Wokingham | |
Symbol Location: | gb |
Symbol: | rail |
Address: | Wokingham RG40 2AP |
Borough: | Wokingham, Wokingham |
Country: | England |
Coordinates: | 51.411°N -0.843°W |
Grid Name: | Grid reference |
Manager: | South Western Railway |
Platforms: | 2 |
Code: | WKM |
Classification: | DfT category C2 |
Original: | Reading, Guildford and Reigate Railway |
Pregroup: | London and South Western Railway |
Postgroup: | Southern Railway |
Years: | 4 July 1849 |
Events: | Station opened |
Years1: | 1 January 1939 |
Events1: | Line electrified |
Years2: | 1973 |
Events2: | Station rebuilt |
Years3: | 1987 |
Events3: | Platforms lengthened |
Years4: | October 2013 |
Events4: | New station building opened |
Footnotes: | Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road |
Mapframe: | yes |
Mapframe-Zoom: | 13 |
Wokingham railway station serves the market town of Wokingham in Berkshire, England. It is 62miles down the line from 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]
The line from Reading to was built by the Reading, Guildford and Reigate Railway (RG&RR), and was opened in stages. The first sections, from Reading to, which included a station at Wokingham, also from to Redhill, were opened on 4 July 1849. Other sections followed, with the last section, from to, 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 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. This gave Wokingham a direct route to .
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 – electric service to Wokingham and Reading.
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.[5]
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[6] 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.[7] [8] [9]
Services at Wokingham are operated by South Western Railway and Great Western Railway.
The typical off-peak service in trains per hour is:
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 .
In 2011, it was announced that Wokingham station would be redeveloped from spring 2012 to spring 2013[10] at a cost of £6 million.[11] 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.[12] Enabling work for the link road was started on 11 February 2013.[13] 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.[14] 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.[15]
Automatic ticket gates were installed at the station in early 2019.