Eastleigh to Fareham Line

Eastleigh to Fareham Line
Legend
Eastleigh to Romsey Line South Western Main Line Eastleigh Eastleigh Works Hedge End Bishops Waltham Line Botley Meon Valley Line Knowle Halt Loop Line West Coastway Line Fareham Gosport Line West Coastway Line

The Eastleigh to Fareham Line is the railway line from Eastleigh to Fareham in the United Kingdom. At Eastleigh, trains join the South Western Main Line for onward travel to Basingstoke, Reading or to London Waterloo. At Fareham trains join the West Coastway Line for onward travel to Portsmouth or Brighton.

Services and stations on this line are operated by South West Trains. It has an approximately hourly service in each direction. It is a useful diversionary route, used when the Portsmouth Direct Line is closed or when the lines around Southampton are closed.

The line was electrified with 750 V DC third rail in the 1990s.

History

Opening

The Eastleigh–Fareham line was built by the London and South Western Railway (LSWR) and opened in 1841. It linked the original Southampton to London trunk route (at Eastleigh) to Fareham which was a developing market town, small port and had a rapidly developing brick and tile industry. At the same time, the LSWR also built a line from Fareham to Gosport, with the intention of extending services to the city and important naval dockyard of Portsmouth. The area was the scene of competition between the LSWR and its main competitor in the region, the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway (LBSCR). In the event, the latter reached Portsmouth first.

Engineering works

The area around Fareham has very unstable soils due to the large clay beds which made the area suitable for brick-making. When constructing the tunnel just north-west of Fareham on the Eastleigh–Fareham line numerous problems with flooding and subsidence were encountered, and only with much use of bulkhead walls and props could the tunnel be driven through the hills. Once the line opened, problems continued with water damage and flooding. In the late 19th century the central part of the tunnel collapsed and the decision was made to build a double-track bypass line to the west through a cutting (to reduce the incline) on more stable ground, which rejoined the main line at Knowle Junction near Funtley. The collapsed section of the original tunnel was dug out, braced, turned into a cutting and re-opened in 1903 as part of construction work on the Eastleigh track next to the Meon Valley line from Fareham to Alton (also an LSWR line). To this day there are actually two Fareham tunnels, separated by a short open-air section in a deep cutting. The bypass line was closed in 1974 when the site for the new M27 motorway crossed the deep cutting of the bypass or deviation line. When the Gosport line was closed, goods traffic levels had fallen.

Traffic

The line became increasingly important throughout the 20th century as not only did traffic to Gosport and Portsmouth increase, but Southampton's development as Britain's major port for trans-Atlantic liner services meant that the line became busy with traffic from further east on the south coast bound for the port. With the Meon Valley line to Alton opening in 1903 the southern section between Fareham and Knowle Junction became busier still.

Stations

The line has retained all the stations that it had when it opened, apart from Bishop's Waltham, a station reached by the Bishops Waltham branch line from Botley, and Knowle Halt. In addition, a new station, Hedge End, was opened in 1990.

Further reading

• R.V.J.Butt, (1995). The Directory of Railway Stations. Patrick Stephens Ltd.  ISBN 1-85260-508-1

External links

• Ordnance Survey

Railway lines in the South East
Primary	International High Speed 1 (Ashford • Ebbsfleet) National Great Western Main Line (Slough • Maidenhead • Reading • Didcot Parkway) West Coast Main Line (Watford Junction • Milton Keynes Central)
Secondary	Berks/Bucks/Oxon to London Aylesbury Line Chiltern Main Line Waterloo to Reading Line (and in Surrey) Windsor & Eton Riverside Line (and in Surrey) Crossrail (under construction) (and past London to Essex) Kent to London Bexleyheath Line Chatham Main Line Dartford Loop Line Kent Coast Line Maidstone Line Medway Valley Line North Kent Line Ramsgate (via Canterbury West) Line Sheerness Line South Eastern Main Line Tonbridge Line (and in Surrey) Surrey/Sussex/Hants to London Ascot to Guildford Line Alton Line Arun Valley Line Brighton Main Line Caterham Line Fareham Line Hampton Court Branch Line Hastings Line (and in Kent) Chertsey Branch Line Epsom Downs Branch New Guildford Line Oxted Line (and in Kent) Portsmouth Direct Line Shepperton Branch Line South Western Main Line Sutton and Mole Valley Lines Tattenham Corner Line Thameslink (and past London to Beds/Herts) West of England Main Line Others Cherwell Valley Line Cotswold Line Eastleigh to Romsey Line East Coastway Line (inc Marshlink Line) Henley Branch Line Island Line Lymington Branch Line Marlow Branch Line Marston Vale Line North Downs Line Oxford to Bicester Line Princes Risborough to Aylesbury Line Reading to Taunton Line West Coastway Line Wessex Main Line Slough to Windsor & Eton Line Reading to Basingstoke Line Seaford Branch Line
Heritage	Bluebell Railway Chinnor & Princes Risborough Railway Cholsey & Wallingford Railway East Kent Railway Isle of Wight Steam Railway Kent and East Sussex Railway Lavender Line Spa Valley Railway Watercress Line
Non-passenger/ Defunct	Hundred of Hoo Railway Oxfordshire Ironstone Railway