Longcross railway station

Longcross railway station is centred approximately 1 mile (1.6 km) from the locality of Longcross in Surrey, England on the border of the former parishes of Virginia Water and Lyne and Longcross (a current civil parish) in part of the large wooded sandy heath known as Surrey Heath (which is larger than the area of the district of the same name). It is 25 miles 11 chains (40.5 km) down the line from London Waterloo and is served as a minor stop by South Western Railway on the Waterloo–Reading line.

Longcross
LocationLongcross, Runnymede
England
Grid referenceSU978660
Managed bySouth Western Railway
Platforms2
Other information
Station codeLNG
ClassificationDfT category F2
History
Original companySouthern Railway
Post-groupingSouthern Railway
Key dates
c. 1940Opened to restricted traffic, as Longcross Halt
21 September 1942Opened to general traffic
5 May 1969Renamed Longcross
Passengers
2015/16 16,058
2016/17 14,990
2017/18 25,784
2018/19 23,090
2019/20 22,948
Notes
Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road

History

The station was opened c. 1940 by the Southern Railway. Originally named Longcross Halt, it was not shown in regular timetables until 21 September 1942. On 5 May 1969 it was renamed Longcross by British Rail.[1]

Location

The station is not adjacent to a road but can be reached from the south along Burma Road, a road which runs north from the east-west B386. Burma Road skirts the western side of the former Longcross QinetiQ Military Vehicles and Engineering Establishment site before narrowing to a track then a footpath. Much of the QinetiQ site is now home to Longcross film studio, and the remainder is being developed for housing in a 'garden village'.[2] On the north of the station is Wentworth Golf Course and although Network Rail say that there are open gates on the north as well as the south side of the station,[3] the 1:25000 OS map shows no right of way across the course from the station.[4] The station is also adjacent to parts of the Wentworth Estate and Chobham Common.

Filming

In Autumn 2006 a more regular service was provided at Longcross station, with many trains making unscheduled stops due to filming at the QinetiQ site for a new BBC drama, HolbyBlue, a spin-off of Holby City. Three further dramas also used Longcross for filming in 2006: a political drama made by World Productions; Jekyll by Hartswood Films; and the second series of Hyperdrive, a BBC comedy series. Another drama Echo Falls was partly shot at Longcross. This makes use of the mixed pineferous, gorse and heather landscape of wet and semi-wet upland heath, a rare soil type.[5]

The BBC Ghost Story for Christmas "View from a Hill" (by M. R. James) used the station as a location for the opening and closing scenes.

Services

As of December 2019, the off-peak service at the station is:[6]

Additional services stop during the peak periods. On Sundays the service reduces to hourly in each direction.

Before December 2019, the station was served by a limited service Monday-Friday only with no weekend service.

Preceding station National Rail Following station
Virginia Water   South Western Railway
Waterloo–Reading		   Sunningdale

References
  1. Butt, R.V.J. (1995). The Directory of Railway Stations. Yeovil: Patrick Stephens Ltd. p. 148. ISBN 1-85260-508-1. R508.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  2. News in your area, SurreyLive, July 2017, https://www.getsurrey.co.uk/news/surrey-news/longcross-garden-village-ambitious-plans-13333917
  3. Longcross station plan, National Rail, http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/stations-and-destinations/stations-made-easy/longcross-station-plan
  4. OS Explorer Map, sheet 160, 2015, ISBN 978-0-319-24353-4
  5. "Soilscapes soil types viewer - National Soil Resources Institute. Cranfield University". landis.org.uk. Retrieved 10 November 2018.
  6. "Train Timetable | South Western Railway". www.southwesternrailway.com.

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