Route Focus - Ascot Line - Liam
Hello all, Liam here! Bringing a Route Focus post on the Ascot to Guildford Line.
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| ©Andy Crawley |
The line starts at Ascot station, located on the Reading Mainline between Reading and London Waterloo. This station features 3 platforms, platform 1 for services to Waterloo, platform 2 for services to Reading (And selected services to Aldershot & Farnham) and platform 3 for services to Aldershot and Guildford. The line turns a tight bend and continues down to Bagshot, Camberley and Frimley. After Frimley, the two track line joins into a single line until joining the Alton line at Ash Vale. Below is a photograph of a debranded Southern Class 456 unit working an Ascot service at Camberley.
Starting from Ash Vale, Ascot to Guildford services work a short stretch of line into Aldershot, where services stand for approximately 15 minutes, and into reverse. After a short stretch on the Alton Line back towards Ash Vale, services cross Aldershot North Junction, and run along a tight bend towards Guildford, joining the North Downs Line between Reading and Gatwick Airport, at Aldershot South Junction. After a run along this stretch of line, stopping at Ash and Wanborough, services find themselves crossing around a bend and terminating into the 8 platform station, Guildford.
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| ©Liam Jenkins - A terminating service approaching Guildford |
Before 2005, the units used on this line were predominantly Class 421 4CIG or 423 4VEP Slam Door units. However, after failing to comply with Health and Safety laws, these iconic trains were replaced by the newly introduced Class 450 Desiro units. Soon, Class 458 Juniper units were put onto 2 out of 5 of the diagrams on this line. In 2014, after announcing the fleet of 24 Class 456s being cascaded to South West Trains, debranded Southern Class 456 units were deployed on 2 out of 5 diagrams on the line.
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| ©Andy Crawley |
In early 2015, South West Trains unveiled the first of the refurbished Class 456s on this line. The refurbishment included a full interior refresh, with 2 x 2 seating, as opposed to Southern's 3 x 3 seating, wider vestibule areas, a full exterior repaint to SWT Metro Red colour scheme and a new Passenger Information System.
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| ©Liam Jenkins |
Now, the majority of weekday services on the line are operated by Class 456s, and the majority of weekend services operated by Class 450 Desiros.
Thank you all for reading my post, I hope you have learnt something new and are willing to try this very scenic line!
