Fleet railway station

Fleet
Location
Place	Fleet
Local authority	District of Hart
Coordinates	51°17′28″N 0°49′52″W / 51.291°N 0.831°WCoordinates: 51°17′28″N 0°49′52″W / 51.291°N 0.831°W
Grid reference	SU816552
Operations
Station code	FLE
Managed by	South West Trains
Number of platforms	2
DfT category	C2
Live arrivals/departures, station information and onward connections from National Rail Enquiries
Annual rail passenger usage*
2004/05	1.263 million
2005/06	1.370 million
2006/07	1.466 million
2007/08	1.573 million
2008/09	1.618 million
2009/10	1.580 million
2010/11	1.650 million
2013/14	1.760 million
History
Original company	London and South Western Railway
Pre-grouping	London and South Western Railway
Post-grouping	Southern Railway
May 1847	Opened as Fleet Pond
1 July 1869	Renamed Fleet
National Rail – UK railway stations
* Annual estimated passenger usage based on sales of tickets in stated financial year(s) which end or originate at Fleet from Office of Rail and Road statistics. Methodology may vary year on year.
UK Railways portal

Fleet railway station serves the town of Fleet in Hampshire, England. It is situated on the South Western Main Line, which has four tracks through the station. There are two platforms on the outer pair of tracks, which are served by trains between London Waterloo, Basingstoke and Southampton. The centre pair of tracks have no platforms and are used by fast services.

The station, and all trains calling there, are operated by South West Trains.

History

The railway line through Fleet was built by the London & Southampton Railway, which was renamed the London and South Western Railway (LSWR) in 1839;^[1] the section between Woking and Winchfield opening on 24 September 1838,^[2] but at that time, Fleet did not have a railway station. A station, originally named Fleet Pond (after Fleet Pond) was opened in May 1847.^[3] It was built on the opposite side of Minley Road as it is today. When the line was increased to four tracks, the station was rebuilt on its current site. At the time however, the station saw very little use and there were even proposals to close the station. It was renamed Fleet on 1 July 1869.^[3]

In 1906, the station was expanded again as the station became busier as Fleet's population grew. The buildings were rebuilt in 1969. As of October 2013 work was under way to replace the station buildings and deck the southern car park to provide an extra 150 spaces. The new station building and footbridge were opened in July 2014 with the former lattice footbridge removed overnight on 23/24 July.

Services

The current Monday-Saturday off-peak service is:

• 3 trains per hour (tph) to London Waterloo, of which:
  • 1 calls at Farnborough Main and Clapham Junction, taking 41 minutes.
  • 1 calls at Farnborough Main, Brookwood, Woking, Weybridge, Walton-on-Thames, Surbiton and Clapham Junction, taking 56 minutes.
  • 1 calls at all station as per the second layout above, minus Clapham Junction. This train is overtaken by the fast train and so should only be used to reach stations up to Surbiton.
• 2 tph terminating at Basingstoke, calling at Winchfield and Hook and taking 20 minutes.
• 1 tph to Poole, calling at Basingstoke, Winchester, Shawford, Eastleigh, Southampton Airport Parkway, Southampton Central, Totton, Ashurst New Forest, Brockenhurst, Sway, New Milton, Hinton Admiral, Christchurch, Pokesdown, Bournemouth, Branksome and Parkstone, taking 2 hours 36 minutes. This train should only be used for stations to Ashurst New Forest, Sway and Hinton Admiral. Brockenhurst, New Milton, Christchurch, Pokesdown, Bournemouth and Poole can be reached faster by changing at Southampton Central. Branksome and Parkstone can be reached faster by changing at Brockenhurst.

On Sundays this becomes:

• 1 tph to London, calling at Farnborough Main, Brookwood, Woking, Surbiton, Wimbledon and Clapham Junction, taking 1 hour 7 minutes. (When returning from London passengers should ensure they are in the front part of the train.)
• 1 tph to Basingstoke as above, taking 17 minutes.

Miscellaneous

In May 2010, the body of a newborn baby girl was found abandoned in a rubbish bin at the station. A murder investigation was opened based upon the baby's injuries.^[4]

The two platforms are numbered; Platform 1 is for London-bound trains, Platform 2 is for trains for Basingstoke (and beyond).

References

1. Williams, R.A. (1968). The London & South Western Railway, volume 1: The Formative Years. Newton Abbot: David & Charles. pp. 20,122. ISBN 0-7153-4188-X.
2. Williams 1968, p. 38
3. Butt, R.V.J. (1995). The Directory of Railway Stations. Yeovil: Patrick Stephens Ltd. p. 97. ISBN 1-85260-508-1. R508.
4. "Dead baby left at Hampshire railway station". BBC News. 26 May 2010. Retrieved 17 June 2011.

External links

• Train times and station information for Fleet railway station from National Rail