Farnham railway station serves the town of Farnham

Farnham

Farnham is a town in Surrey, England, within the Borough of Waverley. The town is situated some 42 miles southwest of London in the extreme west of Surrey, adjacent to the border with Hampshire...

 in Surrey

Surrey

Surrey is a county in the South East of England and is one of the Home Counties. The county borders Greater London, Kent, East Sussex, West Sussex, Hampshire and Berkshire. The historic county town is Guildford. Surrey County Council sits at Kingston upon Thames, although this has been part of...

. It is located on Station Hill by the level crossing

Level crossing

A level crossing occurs where a railway line is intersected by a road or path onone level, without recourse to a bridge or tunnel. It is a type of at-grade intersection. The term also applies when a light rail line with separate right-of-way or reserved track crosses a road in the same fashion...

 that carries the Alton Line

Alton Line

The Alton Line is a railway line operated by South West Trains. Today Alton station is the terminus of a main line branch, although it was at one time the junction for three lines. The branch leaves the South Western Main Line at Pirbright Junction near Brookwood...

 across the B3001 secondary road. The town centre is about ten minutes away on foot to the north of the A31

A31 road

The A31 is a major trunk road in southern England that runs from Guildford in Surrey to Bere Regis in Dorset.-Route of road:The road begins in the centre of Guildford, meeting the A3 road before running south west along the Hog's Back. It continues past Farnham, Alton and New Alresford before...

 Farnham Bypass via a signal-controlled crossing. The start of the North Downs Way

North Downs Way

The North Downs Way is a long-distance path in southern England, opened in 1978. It runs from Farnham to Dover, past Godalming, Guildford, Dorking, Merstham, Otford and Rochester, along the Surrey Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and Kent Downs AONB.East of Boughton Lees, the path splits...

, a long distance footpath, is signposted near to the main entrance to the station. Farnham College

Farnham College

Farnham College is a sixth form college in Farnham, Surrey, UK. It is located on a single campus in a residential area just to the south of Farnham town centre, and is now a foundation college...

 is six minutes walk away in a southerly direction.

Train services are provided by South West Trains

South West Trains

South West Trains is a British train operating company providing, under franchise, passenger rail services, mostly out of Waterloo station, to the southwest of London in the suburbs and in the counties of Surrey, Hampshire, Dorset, Devon, Somerset, Berkshire, and Wiltshire and on the Isle of Wight...

, with direct trains running to Aldershot

Aldershot

Aldershot is a town in the English county of Hampshire, located on heathland about southwest of London. The town is administered by Rushmoor Borough Council...

, Alton

Alton, Hampshire

Alton is a historic market town and civil parish in the East Hampshire district of the English county of Hampshire. It had a population of 16,584 at the 1991 census and is administered by East Hampshire district council. It is located on the source of the River Wey and is the highest town in...

, Woking

Woking

Woking is a large town and civil parish that shares its name with the surrounding local government district, located in the west of Surrey, UK. It is part of the Greater London Urban Area and the London commuter belt, with frequent trains and a journey time of 24 minutes to Waterloo station....

, Surbiton

Surbiton

Surbiton, a suburban area of London in the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames, is situated next to the River Thames, with a mixture of Art-Deco courts, more recent residential blocks and grand, spacious 19th century townhouses blending into a sea of semi-detached 20th century housing estates...

, Clapham Junction and London Waterloo

Waterloo station

Waterloo station, also known as London Waterloo, is a central London railway terminus and London Underground complex. The station is owned and operated by Network Rail and is close to the South Bank of the River Thames, and in Travelcard Zone 1....

.

Trains are formed of modern Siemens

Siemens AG

Siemens AG is a German multinational conglomerate company headquartered in Munich, Germany. It is the largest Europe-based electronics and electrical engineering company....

