Chertsey branch / Chertsey loop line
South West Trains Class 450 at Addlestone in 2009
Overview
StatusOperational
OwnerNetwork Rail
LocaleSurrey, South East England
Stations4
Service
TypeSuburban rail, Heavy rail
SystemNational Rail
Operator(s)South Western Railway
History
Opened1849
Technical
Line length5.5 miles (8.9 km)
Number of tracks2
Track gauge1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) standard gauge
ElectrificationYes

The Chertsey branch line connects Virginia Water station on the Waterloo to Reading main line to Weybridge station on the Waterloo to Woking main line. It is located in Surrey, England. Chertsey is an ancient market town[1] and was first connected by a branch line from Weybridge in 1848. The line was continued to Virginia Water in 1866. Additional spurs were provided at each end of the line, forming triangular junctions. The southern junction to Byfleet proved useful for through trains from Windsor towards Woking and Portsmouth. The line was electrified in 1937.

At present (2023) the line is predominantly used for residential and shopping journeys, with a 30 minute train service frequency to London.

History

Surrounding railways

The London and Southampton Railway opened its main from Nine Elms station, London to Woking Common on 21 May 1838; there was a station at Weybridge. The company progressively extended the line to Southampton, and changed its name to the London and South Western Railway by Act of 4 June 1839.[2][3]

The Richmond Railway was formed to build a line from Richmond to join the LSWR main line at what is now Clapham Junction. The line was opened on 27 July 1846 and acquired by the LSWR by an Act of 1846.[4]

The Windsor, Staines and South Western Railway extended that route, from Richmond via Staines to Windsor, opening in 1849, and completing a through connection from London. It opened on 1 December 1849.[5][6]

Weybridge to Chertsey

Map of the Chertsey branch line of the LSWR in 1848

On 16 July 1846, the LSWR was authorised to construct a branch line from Weybridge to Egham, near Staines Bridge, but not crossing the River Thames. However the Windsor, Staines and South Western Railway had a second line of route authorised in its Act of 25 June 1847, to build a separate line from Staines via Chertsey to Pirbright. In authorising that line, Parliament cut back the LSWR Weybridge to Egham branch, so that it was authorised between Weybridge and Chertsey only.[6][7]

As a result the short branch from Weybridge to Chertsey was built, and it opened for traffic on 14 February 1848.[8][9]

Staines to Reading, at Virginia Water

In October 1852 local interests formed the Staines, Wokingham and Woking Railway; they obtained an authorising Act of Parliament on 8 July 1853. Their line was to run from the LSWR at Staines to reach Reading by connecting to the Reading, Guildford and Reigate Railway at Wokingham and using running powers. The Reading, Guildford and Reigate Railway was affiliated to the South Eastern Railway, and was later taken over by it. Also authorised was a branch line from Staines to Woking, but this was never built. The line was opened from Staines to Ascot on 4 June 1856, and on to Wokingham on 9 July 1856. The LSWR worked the line under temporary agreements at first but from 25 March 1858 a 42-year lease was concluded, and the LSWR later acquired the company outright.[7]

Chertsey to Virginia Water

Map of the Chertsey branch line of the LSWR in 1868

On 23 June 1864, the LSWR was authorised to construct an extension 2+1⁄2 miles (4.0 km) long from Chertsey to meet the Staines, Wokingham and Windsor Junction Railway (SW&WJR) at Virginia Water, and this line opened on 1 October 1866. It was a double-track line; the Chertsey station was replaced by a new one on the north-west side of Guildford Road. The former station was developed into a larger goods yard.[8][9]

At the Virginia Water end of the route there was a spur facing Ascot, enabling direct running from Chertsey towards Reading. It was opened as a single line on the same day as the main route, and it was doubled in December 1898.[10][8]

Byfleet Junction

Virginia Water Station; the Chertsey line is to the left

The connection from the Windsor lines to the main line was considered to be useful, especially as Queen Victoria was making journeys from Windsor to the Isle of Wight. A west-to-south curve was made at Staines, enabling direct running from Windsor towards Virginia Water; this was opened on 1 July 1884. Powers were obtained on 20 August 1883 to make a 68 chain (1.4 km) curve from a junction near Addlestone into the main line towards Woking, forming a triangular junction with the original Weybridge connection. It ran from Addlestone Junction to Byfleet Junction. The curve opened on 10 August 1885, so that direct running from Windsor to Woking and beyond was now possible, but it was not used regularly until 4 July 1887. From 1 May 1889 a public passenger service between Windsor and Woking was operated.[10][8]

Map of the Chertsey branch line of the LSWR in 1903

At this time the main line was double track and the junction was conventional, but completion of the quadrupling of the main line was being undertaken in the first years of the twentieth century. The opportunity was taken to make the down Chertsey connection a burrowing line under the main line. This was commissioned on 19 February 1903.[10][11][8]

The Windsor to Woking passenger service was withdrawn on 30 January 1916 as part of the LSWR's wartime economy measures, and from that time there were only a few advertised workings over the Addlestone Junction to Byfleet Junction line, and none at all after July 1921.[8]

