General information | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Location | Dorking, District of Mole Valley England | ||||
Grid reference | TQ170504 | ||||
Managed by | Southern | ||||
Platforms | 3 | ||||
Other information | |||||
Station code | DKG | ||||
Classification | DfT category C1 | ||||
Key dates | |||||
11 March 1867 | Opened | ||||
9 July 1923 | Renamed Dorking North | ||||
7 November 1966 | Goods yard closed | ||||
6 May 1968 | Renamed Dorking | ||||
23 August 1982 | New station building opened | ||||
Passengers | |||||
2019/20 | 1.184 million | ||||
Interchange | 0.262 million | ||||
2020/21 | 0.262 million | ||||
Interchange | 28,575 | ||||
2021/22 | 0.690 million | ||||
Interchange | 67,622 | ||||
2022/23 | 0.695 million | ||||
Interchange | 74,693 | ||||
2023/24 | 0.765 million | ||||
Interchange | 79,175 | ||||
|
Dorking railway station is a railway station in Dorking,Surrey,England. Located on the Mole Valley line,it is 22 miles 8 chains (35.6 km) down the line from London Waterloo (via Wimbledon). [1] The station is one of three that serve the town of Dorking,alongside Dorking Deepdene and Dorking West stations (both on the North Downs Line). Dorking and Dorking Deepdene stations are within walking distance of each other [2] and interchange between them on a through ticket is permitted.
The station is managed by Southern,which is one of two companies serving the station alongside South Western Railway. It has three platforms,numbered 1–3 from left to right when looking towards London; [3] each platform is long enough to accommodate 10 carriages. The platforms are connected by both a subway and a footbridge,with lift access available to all platforms. [3]
The Mole Gap between Dorking and Leatherhead is one of the few natural breaches in the North Downs and its potential as a rail corridor was realised as early as 1830 when a line linking London to Brighton was proposed. In 1845–46,the Direct London and Portsmouth Railway was authorised by Parliament to run south from Epsom to Dorking on to Godalming,Havant and Portsmouth. The scheme failed to attract sufficient investment and was dropped in favour of the Woking,Guildford and Havant route from London Waterloo.
The first railway line to link Dorking with London was the independently promoted Reading,Guildford and Reigate Railway proposed in 1845-6,authorised by Acts of Parliament in 1846 and 1847. This became the line we know today as the North Downs Line.
By 1859 the London,Brighton and South Coast Railway and London and South Western Railway had built a joint line to Leatherhead from Epsom,where their tracks separated (the former heading for London Bridge,the latter for London Waterloo. An independent Horsham,Dorking and Leatherhead Railway was set up and promoted by interested local parties (principally from Horsham) to link the three towns. The railway was approved by Act of Parliament in July 1862,but only from a junction with the South Eastern Railway's North Downs Line,100 yards (91 m) to the east of Dorking Deepdene,to the LBSCR's Arun Valley line at Horsham.
A year later,in July 1863,LBSCR secured authority to build the line from its station at Leatherhead to make a connection with the line from Horsham. The line to Leatherhead was opened on 11 March 1867;however,the connection with the line from Horsham was not made until 1 May 1867. Initially services ran from London Bridge to Brighton via Sutton and Steyning,four times per day in each direction.
On 27 July 1887,Betchworth Tunnel to the south of the station collapsed. This meant that trains were unable to run towards Horsham until the repairs were completed on 1 March 1888.
The Southern Railway,formed in 1923,began an extensive programme of electrification of their suburban lines. The line from Waterloo to Dorking was electrified using the 660 V third rail system in 1925 and regular half-hourly semi-fast services were introduced on 12 July 1925 to run seven days per week. The 22+1⁄2 mi (36 km) journey to Waterloo originally took 45 minutes, although this was considerably lengthened when trains began to stop at all stations shortly afterwards. Additional hourly electric services to London Bridge via Mitcham Junction and Tulse Hill began on 3 March 1929; the 25 mi (40 km) journey took 53 minutes.
The mid-Sussex electrification of 1938 resulted in the express steam services from Portsmouth and Bognor Regis being replaced by electric services which were routed through Dorking, calling only at Sutton and London Victoria. These gave commuters from Dorking their fastest ever link to London Victoria – 34 minutes during peak hours. Some steam services to other unelectrified lines (such as the Steyning Line) continued until their final withdrawal in January 1964, during the closures associated with the Beeching Axe.
