Earley railway station

Earley railway station is a railway station in Earley in Berkshire, England. It is on the Waterloo to Reading Line, and forms the last stop before the terminus of the line at Reading station.The station has two side platforms, on either side of the twin track line. A large two-storey station building is situated on the Reading-bound platform. The two platforms are linked by a footbridge over the tracks, and the London-bound platform has a waiting room. The station is accessed by an approach road from the nearby main road between Reading and Wokingham, and on this approach is a terrace of three single storey cottages that were built for the SER at the same time as the station, to house railway staff and their families.HistoryThe South Eastern Railway (SER) opened Earley station in May 1863 on the former Reading, Guildford and Reigate Railway (RG&RR), which originally terminated at its own Reading Southern station. The RG&RR had opened on 4 July 1849 and the SER had taken it over in 1852.By the time Earley station opened, the Staines, Wokingham & Woking Junction Railway (SW&WJR) was also operating a service between London Waterloo station and Reading Southern station that used running powers over the SER through Earley station. The SW&WJR was absorbed by the London and South Western Railway (LSWR) in 1878, and the LSWR continued to operate over SER tracks until both railway companies became part of the Southern Railway in 1923.