Mortimer railway station

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]

The station is served by Great Western Railway Reading — Basingstoke local trains. There are generally two trains per hour in each direction on weekdays and Saturdays, and one train per hour on Sundays. Trains take 11 minutes to reach Reading, and 13 minutes to reach Basingstoke.[8][9]

Preceding station	National Rail			Following station
Reading West		Great Western Railway Reading to Basingstoke Line		Bramley (Hampshire)

Fast passenger trains on CrossCountry services linking Scotland, the North of England and the Midlands with Southampton Central and Bournemouth, pass through the station without stopping. A significant number of freight trains pass through the station, mostly container trains between the Port of Southampton and the West Midlands & points north.[10]

• The station appears briefly in the 1974 BBC Doctor Who serial Planet of the Spiders.[11]

• 
  The station viewed from the adjacent road bridge
• 
  The station looking towards the bridges
• 
  The station showing detail of the buildings