950 Thorpe Park Express bus link runs between the front of the station and the nearby Thorpe Park theme park. London Buses route 117 and 290 have stops 50m north of the station. Other buses operate from the bus station accessed via a broad archway and surface car park from the path to the town centre. Accidents and incidents On 9 August 1957, a light engine (a 700 class 0-6-0) was being moved from the up loop across the up main to the down main, and the signals were correctly set for this movement – amongst other things, this meant that the starting signal for the up platform was at danger. Despite this, an electric train bound for Waterloo set off from the platform, travelled and collided almost head-on with the light engine, which overturned injuring both of its crew – the driver's leg was broken. The leading coach of the electric train was severely damaged; the motorman and twelve of the seventy passengers sustained minor injuries. Future plans Additional route and track proposals Since 2000, a number of transport proposals have been put forward to improve rail connections with Heathrow Airport. The Heathrow Airtrack scheme, proposed in 2000 by BAA, envisaged the creation of a direct rail service from Heathrow Airport via Staines to Waterloo. The scheme would have involved reopening part of the disused Staines and West Drayton line and the construction of a spur line to . A new station was also planned close to the site of the former Staines High Street railway station. The new link would also have enabled the existing Heathrow Express service to be extended from Heathrow to terminate at Staines. Heathrow Airtrack was abandoned in 2011 due to forecast problems with the large number of level crossings on the route into London. A further scheme for new rail links to Heathrow via Staines is currently at the proposal stage. The Heathrow Southern Railway was put forward by a business consortium to create links west of Heathrow Airport with the Waterloo–Reading line, the Great Western Main Line and the Hounslow Loop Line, including a link to Staines. Notes and references References Notes External links Railway stations in Surrey DfT Category C2 stations Former London and South Western Railway stations Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1848 Railway stations served by South Western Railway Staines-upon-Thames