The Waterloo–Reading line is a National Rail electric railway line between London Waterloo and Reading. The line runs west through a series of South West London suburbs to Reading, in central Berkshire. Its passenger operation is by South Western Railway (SWR), which also manage its stations.
An SWT Class 458 at Martins Heron
Reading station with Southern Region trains in 1979.
Waterloo station, also known as London Waterloo, is a major central London terminus on the National Rail network in the United Kingdom, in the Waterloo area of the London Borough of Lambeth. It is connected to a London Underground station of the same name and is adjacent to Waterloo East station on the South Eastern Main Line. The station is the terminus of the South West Main Line to Weymouth via Southampton, the West of England main line to Exeter via Salisbury, the Portsmouth Direct line to Portsmouth Harbour which connects with ferry services to the Isle of Wight, and several commuter services around west and south-west London, Surrey, Hampshire and Berkshire.
Aerial view from the south, showing Waterloo station, Waterloo and Hungerford Bridges and the London Eye
The original Waterloo station in 1848
Plan of Waterloo station in 1888
The Victory Arch, the station's main entrance, was constructed by James Robb Scott and commemorates Britain's involvement in World War I.