Ash Vale railway station

Ash Vale is a railway station serving the village of Ash Vale in Surrey, England. It is situated at the junction of the London to Alton line and the Ascot to Guildford line, 32 miles 38 chains (52.3 km) down the line from London Waterloo. The station and all trains serving it are operated by South Western Railway.

Ash Vale
Ash Vale railway station
Location
PlaceAsh Vale
Local authorityGuildford
Grid referenceSU892533
Operations
Station codeAHV
Managed bySouth Western Railway
Number of platforms2
DfT categoryD
Live arrivals/departures, station information and onward connections
from National Rail Enquiries
Annual rail passenger usage*
2014/15 0.474 million
– Interchange  0.136 million
2015/16 0.489 million
– Interchange  0.130 million
2016/17 0.481 million
– Interchange  0.122 million
2017/18 0.467 million
– Interchange  0.114 million
2018/19 0.459 million
– Interchange  0.115 million
History
Key datesOpened 2 May 1870 (2 May 1870)
National Rail – UK railway stations
  • Annual estimated passenger usage based on sales of tickets in stated financial year(s) which end or originate at Ash Vale from Office of Rail and Road statistics. Methodology may vary year on year.

The station is on an embankment and is adjacent to the Basingstoke Canal. The station opened in May 1870 under the name of "North Camp and Ash Vale", changing to its present name on 30 March 1924. The original main station building of the south side had to be demolished due to subsidence, the current replacements dating from 1972.

It is approximately half a mile from Ash Vale to North Camp station on the North Downs Line (the line between Gatwick Airport, Guildford and Reading), a distance passengers are expected to walk to make any connection. Only disabled passengers may argue that to do so would not be "reasonable" - the National Routeing Guide which defines route validity allows for the less able taking circuitous routes at the discretion of staff.

History

Opened by the London and South Western Railway, it became part of the Southern Railway during the Grouping of 1923. The station then passed on to the Southern Region of British Railways on nationalisation in 1948.

When Sectorisation was introduced in the 1980s, the station was served by Network SouthEast until the Privatisation of British Railways.

In 1952 the booking clerk at Ash Vale was murdered following a hold-up by a fellow rail worker.[1]

Services

On weekdays, there are trains approximately every 30 minutes between London Waterloo and Alton and between Ascot and Aldershot. On Sundays, trains run every 30 minutes between London and Alton and every 60 minutes between Ascot and Guildford.[2]

Train movements in the Ash Vale station area and the junction beyond were controlled by Ash Vale Junction signal box. The signal box, complete with its four residents and cover staff, operated 24 hours a day 364 days a year from a traditional signal box on the junction itself. The signal box closed in 2014[3] and has since been removed.

Passengers awaiting services at Ash Vale towards London or Ascot can check the route of the train by referring to the signal at the end of platform 1. If the 5 white directional lights are illuminated, then the train is going towards Ascot; whereas if they are not, then the train is going towards Woking. (A red light means the train is not going anywhere at the moment.)

Preceding station National Rail Following station
Brookwood or Woking   South Western Railway
Alton Line		   Aldershot
Frimley   South Western Railway
Ascot to Guildford line		  

Notes
  1. "Murder of Geoffrey Dean, 1952". www.btp.police.uk. Retrieved 24 March 2018.
  2. GB eNRT 2015-16 Edition, Tables 149 & 155 (Network Rail)
  3. Flickr > Ingy The Wingy > Ash Vale Junction

References
  • Butt, R. V. J. (1995). The Directory of Railway Stations: details every public and private passenger station, halt, platform and stopping place, past and present (1st ed.). Sparkford: Patrick Stephens Ltd. ISBN 978-1-85260-508-7. OCLC 60251199.
  • Jowett, Alan (2000). Jowett's Nationalised Railway Atlas (1st ed.). Penryn, Cornwall: Atlantic Transport Publishers. ISBN 978-0-906899-99-1. OCLC 228266687.

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