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Long lost railway station off Surrey high street that has completely …

Many railway stations have been lost across the UK over the decades. Some closed due to a lack of commercial viability or lack of passengers – with many others also facing the axe during the infamous Beeching Cuts of the 1960s that saw many branch lines closed.

Perhaps due to its proximity to London and the fact many commuters live there, Surrey still has quite a few active railway stations and a relatively frequent train service for many areas.

However, a number of stations have closed in the county over the years. And one of these was open for just over three decades.

Staines[2] High Street station opened to passengers on July 1 1884. It opened just to the north of the town’s Iron Bridge, which remains in use by trains to this day.

There were platforms built on either side of the tracks, one for trains going in one direction and one for services in the other. The station had trains run between between Windsor and Eton and London Waterloo.

While it enjoyed a prominent location in the town, the station was never much more than a ‘halt’ stop. And it was not set for a long service.

The current Staines station has been open since 1848 and continues to serve thousands of passengers to this day. It saw more than 1.6million people begin and end their journeys there in 2021/2022 according to the Office of Rail and Road – down from the more than two million people who used it in the years leading up to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Staines High Street opened 36 years later and closed its doors to passengers in January 1 1916, during the First World War. The station was in service for just under 32 years – meaning the main Staines station, which is still serving passengers more than a century later, had been open longer by the time Staines High Street opened than that station itself lasted.

Nothing remains of the station.

References

  1. ^ Driving to Hampton Court Palace in expanded ULEZ – all you need to know (www.getsurrey.co.uk)
  2. ^ Staines (www.getsurrey.co.uk)

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