| Ash Vale | |
| Symbol Location: | gb |
| Symbol: | rail |
| Borough: | Ash Vale, Guildford |
| Country: | England |
| Grid Name: | Grid reference |
| Manager: | South Western Railway |
| Platforms: | 2 |
| Code: | AHV |
| Classification: | DfT category D |
| Opened: | 2 May 1870 |
| Footnotes: | Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road |
Ash Vale is a railway station serving the village of Ash Vale in Surrey, England. It is situated at the junction of the London to Alton line and the Ascot to Guildford line, 32chain38chain down the line from . The station and all trains serving it are operated by South Western Railway.
The station is on an embankment[1] and is adjacent to the Basingstoke Canal.[2] It is approximately half a mile from Ash Vale to North Camp station on the North Downs Line (the line between Gatwick Airport, Guildford and Reading), a distance passengers are expected to walk to make any connection. Only disabled passengers may argue that to do so would not be "reasonable" - the National Routeing Guide which defines route validity allows for the less able taking circuitous routes at the discretion of staff.
The station was opened by the London and South Western Railway on 2 May 1870, under the name of "North Camp and Ash Vale" and was given its present name on 30 March 1924.[2] It became part of the Southern Railway as a result of the Grouping of 1923.
Electrification of the line between Woking and Farnham was completed in January 1937 and electrification of the branch to Ascot was finished two years later.[3] Responsibility for the station passed to the Southern Region of British Railways on nationalisation in 1948. The original main station building on the south side had to be demolished due to subsidence; the current replacement dates from 1972.[2]
When Sectorisation was introduced in the 1980s, the station was served by Network SouthEast until the Privatisation of British Railways.
Train movements in the Ash Vale station area and the junction beyond were controlled by Ash Vale Junction signal box, constructed in June 1879.[4] The signal box, complete with its four residents and cover staff, operated 24 hours a day, 364 days a year. The signal box closed in 2014[5] and was demolished two years later.[6]
On weekdays, there are trains approximately every 30 minutes between London Waterloo and Alton and between Ascot and Aldershot. On Sundays, trains run every 30 minutes between London and Alton and every 60 minutes between Ascot and Guildford.[7]
South Western Railway is replacing their Class 458, 455 and 707 EMUs with Class 701 "Arterio" EMUs, meaning that these new trains will stop at Ash Vale station in the future.[8]
In 1952 the booking clerk at Ash Vale was murdered following a hold-up by a fellow rail worker.[9] [10]
On the evening of 29 August 1990, a Class 421 electric multiple unit working a Guildford to Ascot service derailed at Ash Vale Junction. All four carriages remained upright; 20 passengers were evacuated by military personnel and escorted to Ash Vale station.[11] [12]