Brookwood is a
National Rail
National Rail (NR) is the trading name licensed for use by the Rail Delivery Group, an unincorporated association whose membership consists of the passenger train operating companies (TOCs) of England, Scotland, and Wales. The TOCs run the p ...
railway station
Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...
in
Brookwood in the
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
county of
Surrey
Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...
. It is down the line from .
History
The
London and Southampton Railway
The London and Southampton Railway was an early railway company between London and Southampton, in England. It opened in stages from 1838 to 1840 after a difficult construction period, but was commercially successful.
On preparing to serve Port ...
(L&SR) was authorised on 25 July 1834. It was built and opened in stages, and the second section, that between (then known as Woking Common) and , was opened on 24 September 1838; there was only one intermediate station on this section, at
Farnborough. On 4 June 1839, the L&SR was renamed the
London and South Western Railway
The London and South Western Railway (LSWR, sometimes written L&SWR) was a railway company in England from 1838 to 1922. Originating as the London and Southampton Railway, its network extended to Dorchester and Weymouth, to Salisbury, Exeter ...
(LSWR).
Funeral trains from London to Woking Cemetery first ran in 1849. The opening of
Brookwood Cemetery
Brookwood Cemetery, also known as the London Necropolis, is a burial ground in Brookwood, Surrey, England. It is the largest cemetery in the United Kingdom and one of the largest in Europe. The cemetery is listed a Grade I site in the Regist ...
(and the associated
London Necropolis railway station
London Necropolis railway station was the terminus at Waterloo, London, of the London Necropolis Railway. The London Necropolis Railway was opened in 1854 as a reaction to severe overcrowding in London's existing graveyards and cemeteries. It a ...
close to London Waterloo) led to an increase in the funeral traffic. A branch line left from the main line station to serve two stations within the cemetery, Brookwood Cemetery North and Brookwood Cemetery South. In June 1863, the LSWR agreed to provide a station on the main line, to serve both the adjacent cemetery and Brookwood village; this opened on 1 June 1864.
A branch line to the north of the line at Brookwood was opened on 14 July 1890. It served
Bisley Camp of the
National Rifle Association
The National Rifle Association of America (NRA) is a gun rights advocacy group based in the United States. Founded in 1871 to advance rifle marksmanship, the modern NRA has become a prominent Gun politics in the United States, gun rights ...
.
The station was reconstructed in 1903, with a new
down platform, long, being built to the south of the original. It was connected to the up platform by a new subway, the footbridge being removed. This made room for the double-track main line to be quadrupled; the new tracks through the station ( between Brookwood East and Pirbright Junction) being brought into use on 15 November 1903. New pneumatic signalling between Woking and Basingstoke was provided between 1904 and 1907; the stretch between Farnborough and Woking was brought into use during June–July 1907, and included a new signal box at Brookwood, having 35 working levers. This box, like the previous Brookwood East manual signalbox, was on the down side of the line.
Operation of the Bisley branch was transferred to the
War Office
The War Office was a department of the British Government responsible for the administration of the British Army between 1857 and 1964, when its functions were transferred to the new Ministry of Defence (MoD). This article contains text from ...
on 1 March 1917, but was returned to the LSWR on 8 August 1918.
The cemetery branch line (and stations) have now closed, but the main line station remains and is now a popular
commuter station on the
South West Main Line
The South West Main Line (SWML) is a 143-mile (230 km) major railway line between Waterloo station in central London and Weymouth on the south coast of England. A predominantly passenger line, it serves many commuter areas including south we ...
between
London Waterloo
Waterloo station (), also known as London Waterloo, is a central London terminus on the National Rail network in the United Kingdom, in the Waterloo area of the London Borough of Lambeth. It is connected to a London Underground station of ...
and
Basingstoke
Basingstoke ( ) is the largest town in the county of Hampshire. It is situated in south-central England and lies across a valley at the source of the River Loddon, at the far western edge of The North Downs. It is located north-east of Southa ...
, served by
South Western Railway. The exit to the cemetery remains.
Services
Trains run seven days a week. The typical Monday-Saturday off-peak service is:
*4 trains per hour to
London Waterloo
Waterloo station (), also known as London Waterloo, is a central London terminus on the National Rail network in the United Kingdom, in the Waterloo area of the London Borough of Lambeth. It is connected to a London Underground station of ...
.
*2 trains per hour to
Basingstoke
Basingstoke ( ) is the largest town in the county of Hampshire. It is situated in south-central England and lies across a valley at the source of the River Loddon, at the far western edge of The North Downs. It is located north-east of Southa ...
.
*2 trains per hour to
Alton
Alton may refer to:
People
*Alton (given name)
*Alton (surname)
Places Australia
*Alton National Park, Queensland
* Alton, Queensland, a town in the Shire of Balonne
Canada
* Alton, Ontario
*Alton, Nova Scotia
New Zealand
* Alton, New Zealand, ...
.
On Sundays this becomes:
*2 trains per hour to London Waterloo (joining at Woking).
*1 train per hour to Basingstoke.
*1 train per hour to Alton.
Notes
References
*
*
*
External links
{{Transport in Surrey
Railway stations in Surrey
DfT Category C2 stations
Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1864
Former London and South Western Railway stations
Railway stations served by South Western Railway