Ash railway station

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
2018/19	0.268 million
Interchange	29,975

v t e Ascot–Ash Vale Jn
Legend
Waterloo–Reading line to Reading & Waterloo Ascot 28 mi 79 ch 46.65 km Bagshot 32 mi 08 ch 51.66 km Camberley 35 mi 30 ch 56.93 km Frimley 37 mi 48 ch 60.51 km South West Main Line to Weymouth & Waterloo Alton line to Pirbright Jn Ash Vale Jn 40 mi 57 ch 65.52 km Ash Vale North Downs Line Wokingham Jn–Guildford Aldershot Alton line to Alton

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.

History

Ash 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

Services 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 westbound Great Western Railway services run only as far as Redhill.

Preceding station	National Rail			Following station
Aldershot		South Western Railway Ascot to Guildford Line		Wanborough
North Camp		Great Western Railway North Downs Line		Guildford
				Wanborough Limited Service

Notes

1. 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
2. H P White, A Regional History of the Railways of Great Britain: volume II: Southern England, Phoenix House, London, 1961, pages 129 and 130
3. 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.
4. "Construction of £45M Ash bridge starts this month". The Construction Index. 1 September 2023. Retrieved 29 October 2023.
5. Table 148, 149 National Rail timetable, December 2023

References

• 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

• Train times and station information for Ash railway station from National Rail

51°15′00″N0°42′47″W / 51.250°N 0.713°W / 51.250; -0.713