Whitton railway station

Whitton
Whitton Location of Whitton in Greater London
Location	Whitton
Local authority	London Borough of Richmond upon Thames
Managed by	South West Trains
Owner	Network Rail
Station code	WTN
DfT category	C2
Number of platforms	2
Fare zone	5
National Rail annual entry and exit
2010–11	2.423 million[1]
2011–12	1.282 million[1]
2012–13	1.325 million[1]
2013–14	1.386 million[1]
2014–15	1.447 million[1]
Railway companies
Original company	Southern Railway
Key dates
6 July 1930	Opened
Other information
Lists of stations	DLR Underground National Rail Tramlink
External links	Departures Layout Facilities Buses
WGS84	51°26′58″N 0°21′28″W / 51.4495°N 0.3578°WCoordinates: 51°26′58″N 0°21′28″W / 51.4495°N 0.3578°W
London Transport portal UK Railways portal

Whitton railway station is in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, in south London, and is in Travelcard Zone 5. The station and all trains serving it are operated by South West Trains. The station is currently undergoing extensive refurbishment (summer 2015) as part of which the station buildings have been demolished and a new one has been built. The footbridge has also been closed and will also be demolished (to be replaced by a new footbridge incorporating lifts to the platforms). There is a ticket office above the up platform containing a coffee shop, a taxi office, ticket machines and a disabled toilet. There are no ticket barriers or gates, and entry and exit from the platforms is gained by temporary stairs from street level at either side of the bridge. These stairs were taken from Nottingham station and a sticker on them details the completed refurbishment there. South West trains have introduced 10 coach trains in 2014.^[2] The platforms were extended at the eastern ends in February 2012, and from October 2013, London bound trains stop further along the platform. A coffee shop opened during 2007 on up platform 1, but closed in 2009, although another opened in 2011. This coffee shop remains closed during refurbishment work. The renovation works were scheduled for completion in time for the 2015 Rugby World Cup, but are still ongoing as of February 2016.

History

The line through Whitton was opened by the Windsor, Staines and South Western Railway (WS&SWR) when the WS&SWR extended its line from Richmond to Datchet on 22 August 1848. In July 1850 the WS&SWR was absorbed into the London and South Western Railway (LSWR).

On 1 January 1883 the LSWR opened a curve enabling down trains from Twickenham to pass the site of what was to become Whitton station and access the Hounslow Loop. On 1 January 1923 the LSWR amalgamated with other railways to form the Southern Railway. In the late 1920s the Southern was planning to extend its third rail electric train system from London Waterloo to Windsor & Eton (Riverside). As part of that plan new development in what was once rural areas were to receive new stations. So, from 6 July 1930 the Windsor Lines became electrified and a new station was opened called Whitton. As today Whitton is a classic Southern structure with steel canopies and pre-cast concrete platforms. Whitton Station survived the war unscathed and three years after the war ended, on 1 January 1948, the station and line passed into the ownership of British Railways. In the 1980s and 1990s the station became part of Network South East and that changed due to the privatisation of the railways. Ever since the mid-1990s the franchise serving Whitton has been South West Trains.

In February 2015 the station started to be rebuilt. This is being done in two phases - the first prior to the 2015 Rugby World Cup and the second after that and completing in 2016. ^[3]

Services

The typical off-peak service from the station is:

• 4 tph (trains per hour) eastbound to London Waterloo, of which:
  • 2 tph all stations service
  • 2 tph semi-fast service (calling at Twickenham, Richmond, Putney, Clapham Junction, Vauxhall and London Waterloo.
• 4 tph westbound of which 2 go to Windsor & Eton Riverside and 2 go back to London Waterloo via the Hounslow Loop
• 2 tph peak services to Waterloo and 2 to Aldershot or Reading.

On Sundays this is reduced to:

• 2 tph to London Waterloo semi-fast
• 1 tph to London Waterloo via Brentford
• 2 tph to Windsor & Eton Riverside
• 1 tph to Kingston

The service is normally provided by class 450/5 electric trains and class 458/5 trains.

Connections

London Buses route H22 serves the station.

References

1. "Station usage estimates". Rail statistics. Office of Rail Regulation. Please note: Some methodology may vary year on year.
2. SWT. "News". Retrieved 9 November 2013.
3. http://www.getwestlondon.co.uk/news/west-london-news/major-refurbishment-whitton-station-begin-8593890

External links

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