Pokesdown railway station

Pokesdown for Boscombe railway station is a railway station serving the Pokesdown, Boscombe and Southbourne areas of Bournemouth in Dorset, England. It is located on the South Western Main Line from London Waterloo to Weymouth.

The station is served by South West Trains, who operate semi-fast services from London Waterloo to Weymouth and London Waterloo to Poole stopping services.

The station

The station was opened in 1886 by the Southampton and Dorchester Railway. It was originally named "Boscombe", which was later altered to "Pokesdown (Boscombe)", since the station was closer to Pokesdown than Boscombe. In 1897, when Boscombe station station was opened, the station was renamed again to "Pokesdown".

In the 1930s the Southern Railway made the platform facilities considerably larger, allowing the station to accommodate more trains. Although these facilities have since been removed, at the time they provided an asset for the fast non-stopping services because there was track to use as a loop line.

In the 1970s, there was no longer a need for four tracks and a signal box. Therefore, two of the tracks were removed and the signal box closed.

On 16 May 2009 the station was renamed Pokesdown for Boscombe, and station signage was changed to reflect this. The station is a short bus ride or walk from Boscombe's main shopping area.

Most South West Trains services operated by units working in multiple cannot be accommodated fully by the platforms and only the doors of the leading unit are opened, the exception being occasional eight carriage trains which can open all doors when using the Bournemouth-direction Platform 2.

Services