 Class 450

British Rail Class 450

The British Rail Class 450 third-rail DC EMU began service during 2003. They are a part of the Siemens Desiro modular train family and are more commonly known as the 'Blue Desiro'...

 electric multiple units

Multiple unit

The term multiple unit or MU is used to describe a self-propelled carriages capable of coupling with other units of the same or similar type and still being controlled from one driving cab. The term is commonly used to denote passenger trainsets consisting of more than one carriage...

 (primarily blue in colour) and Class 444

British Rail Class 444

The British Rail Class 444 Desiro electrical multiple units were built in Germany by Siemens AG from 2003-04. Forty-five of these units were built for express services for South West Trains....

 (primarily white). Steam trains and freight trains are seen quite often, travelling from/to the Watercress Line

Watercress Line

The Watercress Line is the marketing name of the Mid-Hants Railway, a heritage railway in Hampshire, England, running from New Alresford to Alton where it connects to the National Rail network. The line gained its popular name in the days that it was used to transport locally grown watercress to...

 and Holybourne

Holybourne

Holybourne is a village in the East Hampshire district of Hampshire, England. It is 1.3 miles northeast of Alton, just off the A31 road.The nearest railway station is 1.3 miles southwest of the village, at Alton....

 oil terminal.

There is a buffet in the booking hall selling newspapers, hot and cold beverages, confectionery

Confectionery

Confectionery is the set of food items that are rich in sugar, any one or type of which is called a confection. Modern usage may include substances rich in artificial sweeteners as well...

, snacks, hot food and tobacco

Tobacco

Tobacco is an agricultural product processed from the leaves of plants in the genus Nicotiana. It can be consumed, used as a pesticide and, in the form of nicotine tartrate, used in some medicines...

 products.

History

The station was opened on 8 October 1849, on a route from Guildford

Guildford

Guildford is the county town of Surrey. England, as well as the seat for the borough of Guildford and the administrative headquarters of the South East England region...

 via Ash Green and Tongham

Tongham

Tongham is a small Surrey village located close to the north-east Hampshire and Surrey border. The village lies in a triangle between the A31 and the A331. Neighbouring villages include Ash and Badshot Lea....

. The line from Aldershot station

Aldershot railway station

Aldershot railway station is on Station Road, near the town centre of Aldershot, Hampshire, England. It is on the Alton Line, part of the National Rail network, with train services and station facilities provided by South West Trains....

 opened in 1870 and was electrified

Railway electrification system

A railway electrification system supplies electrical energy to railway locomotives and multiple units as well as trams so that they can operate without having an on-board prime mover. There are several different electrification systems in use throughout the world...

 on 4 July 1937. Passenger services via Ash Green station and Tongham

Tongham railway station

Tongham railway station was a railway station serving the village of Tongham, Guildford, Surrey in England which opened in 1849 and closed in 1937.- History :...

 ceased on the same date.

Sherlock Holmes

Sherlock Holmes

Sherlock Holmes

Sherlock Holmes is a fictional detective created by Scottish author and physician Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. The fantastic London-based "consulting detective", Holmes is famous for his astute logical reasoning, his ability to take almost any disguise, and his use of forensic science skills to solve...

 and Doctor Watson travelled by train to Farnham in "The Adventure of the Solitary Cyclist

The Adventure of the Solitary Cyclist

"The Adventure of the Solitary Cyclist", one of the 56 Sherlock Holmes short stories written by British author Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, is one of 13 stories in the cycle collected as The Return of Sherlock Holmes.-Synopsis:...

". 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. Holmes himself travelled to Farnham the next day, returning to Baker Street "late in the evening with a cut lip and a discoloured lump upon his forehead, besides a general air of dissipation which would have made his own person the fitting object of a Scotland Yard investigation".

Services

The typical off-peak service (Monday to Saturday) from the station is:

• 2 trains per hour to London Waterloo (Platform 1 calling at: Aldershot, Ash Vale, Brookwood, Woking, West Byfleet & Clapham Junction
• 2 trains per hour to Alton (Platform 2 calling at: Bentley (short platforms, also an hourly service)

The journey time to Alton is approximately 14 minutes and that to London is approximately 58 minutes .

External links