Mortimer
National Rail
Mortimer railway station, viewed from the footbridge.
General information
LocationStratfield Mortimer, West Berkshire
England
Grid referenceSU672641
Managed byGreat Western Railway
Platforms2
Other information
Station codeMOR
ClassificationDfT category E
History
Opened1 November 1848
Passengers
2018/19Increase 0.189 million
2019/20Decrease 0.178 million
2020/21Decrease 36,526
2021/22Increase 95,612
2022/23Increase 0.121 million
Notes
Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road

Mortimer railway station is a railway station in the village of Stratfield Mortimer in the county of Berkshire in England. It is 43 miles 14 chains (69.5 km) from London Paddington. The station is notable for its well-preserved Brunel-designed Great Western Railway (GWR) station buildings, which are still in use. The station is served by local services operated by Great Western Railway.

The station is on the double-track Reading to Basingstoke Line, and comprises two side platforms linked by a footbridge. Road access is to the north of the station, next to the up (Reading-bound) platform.[1][2]

The brick-built single-storey main building has a ticket office and waiting room and is on the up platform. The down platform has a matching waiting shelter. Both buildings are Italianate, designed by Brunel for the GWR. They are the only substantially intact survivors of this once-common design, although a much modified example exists at Chepstow. The buildings are listed Grade II*.[3][4][5][6]

History

The station was opened in 1848, along with the Reading to Basingstoke railway line and both it, and the station buildings, have been in continuous use ever since. The line was promoted by the nominally independent Berks and Hants Railway, but this company was absorbed into the GWR two years before Mortimer station opened. The approval of the Duke of Wellington, who lived nearby at Stratfield Saye House was required for the station's construction.[7][3]

After railway nationalisation in 1948, operation of the Reading to Basingstoke line, and management of the station, was passed to the Southern Region of British Railways (BR). BR undertook major renovations of the station buildings in time for the celebrations of the 150th anniversary of the GWR, including removing the 1920s slates and replacing them with orange pantiles in the original style.[3]

Following the privatisation of British Railways, the station is again served by trains running under the Great Western name.[8]

Services

All services at Mortimer are operated by Great Western Railway using Class 165 and 166 DMUs.

The typical off-peak service is two trains per hour in each direction between Reading and Basingstoke. On Sundays, the service is reduced to hourly in each direction.[9]

Preceding station National Rail National Rail Following station
Great Western Railway

Cultural references

The station appears briefly in the 1974 BBC Doctor Who serial Planet of the Spiders.[10]

References

  1. ↑ "Mortimer (MOR) - Station Map". National Rail Enquiries. Retrieved 17 March 2017.
  2. ↑ "Mortimer Station - Onward Travel Information" (PDF). National Rail Enquiries. Retrieved 17 March 2017.
  3. 1 2 3 Leigh, Chris (3 November 2010). "1835-2010: Brunel's GWR legacy". Rail Magazine. No. 656. Bauer. p. 50.
  4. ↑ Historic England. "Mortimer Station (Grade II*) (1117145)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 2 September 2014.
  5. ↑ Historic England. "Waiting room at Mortimer Station (Grade II*) (1135802)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 2 September 2014.
  6. ↑ Historic England. "Details from listed building database (1117145)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 7 April 2007.
  7. ↑ Biddle, Gordon; Nock, O.S. (1983). The Railway Heritage of Britain. Michael Joseph. ISBN 0-7181-2355-7.
  8. ↑ "Train Times". First Great Western. Retrieved 12 April 2007.
  9. ↑ Table 122 National Rail timetable, December 2023
  10. ↑ Howe, David J.; Walker, Stephen James (1996). Doctor Who The Handbook - The Third Doctor. London: Doctor Who Books. pp. 163, 166. ISBN 0-426-20486-7.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Mortimer railway station.

51°22′19.39″N 1°02′08.22″W / 51.3720528°N 1.0356167°W / 51.3720528; -1.0356167

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.