Alton railway station

Last updated

Alton
National Rail logo.svg
Alton Railway Station.jpg
General information
Location Alton, East Hampshire
England
Grid reference SU723397
Managed by South Western Railway
Platforms3 (2 National Rail, 1 Watercress Line)
Other information
Station codeAON
Classification DfT category C2
Key dates
28 July 1852Station opens
2 October 1865Station moves to adjacent site
February 1973National Rail services west of Alton curtailed
25 May 1985Watercress Line begins heritage services west of Alton
Passengers
2018/19Increase2.svg 0.711 million
Local train to Winchester in 1955 Alton railway station geograph-2648181-by-Ben-Brooksbank.jpg
Local train to Winchester in 1955
Last Meon Valley train in 1955 Alton with last Meon Valley train geograph-2658945-by-Ben-Brooksbank.jpg
Last Meon Valley train in 1955

Alton railway station is a station in the market town of Alton, in the English county of Hampshire. The station is the terminus for two railway lines: the Alton Line which runs to Brookwood and on to London Waterloo, and the Mid Hants Watercress Railway which runs to Alresford. The latter once ran through to Winchester but was closed to passengers in February 1973; [1] it reopened as a heritage line in 1985. Two other routes, both now closed, also served the station – the Meon Valley line to Fareham and the Basingstoke and Alton Light Railway.

Contents

Services operate along the Alton Line to Brookwood and join the South West Main Line towards London Waterloo. The line was single-tracked as far as Farnham by British Rail in the early 1980s.

Platforms

There are three platforms in use. South Western Railway use platforms one and two, connected by a footbridge. Platform three is used by the Mid Hants Railway.

History

The first station opened by the London and South Western Railway in 1852 was sited on what is now the station car park. It closed when the present station opened in 1865. The London & South Western Railway became part of the Southern Railway during the Grouping of 1923. The line from Woking to Alton was electrified in 1937 and the station passed on to the Southern Region of British Railways on nationalisation in 1948.

When Sectorisation was introduced in 1986, the station was served by Network SouthEast, until the privatisation of British Rail in 1997.

Location

Alton station is located in the local government district of East Hampshire.

The station is nowhere near Alton Towers Resort, which is located in the rural village of Alton in Staffordshire, about 185 miles away. Many people trying to reach the resort have mistakenly travelled to this station. Historically there could have been grounds for confusion: Alton Towers railway station which closed in 1965 was, before 1954, called Alton railway station.

Local residents, who have encountered many people trying to find Alton Towers, have put up posters at the station containing directions from the station to the resort by train, with a journey time of approximately 4 hours and 46 minutes. [2]

Services

Monday to Saturdays there is a half-hourly service to London Waterloo and an hourly service on Sundays, increasing to half-hourly from approximately 1330.

Services are usually operated by Class 450 Desiro units, although the Class 444 & Class 458 is also sometimes used.

Notes

  1. Body, p.33
  2. "Burton Mail: Alton Towers visitors ending up almost 200 miles away in Hampshire". Archived from the original on 21 October 2015.

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References

Preceding station National Rail logo.svg National Rail Following station
Bentley   South Western Railway
Alton Line
 Terminus
HR icon.svg   Heritage railways
Terminus  Mid Hants Railway (Watercress Line)   Medstead & Four Marks
Disused railways
Treloar's Hospital Platform
Line and station closed
  London and South Western Railway
Basingstoke and Alton Light Railway
 Terminus
Terminus  British Rail
Southern Region
Meon Valley Railway
  Farringdon Platform

51°09′07″N0°58′04″W / 51.15200°N 0.96766°W / 51.15200; -0.96766