Farnham railway station

Farnham railway station serves the town of Farnham in Surrey, England. It is a stop on the Alton line, with services between Alton, Aldershot, Woking, Clapham Junction and London Waterloo; two branch lines also provide services to Ascot and Guildford. South Western Railway manages the station and operates all services. Immediately to the north of the station, the railway crosses Station Hill, the B3001, via a level crossing,^[1] one of the most misused crossings in the Network Rail Wessex Region.^[2]

Farnham
General information
Location	Farnham, Waverley England
Grid reference	SU844465
Managed by	South Western Railway
Platforms	2
Other information
Station code	FNH
Classification	DfT category C2
History
Opened	8 October 1849
Passengers
2019/20	1.548 million
Interchange	25,340
2020/21	0.274 million
Interchange	6,252
2021/22	0.931 million
Interchange	16,977
2022/23	1.203 million
Interchange	21,176
2023/24	1.377 million
Interchange	24,565
Location
Notes Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road

History

A 1912 Railway Clearing House map of lines around Farnham station

The station was opened on 8 October 1849, on a route from Guildford via Ash Green Halt and Tongham.^[3] The line from Aldershot station opened in 1870 and was electrified on 4 July 1937. Passenger services via Ash Green Halt and Tongham ceased on the same date.

Facilities

There is a buffet in the booking hall, a ticket office, ticket machines and spaces for 134 bicycles. The station car park has 558 spaces;^[4]it was expanded with the addition of a dual-level car park facility, including better lighting, security cameras and improved entrance.^[5]

Services

All services at Farnham are operated by South Western Railway using Class 450 electric multiple units.

The typical off-peak service in trains per hour is:^[6]

• 2 tph to London Waterloo via Woking
• 2 tph to Alton
• 2 tph to Guildford

The station is also served by two early morning services to London Waterloo that run via Ascot and Staines instead of Woking.

On Sundays, the service to Guildford do not run and the services between London Waterloo and Alton are reduced to hourly.

Preceding station	National Rail			Following station
Aldershot		South Western Railway Alton Line		Bentley or Alton
		South Western Railway Farnham to Guildford		Terminus
	Former services
Tongham		British Railways Southern Region Tongham Railway		Terminus

Connections

Stagecoach South bus routes 4, 5, 17, 18, 19 and 46 link the station with Aldershot, Guildford and surrounding villages.^[7]

In literature

Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson travelled by train to Farnham in The Adventure of the Solitary Cyclist.^[1] Holmes said, "A beautiful neighbourhood and full of the most interesting associations. You remember, Watson, that it was near there that we took Archie Stamford, the forger." Watson recounted, "We had ascertained from the lady that she went down upon the Monday by the train which leaves Waterloo at 9.50, so I started early and caught the 9:13." He did this on Monday 25 April 1895.

Sherlock Holmes, as a young boy, also lived in the Farnham area with his aunt and uncle in Andrew Lane's Young Sherlock Holmes series of books. The station features prominently as Holmes, his friend, and his tutor often travel by train to London Waterloo when they are going to visit Holmes's brother Mycroft.