# Guildford railway station

Guildford railway station is at one of three main railway junctions on the Portsmouth Direct Line and serves the town of Guildford in Surrey, England. It is 30 miles 27 chains (30.34 mi; 48.8 km) down the line from London Waterloo via Woking.
It provides an interchange station for two other railway lines: the North Downs Line northwards towards Reading, which has a connection to Aldershot; the same line eastwards to Redhill; and the New Guildford Line, the alternative route to London Waterloo, via Cobham or Epsom.
Guildford station is the larger, more frequently and more diversely served of the two stations in Guildford town centre, the other being London Road (Guildford) on the New Guildford Line.

## History

The station was opened by the London and South Western Railway (LSWR) on 5 May 1845, but was substantially enlarged and rebuilt in 1880.
The Reading, Guildford and Reigate Railway opened its services on 4 July 1849, and was operated by the South Eastern Railway. LSWR services to Farnham via Tongham began on 8 October 1849 and the New Guildford Line to Leatherhead and Epsom Downs on 2 February 1885. On the latter line is the other Guildford station, London Road. The line to it describes a curve around the town on an embankment, crossing the River Wey by a high bridge.
Guildford station was also the northern terminus of the former Cranleigh Line which was opened 2 October 1865 by the London Brighton and South Coast Railway and closed almost one hundred years later on 12 June 1965. This line ran to Horsham by way of Cranleigh, Rudgwick and Christ's Hospital.

## Accidents and incidents

* On 8 November 1952, an electric multiple unit suffered a brake malfunction approaching the station. It overran signals and collided with a stationary steam locomotive. Two people were killed and 37 were injured.
* On 28 July 1971, a parcels train was derailed at the station.
* On 7 July 2017, an explosion occurred in an underframe equipment case of unit 455901 at Guildford station. Debris was thrown up to 230 feet (70 m) away with fragments, described as "quite sizeable" by the Rail Accident Investigation Branch, scattered across platforms and an adjacent car park. No injuries occurred. The cause of the explosion was a faulty capacitor which had been fitted when the unit's electrical equipment was upgraded.

## Platform layout

The main station buildings are on the Down side. At the end of the Down side platform is a bay for the New Guildford Line. There are now three islands with seven platform faces plus the bay linked by both a long footbridge and a subway. Platforms 6 and 7 are opposite sides of the same line: these were used for unloading mail and parcels until the mid-1990s. The station was completely rebuilt (except for the platforms) by British Rail in the late 1980s.
* Platform 1 – Bay platform for stopping services to London Waterloo via Epsom or Cobham
* Platform 2 – Stopping services to London Waterloo via Cobham [Small number of services to Portsmouth & Southsea]
* Platform 3 – Stopping services to London Waterloo via Epsom or Woking [Small number of weekday services. Otherwise Sundays only]
* Platform 4 – Fast and stopping services towards Portsmouth; semi-fast services to Gatwick Airport
* Platform 5 – Fast services to London Waterloo
* Platform 6 – Stopping services to Redhill and services to Ascot or Farnham via Aldershot depart from either this platform or platform 8
* Platform 7 – Platform not in use
* Platform 8 – Services to Reading and Gatwick Airport. Services to Ascot via Aldershot depart from either this platform or platform 6.
Platforms 6 and 7 are on opposite sides of the same single line. Automatic train doors only open on the platform 6 side. Today doors are not opened on platform 7 due to the live rail being on that side, hence rendering that platform disused. Platforms 2 to 8 are signalled for bi-directional working – trains may approach from either direction.

## Motive Power Depot

Guildford station was the site of an important motive power depot opened by the LSWR in 1845. The original building was demolished in 1887 to make room for the enlargement of the station, and was replaced by a semi-roundhouse which was substantially enlarged in 1897. This was closed and demolished in 1967. The Farnham Road multi-storey car park was built on the site in 1988.

## Airtrack

Guildford station was to have been the southern terminus for the proposed Heathrow Airtrack rail service. The project, promoted by BAA, envisaged the construction of a spur from the Waterloo to Reading Line to Heathrow Airport, creating direct rail links from the airport to Guildford, Waterloo, Woking and Reading. Airtrack was planned to open in 2015, subject to government approval. In April 2011, BAA announced that it was abandoning the project, citing the unavailability of government subsidy and other priorities for Heathrow, such as linking to Crossrail and High Speed 2.

## Services

Guildford is served regularly by trains operated by South Western Railway and Great Western Railway.
The typical off-peak service in trains per hour is:
* 3 tph to London Waterloo via Woking (fast)
* 2 tph to London Waterloo via Cobham (stopping)
* 1 tph to London Waterloo via Epsom (stopping)
* 1 tph to Haslemere (stopping)
* 2 tph to Portsmouth Harbour (1 fast, 1 stopping)
* 2 tph to Farnham
* 2 tph to Reading
* 2 tph to Gatwick Airport
Services at Guildford are operated using a mixture of rolling stock including classes: 444, 450 and 455 EMUs, and Class 165 and 166 DMUs. South Western Railway is replacing their Class 455 EMUs with Class 701 "Arterio" EMUs, meaning that these new trains will stop at Guildford station in the future.
| Preceding station | National Rail | Following station |
| Worplesdon or Woking | South Western Railway Portsmouth Direct Line | Farncombe or Godalming |
| London Road (Guildford) | South Western Railway New Guildford Line | Terminus |
| Terminus | South Western Railway Ascot to Guildford Line | Wanborough |
| Shalford | Great Western RailwayNorth Downs Line | Ash |
| Shalford | Great Western RailwayNorth Downs Line | WanboroughLimited Service |
| Disused railways |||||
| Terminus | London, Brighton and South Coast Railway Horsham and Guildford Direct Railway | Bramley & Wonersh Line and station closed |