In the timetable change of May 1978 the mid-Sussex and Portsmouth express services were routed via Three Bridges to serve Gatwick Airport, and the off-peak service provision to Dorking was reduced to two semi-fast services from Victoria per hour, with services to Horsham running every two hours. Now the average journey time to London termini takes a passenger 55 minutes.
The route to Horsham was neglected for some years during the 1980s, with shuttle services between Dorking and Horsham operating every two hours at off-peak times. In contrast, the service pattern now provided is one train an hour through from London to Horsham (headcode 84). The off-peak service provision of two trains from London Bridge to Horsham via Sutton and Dorking existed for a number of years from about 1985 but ceased by 2000. The former Horsham–Waterloo trains via Dorking (headcode 15) had ceased as early as 1980.
The resignalling scheme of 1938 introduced three-aspect colour signals to replace the original semaphore signals. A new signal box was constructed and opened on 15 May 1938, ahead of the introduction of electric express services. It is one of many built in the Odeon style by the Southern Railway during the 1930s. The original frame was an A2 type Westinghouse with 44 levers. The box controls the line from Box Hill & Westhumble to just south of Dorking station. It controls one of the last examples of a Southern Railway "Dummy" Signal, which controls the exit of the carriage siding.
Services at Dorking are operated by Southern and South Western Railway using Class 377 and 455 EMUs.
The typical off-peak service is: [4]
Before the COVID-19 pandemic, South Western Railway served Dorking 2 tph to London Waterloo via Wimbledon but this service has not been restored and only sees 1 tph as of 2024
On Saturday evenings (after approximately 18:45) and on Sundays, there is no service south of Dorking to Horsham.
On Saturday evenings there are two trains to West Croydon, The 23:07 and the 23:37 calling at all stops except from Ewell East. Operated by Southern
Unlike other towns in the London commuter belt, Dorking does not receive any express services, which gives overcapacity towards the suburban terminus due to the longer journey times and overcrowding on the inner-city phase of journeys. [5]
Preceding station | National Rail | Following station | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
Leatherhead or Box Hill & Westhumble | Southern | Holmwood or Terminus | ||
Box Hill & Westhumble | South Western Railway | Terminus |
In November 2018, the Dorking Town Forum submitted a proposal to Network Rail for a £21 million upgrade of the Dorking station area. While the majority of the proposal focuses on improvements to nearby Dorking Deepdene station, the plan also envisages the construction of a new direct 100-metre (330 ft)-long foot link between Dorking and Dorking Deepdene, which would allow for easier interchanging between the two stations. [6] [7]
Mitcham Junction is a National Rail station served by Southern and Thameslink trains. It also has a Tramlink stop. It is in the London Borough of Merton and is in Travelcard Zone 4.
Epsom railway station serves the town of Epsom in Surrey, England. It is located off Waterloo Road and is less than two minutes' walk from the town's high street. It is 14 miles 18 chains (22.9 km) down the line from London Waterloo.
Cheam railway station serves Cheam in the London Borough of Sutton. It is located on the Sutton & Mole Valley Lines section from Sutton to Epsom with trains to London Victoria and London Bridge both via Mitcham Junction and West Croydon.
Carshalton railway station is a railway station at Carshalton in the London Borough of Sutton in South London. It is located between Sutton and Hackbridge.
Sutton railway station (sometimes referred to as Sutton (Surrey) on tickets and timetables) is in the London Borough of Sutton in South London and is the main station serving the town of Sutton. It is served by Southern and Thameslink trains, and lies in Travelcard Zone 5, 14 miles 75 chains (14.94 miles, 24.04 km) down the line from London Bridge, measured via Forest Hill.
Raynes Park railway station serves the district of Raynes Park in the London Borough of Merton. It is 8 miles 51 chains (13.9 km) south-west of London Waterloo and is situated between Wimbledon and New Malden on the South West Main Line. The next station along on the Mole Valley branch line is Motspur Park.
Guildford railway station is at one of three main railway junctions on the Portsmouth Direct Line and serves the town of Guildford in Surrey, England. It is 30 miles 27 chains down the line from London Waterloo via Woking.
The Sutton and Mole Valley lines were constructed between 1847 and 1868 by the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway, the London and South Western Railway and the LBSCR-sponsored Horsham, Dorking and Leatherhead Railway.
