Basingstoke railway station

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Basingstoke Southern Railway
Key dates
10 June 1839 (1839-06-10)	Station opened
Passengers
2018/19	5.979 million
Interchange	1.875 million
2019/20	5.702 million
Interchange	3.146 million
2020/21	1.279 million
Interchange	0.414 million
2021/22	3.662 million
Interchange	1.369 million
2022/23	4.004 million
Interchange	1.077 million
Location
Notes
Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road

v t e Railways around Basingstoke
Legend
South West Main Line Reading–Basingstoke line Daneshill Sidings Basingstoke Junction Basingstoke (GWR) Basingstoke Goods Yard Thornycroft Works Basingstoke & Alton Light Rly Thornycroft Works Park Prewett Worting Junction Battledown Flyover West of England line South West Main Line

v t e Basingstoke & Alton Light Railway
Legend
Waterloo Basingstoke South West Main Line to Weymouth Thornycroft sidings Viables level crossing Cliddesden Bushywarren Lane crossing Bagmore Lane crossing Herriard Salter Hatch crossing (Spain Lane) Bentworth and Lasham level crossing Treloar's Hospital Platform (private) Treloar's Hospital siding Alton line to Brookwood Alton Butts Junction Watercress Line to Alresford Meon Valley Railway to Fareham

Basingstoke railway station serves the town of

It is 47 miles 61 chains (76.9 km) down the line from London Waterloo, and 51 miles 39 chains (82.9 km) from London Paddington.^[1]

History

The station was opened by the

The Great Western Railway opened its

Basingstoke station was the terminus of the

In the 1980s Platform 5 was converted to a bay platform to permit an entrance on the northern side by British Rail. In 1993, an explosive device planted by the Provisional Irish Republican Army was found in a toilet, soon after a bomb scare at Reading railway station.^[7] In 2001 a suitcase was left outside the station containing the mutilated body of a man in his twenties. He had been stabbed to death.^[8]

In 2012, improvements were made to the station, including a new stainless steel and glass frontage, an enlarged booking hall and a new waiting room on platforms 2 and 3.[11] In 2022, South Western Railway introduced staff members called "Welcome Hosts" at this station and some others to provide information and sell tickets.^[12][13]

Platforms

The station has five platforms, four of which can be used bi-directionally. They are above street level and are accessed via stairs and lifts from the booking hall and subway.^[14] There is a secondary entrance on Platform 4.

• Platform 1: Terminating
  London Waterloo,^[15] westbound CrossCountry services to Southampton and Bournemouth and occasionally regional services
  to Southampton and Poole. Westbound freight trains also pass through here.
• Platform 2: Westbound services on the
  West of England Main Line
• Platform 3: Fast trains to
  London Waterloo
  .
• Platform 4: Northbound CrossCountry services to Reading, Birmingham and onwards to the north. A few trains to London Waterloo use this platform. Northbound freight trains also pass through here.
• Platform 5: Bay platform for stopping services to Reading on the
  Reading to Basingstoke Line, operated by Great Western Railway
  .

Facilities

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The station has two entrances. The main entrance to the south has access to a taxi rank, some car parks and a bus stop, with steps down to The Malls shopping centre. A bridge over Churchill Way leads to the bus station. Festival Place can be accessed from The Malls or the bus station, while Festival Square and the Top of Town are located beyond the bus station. The northern entrance on Platform 4 gives access to a car park. The south booking hall has ticket facilities (including ticket machines), information and a small shop. The station is staffed all day, and both entrances have ticket barriers.
There is a small café on the central island platform and another on Platform 4, as well as indoor waiting rooms.

Signalling

The station area and its various routes have been controlled by colour light signalling since the mid-1960s. The 1966 panel box (which controlled the main line from west of Woking through to

On 19 December 2008 an over-height container on a freight train struck and damaged 140 yards (130 m) of the canopy of platform 1.[18] The train was stopped before it reached the tunnels north of Micheldever.

Motive Power Depots

The

Services at Basingstoke are operated by

• 7 tph to London Waterloo
• 2 tph to Salisbury of which 1 continues to Exeter St Davids
• 1 tph to Poole (stopping)
• 1 tph to Weymouth
• 1 tph to Portsmouth Harbour via Eastleigh

Great Western Railway

• 2 tph to Reading^[20]

CrossCountry

• 1 tph to Bournemouth
• 1 tph to
  Manchester Piccadilly via Birmingham New Street

Preceding station	National Rail			Following station
Hook		South Western Railway Waterloo to Basingstoke		Terminus
Clapham Junction		South Western Railway South West Main Line Fast/Semi-Fast Services		Winchester
		South Western Railway South West Main Line Stopping services		Micheldever
Woking		West of England Main Line		Overton
Reading		Bournemouth-Manchester		Winchester or Southampton Airport Parkway
Bramley		Reading to Basingstoke Line		Terminus
	Historical railways
Farnborough (Main)		Anglia Railways London Crosslink		Terminus
	Disused railways
Terminus		Basingstoke and Alton Light Railway		Cliddesden
Terminus		Park Prewett Hospital Railway		Park Prewett Hospital

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Basingstoke railway station.

• Basingstoke’s railway history in maps

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