopping service)		   Terminus
Weybridge   South Western Railway
Waterloo to Basingstoke
(Stopping service)		   Brookwood
  Historical railways  
Staines   Anglia Railways
London Crosslink		   Farnborough (Main)

Notes

  1. ↑ Williams 1968, p. 20.
  2. ↑ Williams 1968, pp. 35–36.
  3. ↑ Williams 1968, p. 38.
  4. ↑ Williams 1968, p. 122.
  5. ↑ Butt 1995, p. 253.
  6. ↑ Williams 1968, p. 132.
  7. ↑ Williams 1968, p. 126.
  8. ↑ Awdry 1990, p. 187.
  9. ↑ https://www.southwesternrailway.com/plan-my-journey/timetables
  10. ↑ https://www.southwesternrailway.com/plan-my-journey/timetables
  11. ↑ Wells 1975, p. 59.
  12. ↑ YouTube upload of video showing station with Network SouthEast signage
  13. ↑ McKeon, Christopher (29 September 2017). "Woking railway station is going to be on TV!". Get Surrey. Retrieved 13 October 2017.

References

  • Awdry, Christopher (1990). Encyclopaedia of British Railway Companies. London: Guild Publishing. CN 8983.
  • Butt, R.V.J. (1995). The Directory of Railway Stations. Yeovil: Patrick Stephens Ltd. ISBN 1-85260-508-1. R508.
  • Wells, H.G. (1975) [1898]. The War of the Worlds. London: Pan Books. ISBN 0-330-24332-2.
  • Williams, R.A. (1968). The London & South Western Railway, volume 1: The Formative Years. Newton Abbot: David & Charles. ISBN 0-7153-4188-X.
  • Woking Borough Council, 'Woking's railway'
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