Horsham railway station serves the town of Horsham in West Sussex, England. It is 37 miles 56 chains (60.7 km) down the line from London Bridge, measured via Redhill, on the Arun Valley Line and the Sutton & Mole Valley Lines, and train services are provided by Southern and Thameslink. Services on the Sutton & Mole Valley Line from London Victoria via Dorking terminate here, as do Thameslink services from Peterborough via London Bridge. The other services continue into the Arun Valley: a half-hourly service from London Victoria to Bognor Regis, and a half-hourly service to Portsmouth Harbour. These trains usually divide here with the front (Portsmouth) portion travelling fast and the rear half providing stopping services.
Hilsea railway station is a railway station on Airport Service Road, Hilsea, Portsmouth, England serving the northern end of Portsea Island, including a large industrial estate nearby. The station was once the closest to Portsmouth Airport, which was closed in 1973.
Ashtead railway station is in Ashtead, Surrey, England. It is 16 miles 19 chains (26.1 km) down the line from London Waterloo.
Box Hill & Westhumble is a railway station in the village of Westhumble in Surrey, England, approximately 2 miles (3.2 km) north of Dorking town centre. Box Hill is located approximately 1⁄2 mile (800 m) to the east. It is 21 miles 14 chains (34.1 km) down the line from London Waterloo. Train services are operated by Southern who manage the station, and South Western Railway.
Leatherhead railway station is in Leatherhead, Surrey, England. It is managed by Southern, with services provided by them and South Western Railway. It is 18 miles 2 chains (29 km) from London Waterloo.
Holmwood railway station serves the villages of Beare Green and South Holmwood in Surrey, England, on the Sutton and Mole Valley Lines between Dorking and Horsham, 27 miles 5 chains (43.6 km) from London Waterloo.
The New Guildford line, presently operated by South Western Railway, is a commuter line between London Waterloo and Guildford. It branches off the South West Main Line at Hampton Court Junction, just south-west of Surbiton. On timetables, trains on this route are advertised as going to Guildford via Cobham.
The Portsmouth line is a secondary main line originally built by the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway and the London and South Western Railway between 1847 and 1868. It leaves the South London Line at Peckham Rye, with connections to the Victoria branch of the Brighton Main Line at Streatham, and continues via Sutton, Epsom and Dorking to join the Mid-Sussex Line at Horsham.
The Wimbledon and Dorking Railway (W&DR) was an early railway company in southern England. It was independently promoted with the intention of penetrating into West Sussex, but it only succeeded in getting authorisation as far as Epsom. It joined the Epsom and Leatherhead Railway there, and opened in 1859.
The Epsom and Leatherhead Railway (E&LR) was a railway company in Surrey, England. Promoted independently, it opened its short line in 1859 and was worked by the London and South Western Railway (LSWR). It was transferred to the joint ownership of the LSWR and the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway (LBSCR) in 1860. Those companies operated passenger trains to Waterloo and London Bridge station respectively. In 1867 the LBSCR built an extension line from Leatherhead to Dorking, with the declared intention of continuing to the Sussex coast. A new Leatherhead station was built on the new line, and the LSWR was obliged to build its own independent, new Leatherhead station; this was a terminus for some years.
The Horsham, Dorking and Leatherhead Railway (HD&LR) was an early railway company in southern England. It planned to fill in a gap in the network of the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway, shortening the route from London to coastal towns from Littlehampton to Portsmouth. It only obtained Parliamentary authorisation to build from Horsham to Dorking, and it sold its company to the LBSCR, which completed the construction, and itself built the remaining section from Dorking to Leatherhead.
The Mid-Sussex railways were a group of English railway companies that together formed what became the Mid-Sussex line, from Three Bridges through Horsham to Littlehampton, in southern England. After 1938 the Southern Railway operated a regular electric train service ran from London to Bognor Regis and Portsmouth using the marketing brand "Mid-Sussex Line", leading to an informal consensus. The Mid-Sussex Railway company ran from Horsham to Petworth, and the Mid-Sussex Junction line of the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway (LBSCR) extended from the Petworth line to Littlehampton. The Three Bridges to Horsham branch of the LBSCR was at first the sole access from the north to the Mid-Sussex railways, although a line from Leatherhead was used later.