Walton-on-Thames railway station[n 1] is at the southern edge of the town of Walton-on-Thames in Surrey, England and borders Burwood Park, Hersham. It is 17 miles 6 chains (27.5 km) from London Waterloo and is situated between Hersham and Weybridge.
Walton-on-Thames  | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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| General information | |||||
| Location | Walton-on-Thames, Elmbridge England | ||||
| Coordinates | 51°22′22″N 0°24′51″W / 51.3728°N 0.4143°W | ||||
| Grid reference | TQ104649 | ||||
| Managed by | South Western Railway | ||||
| Platforms | 4 | ||||
| Other information | |||||
| Station code | WAL | ||||
| Classification | DfT category C2 | ||||
| History | |||||
| Opened | 21 May 1838 | ||||
| Passengers | |||||
| 2018/19 |  2.932 million | ||||
| 2019/20 |  2.723 million | ||||
| 2020/21 | 0.540 million | ||||
| 2021/22 | 1.542 million | ||||
| 2022/23 | 2.035 million | ||||
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The station's main entrance borders the Ashley Park area of the largely residential town and features a taxi rank and pick-up apron. The station opened as Walton for Hersham in 1838 and today has rush hour services two stops from central London.
Only the two outer platforms on the slow lines are currently used. The central island platform is disused.
Services
editServices from Walton-on-Thames are split into rush hour (Monday - Friday, early mornings and evenings), off peak (Monday - Friday, Saturday) and Sunday.[1]
Rush hour
edit- 4 trains per hour (tph) to London Waterloo, stopping to Surbiton then, non stop to London Waterloo.
- 2tph to Woking
- 2tph to Basingstoke
Rush hour services to London Waterloo only operate in the morning, and services to Woking and Guildford operate in the evening rush hour with one service running semi fast to Basingstoke.
Off peak
edit- 2tph to London Waterloo, stopping service
- 2tph to London Waterloo, semi fast
- 2tph to Woking, stopping service
- 2tph to Basingstoke, semi fast to Woking then stopping to Basingstoke
There are also three direct trains to Portsmouth Harbour two via Basingstoke one via Guildford per day, Mon - Sat, and one direct train to Branksome in the early morning. In the evening there are two services from Portsmouth Harbour via Basingstoke and one from Weymouth to Walton on Thames.
Sundays
edit- 2tph to London Waterloo, stopping service
- 1tph to London Waterloo, semi fast
- 2tph to Guildford, stopping service
- 1tph to Woking semi fast where the train divides to either Basingstoke or Alton
History
editThe station first operated in 1838, and was one of the first stations on the South West Main Line, between Ditton Marsh (now Esher) and Weybridge. The first services ran from Nine Elms to Woking Common (now Woking).[2]
The middle platforms were abandoned when slower services only used the outer tracks, leaving the inside tracks for non stop services to Woking.
Ticket gates and accessibility
editWalton-on-Thames railway station was one of the first stations selected by South West Trains to have automatic ticket gates installed at all of the exits to the station.[3] These were installed and in operation on 25 June 2009. There were also smartcard validators installed, intended (in the future) for use when the barriers are unattended and open. As of June 2018, there was a digital barcode scanner installed for mobile ticketing on Platform 1.
Ramps were installed on 31 October 2009, making both platforms accessible to all from street level. Access from the Ashley Park / ticket office side of the station to the Burwood Park side requires use of the railway-owned subway which is via a short flight of steps or a detour of more than 600 m (2,000 ft) by road.
This station has a taxi rank and bus stops. Bus routes 458 and 555 serve the station, both connecting passengers to the town centre.[4]
In 2016, a petition was started by a local resident calling for London Travelcard Zone 6 to be extended to include this station, as well as Esher and Hersham stations.[5] In December 2022, Elmbridge Borough Council reaffirmed its commitment to lobby for Walton-on-Thames to be included in Zone 6.[6]
A £6M station improvement programme, funded by the Department for Transport under the "Access for All" scheme, began in October 2022. Part of the project included the installation of a new footbridge connecting the two in-use platforms.[7]
Immediate surroundings
editThe station is just north of the approximate midpoint of the medieval parish boundaries of Walton.[8] Today it is on the southern boundary of Walton and the northern boundary of Hersham,[9] and more particularly between two large-plot, neighbourhoods of detached homes, Burwood Park and Ashley Park. These are predominantly low rise and have avenues and greens; they are not a conservation area with no buildings which pre-date 1750 but the former has one or two listed buildings for architecture.[10] The commercial centre of Walton is 0.6 miles (0.97 km) north.
Notes
edit- ^ Some signs in the station use no hyphenation in the spelling: Walton on Thames
References
edit- ^ "Basingstoke and Alton to Woking and London Waterloo (Surburban Services)" (PDF). southwesttrains.co.uk. South West Trains. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 January 2009. Retrieved 25 August 2009.
- ^ Butt, R.V.J. (1995). The Directory of Railway Stations. Yeovil: Patrick Stephens Ltd. p. 80. ISBN 1-85260-508-1. R508.
- ^ "New ticket gates across the network". southwesttrains.co.uk. South West Trains. Archived from the original on 2 July 2008. Retrieved 25 August 2009.
- ^ Surrey County Council (2 September 2017). "Map: Walton-on-Thames, Molesey and Esher" (PDF). FWT. Archived from the original (PDF) on 11 January 2018.
- ^ Tobitt, Charlotte (15 July 2016). "Hundreds back campaign to include Walton, Hersham and Esher in Zone 6". SurreyLive.
- ^ Coady-Stemp, Emily (9 December 2022). "Expand London Zone 6 beyond Hampton Court station to areas like Esher and Cobham, councillors say". Surrey Live. Retrieved 10 June 2024.
- ^ Smith, Roger (11 September 2023). "Surrey railway station becoming fully accessible for first time". Rail Advent. Retrieved 15 September 2023.
- ^ Malden, H.E., ed. (1911). "The hundred of Elmbridge: Introduction and map". A History of the County of Surrey. Vol. 3. London: Victoria County History. Retrieved 11 January 2014 – via British History Online.
- ^ "Hersham village boundaries". The Church of England parish map. Archived from the original on 11 January 2014. Retrieved 11 January 2014.
- ^ "OS Map with Listed Buildings and Parks marked". Archived from the original on 24 April 2012. Retrieved 11 January 2014.
External links
edit
- Train times and station information for Walton-on-Thames railway station from National Rail
| Preceding station |  National Rail
|
Following station | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hersham | South Western Railway Waterloo to Woking |
Weybridge | ||
| Surbiton | South Western Railway Waterloo to Basingstoke |
Weybridge | ||