Ash railway station serves the village of Ash in Surrey, England. The station is served by South Western Railway, who manage the station, and by Great Western Railway. It is situated on the Ascot to Guildford line and the North Downs Line, 36 miles 34 chains (58.6 km) from London Waterloo.
Ash  | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Ash railway station | |||||
| General information | |||||
| Location | Ash, Guildford England | ||||
| Grid reference | SU899508 | ||||
| Managed by | South Western Railway | ||||
| Platforms | 2 | ||||
| Other information | |||||
| Station code | ASH | ||||
| Classification | DfT category E | ||||
| Key dates | |||||
| 20 August 1849 | Opened as Ash | ||||
| July 1855 | Renamed Ash and Aldershot | ||||
| September 1858 | Renamed Aldershot (Ash) | ||||
| June 1859 | Renamed Ash and Aldershot | ||||
| June 1863 | Renamed Ash Junction | ||||
| 1 December 1926 | Renamed Ash | ||||
| Passengers | |||||
| 2019/20 |  0.246 million | ||||
| Interchange | 21,645 | ||||
| 2020/21 | 67,150 | ||||
| Interchange | 7,209 | ||||
| 2021/22 |  0.160 million | ||||
| Interchange | 19,266 | ||||
| 2022/23 | 0.204 million | ||||
| Interchange | 32,638 | ||||
| 2023/24 | 0.233 million | ||||
| Interchange | 36,416 | ||||
| |||||
History
editAsh station was opened by the Reading, Guildford and Reigate Railway, then operated by the South Eastern Railway. The London and South Western Railway had running powers over this section of line, to North Camp, but it had never used them. After the construction of the direct line from Pirbright Junction, the LSWR built a spur to Aldershot, part of the lines to Alton, enabling its trains to call at Ash station.[1][2]
The South Eastern Railway 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.
The station had four platforms when it was built, which were later reduced to two after the Second World War. The other two platforms were where the station car park and Network Rail offices now stand. The station is 49 miles 18 chains (79.2 km) from Charing Cross (measured via Redhill); platform 1 can accommodate an eight-coach train, but platform 2 only accommodates four coaches. To the east is the former Ash Junction, 48 miles 34 chains (77.9 km) from Charing Cross, where the former route via Tongham left the North Downs Line 35 miles 50 chains (57.3 km) from Waterloo (via Worplesdon and milepost 30+1⁄4 at Guildford).[3]
When Sectorisation was introduced in the 1980s, the station was served by Network SouthEast until the Privatisation of British Railways.
Construction of a new road bridge to replace the A323 level crossing at the southeastern end of the station, began in September 2023.[4]
Services
editServices at Ash are operated by South Western Railway and Great Western Railway using Class 165 and 166 DMUs and Class 450 EMUs.
The typical off-peak service is two trains per hour in each direction between Guildford and Farnham via Aldershot, operated by South Western Railway, and one train per hour in each direction between Reading and Gatwick Airport via Guildford, operated by Great Western Railway.[5]
During the peak hours, the service between Reading and Gatwick Airport is increased to two trains per hour in each direction.
On Sundays, the South Western Railway services are reduced to hourly in each direction with westbound services running to and from Ascot instead of Farnham. In addition, the eastbound Great Western Railway services run only as far as Redhill.
| Preceding station |  National Rail
|
Following station | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wanborough | South Western Railway Farnham to Guildford |
Aldershot | ||
| Great Western Railway | ||||
Limited Service |
||||
Notes
edit- ^ R A Williams, The London and South Western Railway: volume 2: Growth and Consolidation, David and Charles, Newton Abbot, 1973, ISBN 0 7153 5940 1, pages 72 and 73
- ^ H P White, A Regional History of the Railways of Great Britain: volume II: Southern England, Phoenix House, London, 1961, pages 129 and 130
- ^ Yonge, John (November 2008) [1994]. Jacobs, Gerald (ed.). Railway Track Diagrams 5: Southern & TfL (3rd ed.). Bradford on Avon: Trackmaps. map 23. ISBN 978-0-9549866-4-3.
- ^ "Construction of £45M Ash bridge starts this month". The Construction Index. 1 September 2023. Retrieved 29 October 2023.
- ^ Table 148, 149 National Rail timetable, December 2023
References
edit- Butt, R. V. J. (October 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. OL 11956311M.
- Jowett, Alan (March 1989). Jowett's Railway Atlas of Great Britain and Ireland: From Pre-Grouping to the Present Day (1st ed.). Sparkford: Patrick Stephens Ltd. ISBN 978-1-85260-086-0. OCLC 22311137.
- Jowett, Alan (2000). Jowett's Nationalised Railway Atlas (1st ed.). Penryn, Cornwall: Atlantic Transport Publishers. ISBN 978-0-906899-99-1. OCLC 228266687.
- Station on navigable O.S. map
External links
edit
- Train times and station information for Ash railway station from National Rail