Aldershot railway station

For the train station in Canada, see Aldershot GO Station.
Aldershot National Rail

Aldershot railway station
Location
Place Aldershot
Local authority Rushmoor
Grid reference SU866504
Operations
Station code AHT
Managed by South West Trains
Number of platforms 3
DfT category C2
Live arrivals/departures, station information and onward connections
from National Rail Enquiries
Annual rail passenger usage*
2002/03 Increase 0.967 million
2004/05 Increase 1.121 million
2005/06 Increase 1.196 million
2006/07 Increase 1.277 million
2007/08 Increase 1.415 million
2008/09 Increase 1.441 million
2009/10 Decrease 1.407 million
2010/11 Increase 1.493 million
2011/12 Decrease 1.470 million
- Interchange 0.148 million
2012/13 Decrease 1.448 million
- Interchange Increase 0.149 million
2013/14 Decrease 1.401 million
History
Key dates Opened 2 May 1870[1] (2 May 1870[2])
National Rail – UK railway stations
* Annual estimated passenger usage based on sales of tickets in stated financial year(s) which end or originate at Aldershot from Office of Rail and Road statistics. Methodology may vary year on year.
UK Railways portal

Aldershot railway station is on Station Road, near the town centre of Aldershot, Hampshire, England. It is on the Alton Line, part of the National Rail network, with train services and station facilities provided by South West Trains.

Aldershot railway station has the three-letter code AHT. This code is used, for example, to locate Aldershot when using National Rail Live Departure Boards. The station's National Location Code (NLC) is 5623. This code is shown on tickets issued by the ticket office. Tickets issued by the ticket vending machine show the location 3130.

Work started on 8 December 2008 to install ticket gates at the station to help combat fare evasion.

History

The London and South Western Railway opened the station in 1870. It became part of the Southern Railway in the 1923 Grouping. The station then passed to the Southern Region of British Railways on nationalisation in 1948.

Network SouthEast operated and served the station after British Rail Sectorised itself in 1982. South West Trains has operated and served the station since the Privatisation of British Railways in 1996.

Services

Train destinations are normally London Waterloo, Alton, Guildford and Ascot.

Trains are usually routed to London Waterloo via Woking with three services in the morning peak scheduled to go the longer slower route via Ascot (included as part of the normal Aldershot to Ascot service) and two returning via this route in the evening.[3]

The typical off-peak service (Monday to Saturday) from the station is:

Station announcements

Currently, the voice of Phil Sayer is played at this station, used for automated station announcements. Sayer replaced Celia Drummond in early 2014.

Preceding station National Rail Following station
Ash Vale or Ash   South West Trains
Alton Line		   Farnham
  South West Trains
Ascot to Guildford line		   Reversal

Ticket machines

New ticket vending machine.

There are 2 new TicketXpress ticket vending machines which now reside outside the entrance to the booking hall, making them accessible when the station booking hall is closed. They are available at all times, except when remotely disabled when there is no service, such as at Christmas. These new machines sell tickets to many stations in Great Britain and accept major credit and debit cards.

The QuickFare self-service ticket machine (removed October 2006) accepted coins and banknotes and issued tickets to a variety of local destinations, as well as issuing tickets for the station car park. Discounts were available for holders of most Railcards. QuickFare ticket machines were used by British Rail and the Train Companies for many years, providing easy access to tickets at unstaffed stations and at times when ticket offices were closed.

The QuickFare ticket machine at Aldershot station was inside the booking hall on platform one. The place where it once stood is now occupied by the "scu" (the control centre that operates the new gateline).

Rolling stock

Services are mainly run using a four, eight or twelve car Class 450 or Class 456 and 2 cycles can be carried per train. Class 444 Desiro five-car units are seen from time to time.

Up to 2005, ex-British Rail slam-door EMUs were used on the Alton Line, many of which were berthed at the carriage sidings south of Farnham station. The carriage shed at Farnham was built in 1937 around the time that the line was electrified.

The most commonly operated EMUs in recent years were Class 411, Class 421 and Class 423 units. These trains were withdrawn in 2005, except for a very few that were transferred to the Lymington Branch.

Platforms

Aldershot railway station, showing (from left to right) platforms 3, 2 and 1.

This station has three platforms. The station entrance and ticket office is by Platform 1 and this Platform is served by trains to Woking and London Waterloo. Trains from Platform 2 are usually to Guildford and Alton. Platform 3 is usually served by trains to Ascot. (In periods of weekend engineering work, these can be subject to change, for example when trains to Ascot may leave from Platform 1 and trains to London may leave from Platform 2. The information screens on the station show the destinations of trains on each platform.) Tracks by Platforms 2 and 3 a signaled for bi-directional operation.

Platforms 2 and 3 are reached by way of the original subway and a more recent covered footbridge. Lifts are incorporated into the footbridge for disabled access.

Local Features

As trains approach Farnham to the south, the mileage suddenly jumps to a higher one. This is because mileages between the site of Farnham Junction (by the electric substation just before the A31 flyover bridge) and Alresford (the end of the line that formerly continued to Winchester) are reckoned from London Waterloo via Guildford and the now closed line via Ash Green and Tongham. The line from Waterloo via Ash Vale and Aldershot was built significantly later than that via Guildford and Ash Green.

About 450m north-east of the station (towards Ash and can be seen from near the end of platform 1) is Aldershot Railway Tunnel, also known as Redan Hill Tunnel. It is 76yards long.

Gallery

References

  1. ↑ Old Hampshire Gazetteer
  2. ↑ Old Hampshire Gazetteer
  3. ↑ GB eNRT 2015-16 Edition, Tables 149 & 155

Sources

External links

Coordinates: 51°14′47″N 0°45′36″W / 51.24639°N 0.76000°W / 51.24639; -0.76000

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