A service over the route was resumed in May 1986 when trains operated from Staines to Woking via Chertsey. Later this was extended to run as a service from Waterloo via Hounslow to Guildford. It was not well used and in 1992 it was withdrawn with a single daily token train continuing to run.[12]

Virginia Water West Curve was closed on 27 July 1964.[13]

Slip coaches

In 1863 a slip coach connection to Chertsey was started. A slip coach was detached from a down main line train prior to reaching Weybridge. After the coach came to a stand at Weybridge station, a locomotive took it forward to Chertsey. The service lasted from June 1863 until June 1902.[14]

Electrification

In 1935 the Southern Railway, successor to the LSWR, decided to electrify the Portsmouth Direct line and associated branches. This was referred to as the Portsmouth No 1 Electrification, and it was carried out with Government financial assistance under the Railways (Agreement) Act. The line between Weybridge and Staines was included, and the scope included the Byfleet West Curve. The electrification system was at 660 V DC third rail. Full electric services started between Weybridge and Virginia Water on 3 January 1937.[15][16]

The enhanced electrification timetable resulted in heavy congestion at Woking, and the Alton trains ran as independent shuttles to avoid platform occupation at Woking while uncoupling, and actually ran to and from Chertsey empty to reverse.[17] Electrification onwards from Virginia Water to Reading was in use from 1 January 1939, and on that date the Virginia Water West Curve was electrified, although no timetabled passenger service used it.[18]

M25 underbridge

Lyne Railway Bridge viewed from the M25 to the south and below the level of the railway

Between Virginia Water and Chertsey, the line crosses the M25 motorway by means of a cable-stayed bridge, the first such heavy rail underbridge in Europe. The bridge has two spans of 180 feet (55 metres) each. The bridge was designed by the Southern Region of British Railways. Contract value for the construction was £1.04 million. The particular configuration was chosen to minimise disruption to the operational railway, and to save about £500,000 compared to a conventional design. It was completed in 1979.[19][20]

Stations

  • Virginia Water; Staines, Wokingham and Woking Railway station; opened 9 July 1856; still open;
  • Chertsey; opened 14 February 1848; resited 1 October 1866; still open;
  • Addlestone; opened 14 February 1848; still open;
  • Weybridge; originally London and Southampton Railway station; opened 21 May 1838; still open.[21]

Passenger train services

In January 2023, on Mondays to Saturdays, a half-hourly all-stations service from Weybridge to Waterloo runs via Staines and the Hounslow Loop Line. On Sundays there is an hourly all-stations service from Woking to Waterloo via Chertsey and Hounslow, using the west curve at Byfleet Junction.[22]

References

  1. ↑ Thomas Allen, History of the County of Surrey, Isaac Taylor Hinton, London, 1831, volume I, page 49
  2. ↑ Donald J Grant, Directory of the Railway Companies of Great Britain, Matador, Kibworth Beauchamp, 2017, ISBN 978-1-78589-353-7, page 332
  3. ↑ R A Williams, The London and South Western Railway: volume 1: The Formative Years, David & Charles, Newton Abbot, 1968, ISBN 0-7153-4188-X, page 36
  4. ↑ Grant, page 472
  5. ↑ Williams, volume 1, page 175
  6. 1 2 Grant, page 618
  7. 1 2 Williams, volume 1, page 181
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Alan A Jackson, The Railway in Surrey, Atlantic Transport Publishers, Penryn, 1999, ISBN 0-906899-90-7, pages 42 and 44
  9. 1 2 H P White, A Regional History of the Railways of Great Britain: volume II: Southern England, Phoenix House, London, 1961, page 132
  10. 1 2 3 R A Williams, The London and South Western Railway: volume 2: Growth and Consolidation, David and Charles, Newton Abbot, 1973, ISBN 0-7153-5940-1, pages 67 to 69
  11. ↑ Vic Mitchell and Keith Smith, Waterloo to Woking, Middleton Press, Midhurst, 1998, ISBN 0-906520-38-X, caption to image 108
  12. ↑ Jackson, pages 101 and 102
  13. ↑ David Brown, volume 2, page 80
  14. ↑ Mitchell and Smith, Waterloo to Woking, section Passenger Services
  15. ↑ David Brown, Southern Electric, volume 2, Main Line Electrification, the War Years and British Railways, Capital Transport Publishing, Crowthorne, 2010, ISBN 978-1-85414-340-2
  16. ↑ G T Moody, Southern Electric, Ian Allan Publishing, Hampton Court, 1958, ISBN 978-0-7110-0924-0, page 65
  17. ↑ Brown, volume 2, page 27
  18. ↑ Brown, volume 2, page 36
  19. ↑ Unusual Underbridge in Surrey, in Railway Magazine, September 1978, page 427
  20. ↑ René Walther et al, Cable Stayed Bridges, Thomas Telford Publishing, London, 1999, reprint 2003, ISBN 0-7277-2773-7, page 201
  21. ↑ M E Quick, Railway Passenger Stations in England, Wales and Scotland: A Chronology, version 5.04, September 2022, Railway and Canal Historical Society, electronic download
  22. ↑ South Western Railway Publicity

51°23′35″N 0°31′57″W / 51.3931°N 0.5324°W / 51.3931; -0.5324

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