South Western Main Line

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

South Western Main Line

Principal stations (from north to south) London Waterloo Clapham Junction Woking (for Portsmouth Direct Line) Brookwood (for Alton Line) Farnborough (Main) Fleet Winchfield Hook Basingstoke (for West of England Main Line) Micheldever Winchester Shawford Eastleigh (for lines to Fareham and Romsey) Southampton Airport (Parkway) Swaythling St Denys Southampton Central (for West Coastway and Wessex Main Line) Millbrook Redbridge Totton Ashurst New Forest Beaulieu Road Brockenhurst (for Lymington Branch Line) Sway New Milton Hinton Admiral Christchurch Pokesdown Bournemouth Branksome Parkstone Poole Hamworthy Holton Heath Wareham Wool Moreton Dorchester South Upwey (for Heart of Wessex Line) Weymouth

The South Western Main Line is the British railway line from London Waterloo to Weymouth on the Dorset coast.

The main towns served by the route, starting from London, are:

• London Waterloo
• Clapham Junction
• Woking
• Brookwood
  • Connections with Alton Line to Aldershot, Farnham and Alton
• Farnborough
• Fleet
• Basingstoke
• Micheldever
• Winchester
• Eastleigh
• Southampton Airport (Parkway)
• Southampton
  • Connections with West Coastway Line to Portsmouth, Chichester, West Sussex and Brighton
  • Connections with Wessex Main Line to Salisbury, Westbury, Bath and Bristol
• Beaulieu
• Brockenhurst
  • Connections with branch line to Lymington for ferry to the Isle of Wight
• Christchurch
• Bournemouth

• Poole
• Wareham
• Wool
• Dorchester
• Weymouth

Many sections of the line are relatively high-speed, with large stretches cleared for 100mph. The suburban portion of the line as far as the junction for Alton was electrified (750v DC third rail) by LSWR its successor Southern prior to World War Two. The main portion of the line to Southampton and Bournemouth was electrfied in 1967. Electrification was extended to Weymouth in 1988 and saw the introduction of the new Class 442 'Wessex Electric' trains.

The majority of passenger services are currently operated by South West Trains, with an hourly service departing Weymouth on the hour and Waterloo at 35 minutes past the hour; additional trains operate from Wareham to Winchester, stopping at all stations. Virgin Trains services between the Midlands and Bournemouth join the South Western Main Line at Basingstoke.

[edit] See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: South Western Main Line

London and South Western Railway for the history of the line

edit Railway lines in South-East England:
Main lines:		Arun Valley Line   Ashford via Maidstone East Line   Ashford-Ramsgate via Canterbury Line   Brighton Main Line   Chatham Main Line   East Coastway   Hastings Line   Channel Tunnel Rail Link   Kent Coast Line   London–Ashford–Dover Line   North Downs Line   Portsmouth Direct Line   South Western Main Line   Thameslink   West Coastway   West of England Main Line
Commuter lines:		Alton Line   Ascot-Guildford Line   Bexleyheath Line   Caterham Line   Catford Loop   Chessington Branch   Dartford Loop   Eastleigh-Fareham Line   Eastleigh-Romsey Line   Hayes Line   Hounslow Loop   Mid-Kent Line   New Guildford Line   North Kent Line   Oxted Line   Sheerness Line   Slough-Windsor & Eton Line   South London Line   Staines-Windsor & Eton Line   Staines to Weybridge Line   Sutton Mole Valley Line   Tattenham Corner Line   Waterloo-Reading Line   West London Line
Rural lines:		Brockenhurst-Lymington Line   Henley Branch Line   Island Line   Marlow Branch Line   Marshlink Line   Medway Valley Line   Redhill-Tonbridge Line