Midgham railway station

Midgham
Midgham Station, looking east
Location
Place	Woolhampton; Midgham
Local authority	West Berkshire
Coordinates	51°23′46″N 1°10′42″W / 51.3961°N 1.1783°WCoordinates: 51°23′46″N 1°10′42″W / 51.3961°N 1.1783°W
Grid reference	SU572666
Operations
Station code	MDG
Managed by	Great Western Railway
Number of platforms	2
DfT category	F2
Live arrivals/departures, station information and onward connections from National Rail Enquiries
Annual rail passenger usage*
2004/05	24,515
2005/06	25,372
2006/07	24,372
2007/08	24,435
2008/09	26,588
2009/10	25,274
2010/11	26,258
2011/12	27,232
2012/13	33,902
2013/14	35,670
History
Original company	Berks and Hants Railway
Pre-grouping	Great Western Railway
Post-grouping	GWR
21 December 1847	Opened as "Woolhampton"
1 March 1873	Renamed "Midgham"
2 November 1964	Renamed "Midgham Halt"
5 May 1969	Renamed "Midgham"
National Rail – UK railway stations
* Annual estimated passenger usage based on sales of tickets in stated financial year(s) which end or originate at Midgham from Office of Rail and Road statistics. Methodology may vary year on year.
UK Railways portal

The station looking to the west from the level crossing

Midgham railway station is a railway station named after the village of Midgham in Berkshire, England. In fact the station is in the nearby valley bottom village of Woolhampton and some distance downhill from Midgham village itself.

History

The line from Reading to Hungerford was planned by the Berks and Hants Railway, and before it was opened, it was absorbed by the Great Western Railway (GWR).^[1] The station at Woolhampton was opened with the line on 21 December 1847;^[2] it was originally named "Woolhampton" but on 1 March 1873 was renamed "Midgham".^[3] According to oral history, the name Midgham was used in preference to Woolhampton in order to avoid possible confusion with the much larger Wolverhampton railway station;^[4] the GWR having reached Wolverhampton in 1854.^[5]

The station was subsequently renamed twice by British Rail: on 2 November 1964 it became "Midgham Halt" but on 5 May 1969 it reverted to "Midgham".^[6] The station name was subtitled "for Douai Abbey" until refurbishment with current Network Rail signage.

Description

Midgham station is near the centre of Woolhampton village, on an unclassified road just south of its junction with the A4 road. There are two flanking platforms on each side of the double track line. The Reading bound platform has a small shelter and a small car park. The unclassified road crosses the railway line at the eastern end of the station by means of a level crossing, and this crossing also provides the only access between the platforms.

Services

The station is served by local services operated by Great Western Railway from Reading to Newbury or Bedwyn. Trains run hourly in both directions on Mondays to Saturdays, and every other hour on a Sunday. Typical journey times are about 12 minutes to Newbury and 20 minutes to Reading. Passengers for London Paddington must normally change trains at Reading (except on Sundays, when services runs to & from the capital).^[7]

References

1. MacDermot, E.T. (1927). History of the Great Western Railway, vol. I: 1833-1863. Paddington: Great Western Railway. pp. 192–3, 294–5.
2. Butt, R.V.J. (1995). The Directory of Railway Stations. Yeovil: Patrick Stephens Ltd. p. 255. ISBN 1-85260-508-1. R508.
3. Butt 1995, pp. 159,255
4. "Basingstoke Railway History in Maps". Christopher Tolley. 2001. Archived from the original on 6 December 2008. Retrieved 20 February 2015.
5. MacDermot 1927, p. 336
6. Butt 1995, p. 159
7. Table 116 National Rail timetable, May 2016

External links

• Train times and station information for Midgham railway station from National Rail