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South Western Main Line

Legend London Waterloo Vauxhall Queenstown Road (Battersea) West London Line, Victoria, (London Overground) Clapham Junction All other services, Brighton Main Line Earlsfield Wimbledon Traincare depot London Underground District Line Wimbledon Raynes Park Dorking, Guildford, Chessington Branch Line New Malden Kingston Loop Line, Shepperton Branch Line Berrylands Surbiton Hampton Court Branch Line, New Guildford Line Esher Hersham Walton-on-Thames Weybridge Chertsey Branch Byfleet & New Haw West Byfleet Woking Portsmouth Direct Line Brookwood Necropolis Railway Brookwood Alton Line Farnborough (Main) Fleet Winchfield Hook Reading to Basingstoke line Basingstoke Basingstoke and Alton Light Railway West of England Main Line Litchfield Tunnel Popham No 1 Tunnel Popham No 2 Tunnel Micheldever Oil Terminal Micheldever Wallers' Ash Tunnel Kings Worthy Junction Watercress Line Didcot, Newbury and Southampton Line Winchester Didcot, Newbury and Southampton Line Shawford Romsey Line Eastleigh Eastleigh Works Eastleigh to Fareham Line Eastleigh Works Southampton Airport (Parkway) Swaythling West Coastway Line St Denys Northam MPD (Desiro Depot) Northam Southampton Terminus Southampton Docks Civic Centre Tunnel Southampton Central Millbrook Southampton Container Terminals Redbridge Wessex Main Line Totton Fawley branch railway Ashurst New Forest Beaulieu Road Brockenhurst Lymington Branch Line Southampton and Dorchester Railway Sway New Milton Hinton Admiral Ringwood Line Christchurch Pokesdown Boscombe Bournemouth Meyrick Park Halt Bournemouth West Bournemouth Traincare Depot Branksome Parkstone Parkstone Pottery Tramway Poole Poole Quay Line Southampton and Dorchester Railway Holes Bay Causeway Southampton and Dorchester Railway Hamworthy Hamworthy Freight Branch Royal Navy Cordite Factory Holton Heath Wareham Swanage Railway Furzebrook Oil Terminal Bovington Camp branch Wool UKAEA Sidings Winfrith Moreton Dorchester South Heart of Wessex Line Monkton and Came Halt Bincombe Tunnel Upwey Wishing Well Halt Upwey (original station) Abbotsbury branch Upwey Radipole Halt Portland Branch Weymouth Harbour Tramway Weymouth Weymouth Quay

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

The line between London and Basingstoke is shared with the West of England Main Line.

Many sections of the line are relatively high-speed, with large stretches cleared for 100mph running.

Contents 1 History 2 Major settlements on route 3 Electrification 4 Services 5 External links 6 Bibliography

See London & South Western Railway

The first section to be opened was from Nine Elms, the LSWR's first London terminus in the suburban parish of Battersea, to Woking (then named Woking Common) on 21 May 1838.

The remainder of the main line followed over the next two years:

• Woking to Winchfield (Shapley Heath): 24 September 1838
• Winchester to Southampton: 10 June 1839
• Winchfield to Basingstoke: 10 June 1839
• Basingstoke to Winchester: 11 May 1840. This last section was the most difficult on the route with an initial climb to Litchfield Tunnel and a ten-mile down-grade to Winchester.

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

• London
• Woking

• Farnborough
• Fleet
• Basingstoke
• Winchester
• Eastleigh
• Southampton
• Totton
• Christchurch
• Bournemouth
• Poole
• Dorchester
• Weymouth

The suburban portion of the line, as far as the junction for Alton, was electrified (750v DC third rail) by the London & South Western Railway and its successor, the Southern Railway, prior to World War II.

The main portion of the line to Southampton and Bournemouth was electrified 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.

• Ordnance Survey [1]

• R.V.J.Butt, (1995). The Directory of Railway Stations. Patrick Stephens Ltd.  ISBN 1 85260 508 1
• J.H. Lucking ,. Railways of Dorset. Railway Correspondence and Travel Society 1968.  ISBN(no ISBN)

• Vic Mitchell and Keith Smith ,. Branch Lines Around Wimborne. Middleton Press 1992.  ISBN 0 906520 97 5

A 5Wes on the South Western Main Line at Poole

A 5Wes on the South Western Main Line at Holes Bay

v • d • e Railway lines in South-East England:
Eastern  (Kent)
Primary Routes:		High Speed 1   Chatham Main Line   South Eastern Main Line
Secondary Lines:		Ashford-Ramsgate via Canterbury Line   Hastings Line   Kent Coast Line   Maidstone East Line
Minor/Branch Lines:		Bexleyheath Line   Bromley North Line   Catford Loop   Dartford Loop   Greenwich Line   Hayes Line   Marshlink Line   Medway Valley Line   Mid-Kent Line   North Kent Line   Nunhead to Lewisham link   Sheerness Line
Central  (Sussex)
Primary Routes:		Arun Valley Line   Brighton Main Line   Thameslink
Secondary Lines:		East Coastway   New Guildford Line   North Downs Line   Redhill-Tonbridge Line   Sutton & Mole Valley Line   West Coastway
Minor/Branch Lines:		Caterham Line   Epsom Downs Branch   Oxted Line   Seaford Branch Line   South London Line   Tattenham Corner Line
Western  (Wessex)
Principal Routes:		North Downs Line   Portsmouth Direct Line   South Western Main Line   West Coastway   West of England Main Line
Secondary Lines:		Alton Line   Ascot-Guildford Line   Chertsey Branch   Eastleigh-Fareham Line   Eastleigh-Romsey Line   Hounslow Loop   Kingston Loop Line   Waterloo-Reading Line   West London Line
Minor/Branch Lines:		Chessington Branch   Greenford Branch   Hampton Court Branch   Henley Branch Line   Island Line   Lymington Branch Line   Marlow Branch Line   Shepperton Branch Line   Slough-Windsor & Eton Line   Staines-Windsor & Eton Line