The original route of the South Eastern Railway (SER) was from London Bridge station to Dover, which took a route through Redhill so that several compass point sector-based companies could share the same lines and engineering (including a substantial tunnel) through the North Downs. The line from Reading to Redhill was built by the Reading, Guildford and Reigate Railway (RG&RR), and was opened in 1849: the section from Reading to Farnborough was opened on 4 July 1849, with the last section being opened on 15 October. From the start, the RG&RR was worked by the SER, which leased it from 16 July 1846, and absorbed it in 1852. When the first section of line opened, the SER trains served a temporary station north of Reading's Forbury Road before moving into a permanent terminal, about west, on 30 August 1855.