Godalming railway station is a stop on the Portsmouth Direct Line, down the line from . The station, opened in 1859 to replace one on a different site, is situated at the edge of the town of Godalming, Surrey. The main station building is a Grade II

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

History

The original single platform terminus station, opened in 1849, was located on a spur from just south of Farncombe station, north of the

River Wey The River Wey is a main tributary of the River Thames in south east England. Its two branches, one of which rises near Alton in Hampshire and the other in West Sussex to the south of Haslemere, join at Tilford in Surrey. Once combined the ...

. It was closed to passengers in 1897 but was retained as a goods yard until 1969. The site at is now a residential development, the road being called, appropriately, Old Station Way.

Station environment and awards

The staff at Godalming have worked hard to maintain the station. In 2004 they won Best Miscellaneous Building in the Godalming in Bloom 2004 Competition, in 2005 they won Best Small Station in the South West Trains Station Pride Awards and received a Highly Commended in the National Rail Awards. In July 2006 the station won the Special Award in the Godalming in Bloom 2006 competition, not only for their display of flowers, but also for the welcoming environment they have created. It won again in 2008. In August 2006 they won Best Small Station in the 2006 South West Trains Station Pride Awards.

In popular culture

In February 2006 Godalming station was renamed "Shere" for three days while filming took place for '' The Holiday'', a film starring

Cameron Diaz Cameron Michelle Diaz (born August 30, 1972) is an American actress. With a variety of works in film, she is widely recognised for her work in romantic comedies and animation. Diaz has received various accolades, including nominations for ...

, Jude Law, Jack Black and Kate Winslet. It was directed by

Nancy Meyers Nancy Jane Meyers (born December 8, 1949) is an American filmmaker. She has written, produced, and directed many critically and commercially successful films including '' Private Benjamin'' (1980), '' Irreconcilable Differences'' (1984), ''Baby ...

and released in December 2006.

2016 accessibility project

The

pedestrian subway A subway, also known as an underpass, is a grade-separated pedestrian crossing which crosses underneath a road or railway in order to entirely separate pedestrians and cyclists from motor traffic or trains respectively. Terminology In the Un ...

connecting the platforms is a narrow passageway with limited accessibility, typical of the era of the construction of the station. It provided a challenging route for the disabled, as well as prams and passengers encumbered with luggage, potentially requiring a lengthy detour outside the station to access the London-bound platform. As one of relatively few subways of the era still in use, it suffered from dampness and poor sight lines, and had become relatively dilapidated. In 2016 Godalming station was therefore allocated £3.1m of funding under the government 'Access for All' funding programme to replace the subway with a fully enclosed footbridge, equipped with two 16-person lifts to enable step free access between platforms. Other works funded under the programme include replacement and extension of the cycle shelters, platform canopy extensions to provide a weather protected route between the new footbridge structure and existing canopies, and resurfacing of the platforms to provide tactile paving and improve the stepping distance between platform and train.

Services

All services at Godalming are operated by South Western Railway using and EMUs. The typical off-peak service in trains per hour is: * 4 tph to via * 1 tph to (all stations) * 1 tph to (all stations except and ) * 2 tph to (semi-fast) The station is also served by a single evening service to .

Gallery

File:Godalming ticket vending machine.jpg, The new ticket vending machine installed at Godalming railway station during 2006 File:Godalming_Station_Down_Platform.jpg, Passengers depart a south bound train towards the main entrance. File:Aldershot, Ash, Shalford, Basingstoke, Guildford & Peasmarsh , Wimbledon RJD 4.jpg, A 1912

Railway Clearing House The Railway Clearing House (RCH) was an organisation set up to manage the allocation of revenue collected by pre-grouping railway companies for the conveyance of passengers and goods over the lines (or using the rolling stock) of other compani ...

map of lines around Godalming railway station Image:P101GDlmStn3.JPG, Sign on the up platform File:Pedestrian subway connecting platforms at Godalming Railway Station.JPG, The interior of the former cross-platform subway, before replacement by a footbridge

References

External links

The River Wey and Wey Navigations Community Site
— a non-commercial site of over 200,000 words all about the Wey Navigations and includes extensive information and images about Godalming. {{Transport in Surrey Railway stations in Surrey DfT Category C2 stations Former London and South Western Railway stations Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1859 Railway stations served by South Western Railway Grade II listed buildings in Surrey Godalming