Wokingham railway station
| General information | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Location | Wokingham, District of Wokingham, England | ||||
| Coordinates | 51°24′40″N 0°50′35″W / 51.411°N 0.843°W | ||||
| Grid reference | SU805686 | ||||
| Managed by | South Western Railway | ||||
| Platforms | 2 | ||||
| Other information | |||||
| Station code | WKM | ||||
| Classification | DfT category C2 | ||||
| History | |||||
| Original company | Reading, Guildford and Reigate Railway | ||||
| Pre-grouping | London and South Western Railway | ||||
| Post-grouping | Southern Railway | ||||
| Key dates | |||||
| 4 July 1849 | Station opened | ||||
| 1 January 1939 | Line electrified | ||||
| 1973 | Station rebuilt | ||||
| 1987 | Platforms lengthened | ||||
| October 2013 | New station building opened | ||||
| Passengers | |||||
| 2020/21 | 0.484 million | ||||
| Interchange | 23,467 | ||||
| 2021/22 | 1.281 million | ||||
| Interchange | 54,616 | ||||
| 2022/23 | 1.560 million | ||||
| Interchange | 52,270 | ||||
| 2023/24 | 1.652 million | ||||
| Interchange | 62,035 | ||||
| 2024/25 | 1.902 million | ||||
| Interchange | 73,552 | ||||
| |||||
| |||||
Wokingham railway station serves the market town of Wokingham, in Berkshire, England. It lies 62 miles 8 chains (62.10 mi; 99.9 km) down the line from London Charing Cross, via Redhill.[1] The station 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]
History
The line from Reading Southern to Redhill was built by the Reading, Guildford and Reigate Railway (RG&RR), and was opened in stages. The first sections, from Reading to Farnborough North, which included a station at Wokingham, also from Dorking West to Redhill, were opened on 4 July 1849. Other sections followed, with the last section, from Guildford to Shalford, 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 Staines and Wokingham (Staines Junction) on 9 July 1856. The London and South Western Railway worked the SW&WJR and was authorised to run over the SER to Reading.[5] This gave Wokingham a direct route to London Waterloo.
In 1933, the Southern Railway (SR) opened a signal box, which controlled part of the North Downs Line, part of the Waterloo route and the level crossing. On 1 January 1939, the SR extended its Waterloo–Virginia Water electric service to Wokingham and Reading.[6]
In 1973, British Rail (BR) 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.
Automatic ticket gates were installed at the station in early 2019.
In February 2024, Network Rail closed the signal box as part of a £375 million resignalling scheme in the Feltham and Wokingham area, with control moving to the Basingstoke Rail operating centre.[7]
Footbridge
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[8] 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.[9][10][11]
Services
Wokingham is served by two train operating companies; the typical off-peak service in trains per hour (tph) is:
- 2 tph to London Waterloo, via Richmond
- 2 tph to Reading (stopping service).
- 2 tph to Gatwick Airport, via Guildford
- 2 tph to Reading (non-stop).
Additional services call at the station during peak hours. On Sundays, only one eastbound train per hour runs to Gatwick Airport, with one train per hour running only as far as Redhill.
| Preceding station | National Rail | Following station | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bracknell | South Western Railway |
Winnersh | ||
| Great Western Railway | ||||
Limited Service |
||||
Redevelopment in 2013
In 2011, it was announced that Wokingham station would be redeveloped from spring 2012 to spring 2013[14] at a cost of £6 million.[15] The initial plan involved the building of 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.[16]
Enabling work for the link road was started on 11 February 2013.[17] 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.[18] 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.[19]
References
- ^ Padgett, David; Kelman, Leanne (November 2019) [1994]. Munsey, Myles (ed.). Railway Track Diagrams 5: Southern & TfL (4th ed.). Frome: Trackmaps. map 28B. ISBN 978-1-9996271-2-6.
- ^ "Wokingham (WKM)". National Rail. Retrieved 11 December 2025.
- ^ a b Kidner, R.W. (1982) [1974]. The Reading to Tonbridge Line. Locomotion Papers. Salisbury: Oakwood Press. p. 6. LP79.
- ^ Butt, R.V.J. (1995). The Directory of Railway Stations. Yeovil: Patrick Stephens Ltd. p. 253. ISBN 1-85260-508-1. R508.
- ^ Kidner 1982, p. 7
- ^ Kidner 1982, p. 51.
- ^ "Network Rail completes final phase of £375m investment to install state of the art signalling system which will improve the reliability of the line between Feltham and Wokingham". Network Rail Media Centre. Retrieved 7 August 2024.
- ^ "FOOTBRIDGE IMMEDIATELY SOUTH OF WOKINGHAM STATION, Wokingham – 1268457 | Historic England". Historicengland.org.uk. Retrieved 6 November 2021.
- ^ Creighton, Phil (26 January 2021). "Why the footbridge at Wokingham station is covered over". Wokingham Today. Retrieved 6 November 2021.
- ^ "Railway Footbridge". Wokingham Virtual Museum. Wokingham Town Council. Retrieved 1 April 2021.
- ^ Riccio, Leon (9 September 2020). "National Rail applies to repair Wokingham station footbridge". Bracknell News. Retrieved 1 April 2021.
- ^ "Timetables". South Western Railway. 18 May 2025. Retrieved 11 December 2025.
- ^ "Train Times". Great Western Railway. 18 May 2025. Retrieved 11 December 2025.
- ^ "Major improvements coming to Wokingham railway station". Wokingham Borough Council. 3 February 2011. Retrieved 25 March 2013.
- ^ "Wokingham railway station gets £6 million upgrade". BBC News. 24 October 2012. Retrieved 25 March 2013.
- ^ "Work on new Wokingham station to start next month". Berkshire Live. 24 June 2012. Retrieved 11 December 2025.
- ^ "Enabling work starts on Wokingham station link road". Wokingham Borough Council. 15 February 2013. Retrieved 25 March 2013.
- ^ Nurse, Jon (15 November 2013). "Old station demolished". Berkshire Live. Retrieved 20 November 2013.
- ^ Nurse, Jon (21 October 2013). "Café owner's disgust". Berkshire Live. Retrieved 20 November 2013.