Horsley Station

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A key transport hub dating from 1885 that has fundamentally transformed theHorsleys.

Horsley’ is a historic railway station serving East Horsely, West Horsley and surrounding villages. It lies on the ‘New Guildford Line’ which connects London Waterloo with Guildford.This station first opened on 2 February 1885 and was then called Horsley and Ockham andRipley. It was part of London & South Western Railway’s new route to improve connectionsbetween London and Guildford. In 1914, the station’s name was simplified to Horsley.The station building was typical of rural Victorian stations, with initial passenger access muchmore rudimentary than today. A footbridge linking the platforms was only added in 1905. Ofthe seven new stations originally forming the line, five including Horsley had distinctive whiteroof louvres which still ventilate the facilities at Horsley today.Major changes followed electrification of the line in 1925 which resulted in faster, cheaperand more frequent trains. This period coincided with the wider development of East Horsleyfollowing the sale of the Horsley Park estate in 1927. Such development was partly stimulatedby access to improved rail services to London with the population of East Horsley rising from291 in 1921 to 1,196 in 1931 and reached 2,462 by 1951.Today, Horsley Station is managed by South Western Railway, part of Great British Railways.After 140 years of service, its role in the local community is as important as ever, as reflectedby passenger numbers which currently average around 950 persons per day.