Thatcham railway station

Infobox UK station
name = Thatcham


manager = First Great Western
locale = Thatcham
borough = West Berkshire
usage0405 = 0.436
usage0506 = 0.455
code = THA
platforms = 2
start = 21 December 1847

Thatcham railway station is a railway station in the village of Thatcham in the county of Berkshire in England. The station is served by local services operated by First Great Western from Reading to Newbury and Great Bedwyn. Most services are operated by Class 165 DMU's, of either 2 car or 3 car units. It was served before privatisation by Network SouthEast and up until 2004 by Thames Trains. There is also a limited semi-fast First Great Western Intercity service between London and Exeter operated using InterCity 125s.

Services

Thatcham station is served by local services by First Great Western from Reading to Newbury and from London Paddington to Bedwyn. A limited number of services starting from Reading continue to Bedwyn. It is also served by a semi-fast HST service from Paddington to the West Country.

These services are summarised in the following table.

History

Thatcham station was opened on 21st December 1847 as part of the Berks and Hants Line to Hungerford [ [http://web.ukonline.co.uk/cj.tolley/cjt-brhm.htm Basingstoke Railway History in Maps] . Accessed 2 September 2007] . Traffic through the station increased when the line was extended to Taunton in 1906. The station remained as part of the Great Western Railway (GWR) until the nationalisation of the railways in 1948. After the sectorisation of British Rail in 1982 the station became part of Network South East until the point of privatisation. From 1996 services were provided by Thames Trains until the franchise merged with First Great Western

Thatcham Ordnance Depot

In 1940 the 332nd Engineer General Service Regiment of the United States Army built an ordnance depot adjacent to the mainline just to the west of the station. This included a number of sidings that were used for the delivery of equipment. [Robertson K.(1987)The Last Days of Steam in Berkshire, Alan Sutton Publishing, ISBN 0-86299-395-4] The site was later developed to become a base for the Royal Logistics Corps after the Second World War and included a number of steam locomotives used for shunting.

The base was eventually closed somewhen after 2000 and the entire site has now been developed as a housing estate.

Current Layout

Thatcham station consists of two platforms situated on either side of the mainline. At the western end of the station there is a footbridge over the line. [ [http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/stations/THA.html#Station_Facilities National Rail Enquiries Information] . Accessed 2 September 2007.] At the end of the platform there is a level crossing.

On the north up platform there is a ticket office open Monday to Saturday two access points to the station car park. On the north side of the line to the west of the station there is a royal mail sorting office next to where the ordnance depot was.

On the south down platform there is a small shelter and access to a small car park. The Kennet and Avon Canal runs parallel to the station and can be accessed from the road at the western end of the station.

References

External links