| rdfs:comment | - The North Downs Line is the name of the passenger train service connecting Reading, on the Great Western Main Line, to Gatwick Airport, on the Brighton Main Line. It is also the name used to refer to the line over which these services run between Reading and Redhill, which was authorised by Acts of Parliament in 1846 and 1847 and constructed by the Reading, Guildford and Reigate Railway (RG&RR), opening in 1849. The stated objective of the company was to
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| abstract | - The North Downs Line is the name of the passenger train service connecting Reading, on the Great Western Main Line, to Gatwick Airport, on the Brighton Main Line. It is also the name used to refer to the line over which these services run between Reading and Redhill, which was authorised by Acts of Parliament in 1846 and 1847 and constructed by the Reading, Guildford and Reigate Railway (RG&RR), opening in 1849. The stated objective of the company was to "secure through traffic passing between the West, North and Midlands and the Channel Ports avoiding the congestion of London and thus saving time, distance and expense." The line runs roughly parallel to the North Downs escarpment between Ash and Redhill. The South Eastern Railway which operated the line from its opening, ran passenger services on the line from Reading to London Charing Cross via Redhill and even today, the distances along the line are measured from the terminus of the former SER.
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