| Ascot | |
|
|
| Location | |
|---|---|
| Place | Ascot |
| Local authority | Windsor and Maidenhead |
| Operations | |
| Station code | ACT |
| Managed by | South West Trains |
| Platforms in use | 3 |
| Live arrivals/departures and station information from National Rail | |
| Annual rail passenger usage | |
| 2002/03 * | 0.858 million |
| 2004/05 * | 0.940 million |
| 2005/06 * | 0.789 million |
| 2006/07 * | 1.008 million |
| History | |
| 4 June 1856 | Station opens |
| 1 February 1857 | Name changed to Ascot and Sunninghill |
| 10 July 1921 | Name changed to Ascot |
| National Rail - UK railway stations | |
| A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z | |
| * Annual passenger usage based on sales of tickets in stated financial year(s) which end or originate at Ascot from Office of Rail Regulation statistics. | |
Ascot railway station is a railway station in the town of Ascot in Berkshire, England. The station, and all trains serving it, are operated by South West Trains. It is situated at the junction of the line from Waterloo to Reading with the Ascot to Guildford line.
The station has three tracks and four platform faces. The London-bound track is a single track with platform faces on either side, both of which are called Platform 1. Until recently, both faces could be used to board London-bound trains, but now only the doors on the ticket office side of the train open. Platform 2 serves the Reading-bound line, and Platform 3 serves the Guildford line for trains starting and terminating their journeys at Ascot. Where trains are running from London through to Guildford, or vice versa, they use Platform 2. All lines are bi-directional.
Contents |
The station was opened when the Staines, Wokingham and Woking Junction Railway reached here on 4 June 1856; on 9 July the line was extended to Wokingham. On 18 March 1878 [1] Ascot became a junction when the line towards Ash Vale was opened. Both lines were converted to electrified operation (using the third rail system) on 1 January 1939.
Absorbed by the London and South Western Railway, it became part of the Southern Railway during the Grouping of 1923. The station then passed on to the Southern Region of British Railways on nationalisation in 1948.
When Sectorisation was introduced in the 1980s, the station was served by Network SouthEast until the Privatisation of British Railways.
In the days when race traffic for the nearby Ascot Racecourse warranted it, a separate racecourse station known as Ascot Race Course Platform or Ascot West operated nearby from 1922 to 1965.[2] There were also four signal boxes.
A fire in 1982 severely damaged the station buildings on the Up (London) side.[3]
Ascot is served by trains between London Waterloo and Reading every 30 minutes Monday to Saturday, and every 60 minutes on Sundays. Trains to Guildford via Aldershot operate at the same frequency. Most of these trains start or terminate at Ascot, but there are through trains from London Waterloo to Aldershot during Monday to Friday peak periods.
During Royal Ascot week, train services from London Waterloo to Reading through Ascot are significantly increased, with trains running every 15 mins in either direction. Even with this increase in service the trains are still crowded.
| Preceding station | National Rail | Following station | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sunningdale | South West Trains Waterloo to Reading line |
Martins Heron | ||
| Terminus or Sunningdale (Peak Time Only) |
South West Trains Ascot to Guildford line |
Bagshot | ||
