Farnborough (Main) railway station

Farnborough (Main) railway station is on the South Western Main Line and serves the town of Farnborough in Hampshire, England. The station, and all trains serving it, are operated by South Western Railway. It is one of two stations in the town, the other, named Farnborough North, is situated on the North Downs Line. The station is usually known as Farnborough (Main) in order to distinguish it from Farnborough North, including by National Rail[1] and South Western Railway,[2] although it is often signposted simply as Farnborough.

Farnborough (Main)
Farnborough Main Station
Location	Farnborough, Borough of Rushmoor England
Grid reference	SU868560
Managed by	South Western Railway
Platforms	2
Other information
Station code	FNB
Classification	DfT category C2
History
Opened	24 September 1838
Passengers
2015/16	2.990 million
Interchange	10,670
2016/17	3.040 million
Interchange	11,268
2017/18	2.948 million
Interchange	10,905
2018/19	3.112 million
Interchange	10,428
2019/20	2.760 million
Interchange	9,728
Notes
Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road

It is 33 miles 17 chains (53.5 km) from London Waterloo[note 1] and is situated between Brookwood and Fleet.

History

Farnborough railway station was opened in 1838 by the London and South Western Railway (then the London and Southampton Railway), on the line from London to Winchfield (then Shapley Heath).[3] The next year, the line was extended to Basingstoke, then the next year it was connected to Southampton.[3] Throughout its life, Farnborough has been a through station.

In 1849, South Eastern Railway built the North Downs Line, and opened a station also known as Farnborough, but it was not renamed as its existing name Farnborough North until 1923. The main line railway station was often known as Farnborough (Main) and this has become its official name. It is referred to as simply 'Farnborough' on platform and road signs, but National Rail and South Western Railway officially use the suffix[1][2] (though not on timetables). It was sometimes advertised as 'Farnborough for Aldershot' at an early stage.

As with Hook and Winchfield, there is a wide gap between the tracks. Originally, an island platform stood between them. When the railway was quadrupled, the existing up track became the down fast. The former up platform, an island which had a loop line running behind it was demolished with the loop line becoming the up fast. The new up slow line and a new platform for up services were built at this time (early 1900s).

One source suggests that it may have been used by Queen Victoria to get to Windsor Castle, though the main station she used for Windsor was Slough until Windsor got its own station.[3]

In 2011, the forecourt underwent refurbishment to add two lifts to the platforms plus a new transport interchange complete with taxi rank, three new bus stops and a large bicycle shelter. In 2012, the station booking hall underwent an extensive refurbishment and the booking hall was modernised and enlarged as a result. Furthermore, a double level car park was built in the station during 2014, which has greatly increased car parking capacity at the station.

Accidents and incidents

• On 26 November 1947, a passenger train was in a rear-end collision with another due to a signalman's error. Two people were killed.[4]
• On 5 April 2016, the "country" side waiting room was targeted by arsonists, causing damage to the interior and attempting to set fire to the ticket office.[5]

Services

South Western Railway operate all services at Farnborough Main. The off peak service in trains per hour is:

• 4 tph to London Waterloo
• 2 tph to Basingstoke
• 1 tph to Portsmouth Harbour via Eastleigh
• 1 tph to Poole (stopping)

Facilities

On site, there are three coffee shops, a waiting room on each platform, a ticket office, Self Service Ticket Machines, smartcard travel facilities, and cycle parking facilities.[1]

Notes

1. Railways in the United Kingdom historically are measured in miles and chains. There are 80 chains to one mile.

External links

1. "Station Facilities for Farnborough (Main)". National Rail Enquiries. Retrieved 18 March 2012.
2. "Farnborough (Main) – Train Station Information". South Western Railway. Retrieved 18 March 2012.
3. Tolley, Christopher (4 January 2001). "On The Main Line". Basingstoke's Railway History. Archived from the original on 14 May 2008. Retrieved 18 March 2012.
4. Hoole, Ken (1982). Trains in Trouble: Vol. 3. Redruth: Atlantic Books. p. 38. ISBN 0-906899-05-2.
5. http://www.getsurrey.co.uk/news/surrey-news/farnborough-main-railway-station-arson-11138132 Farnborough Main railway station 'arson attack' sees windows smashed and bins set on fire

• Train times and station information for Farnborough (Main) railway station from National Rail