The Eastleigh–Romsey line is the railway line from

Eastleigh Eastleigh is a town in Hampshire, England, between Southampton and Winchester. It is the largest town and the administrative seat of the Borough of Eastleigh, with a population of 24,011 at the 2011 census. The town lies on the River Itchen, o ...

Romsey Romsey ( ) is a historic market town in the county of Hampshire, England. Romsey was home to the 17th-century philosopher and economist William Petty and the 19th-century British prime minister, Lord Palmerston, whose statue has stood in the t ...

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English citi ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. At Eastleigh, trains join the

South West Main Line The South West Main Line (SWML) is a 143-mile (230 km) major railway line between Waterloo station in central London and Weymouth on the south coast of England. A predominantly passenger line, it serves many commuter areas including south we ...

for onward travel to

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

. At Romsey most trains terminate. The line is not

electrified Electrification is the process of powering by electricity and, in many contexts, the introduction of such power by changing over from an earlier power source. The broad meaning of the term, such as in the history of technology, economic history ...

and all trains are diesel-powered.

History

The line, part of the

London and South Western Railway The London and South Western Railway (LSWR, sometimes written L&SWR) was a railway company in England from 1838 to 1922. Originating as the London and Southampton Railway, its network extended to Dorchester and Weymouth, to Salisbury, Exeter ...

, was part of the Bishopstoke (now

) to

Salisbury Salisbury ( ) is a cathedral city in Wiltshire, England with a population of 41,820, at the confluence of the rivers Avon, Nadder and Bourne. The city is approximately from Southampton and from Bath. Salisbury is in the southeast of Wil ...

line which was authorized on 4 July 1844. Construction of the line was problematic, as landowners, somewhat unusually, took an obstructive attitude to the railway. The problems were exacerbated by the choice of a small contractor over the more well established and more experienced options in order to save money. In addition, the weather conditions during construction caused earthworks to slip and then freeze. As a result of all these factors, the opening of the line was postponed three times before coal and goods traffic used the line for the first time on 27 January 1847. The line was opened to passenger traffic on 1 March 1847 and was the main route from Salisbury to London from that time until the opening of the direct Salisbury line over a decade later, on 1 May 1857. Chandler's Ford station was closed to goods traffic on 1 June 1964, and five years later on 5 May 1969, the station was also closed to passengers when regular passenger services were withdrawn. Originally built as a double track, the line was singled on 1 May 1972. The line continued to be used by stone trains from the

Mendip Mendip may refer to: *Mendip District, a local government district of Somerset, England * Mendip Hills, a group of hills in Somerset, England ** Mendip Way, a footpath across the Mendip Hills **Mendip TV Mast, a transmitter in the Mendips area *For ...

area to and from Botley as well as other freight services, as well as weekend diversions of passenger traffic. A £10 million plan was put forward in 1999 to reopen Southampton Terminus and Northam, which was to have been controlled by East

Anglia Railways Anglia Railways was a train operating company in England, owned by GB Railways and later FirstGroup, that operated the Anglia franchise from January 1997 until March 2004. History The InterCity Anglia franchise was awarded by the Director of P ...

Train Company, their plans included building a new rail-link using the current remaining track by St. Marys Stadium and as far as the Waterfront, which is now safe guarded by

Southampton City Council Southampton City Council is the local authority of the city of Southampton. It is a Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority, having the powers of a non-metropolitan county and district council combined. It provides a full range of local ...

for future rail links. This would have allowed trains to go from Southampton Waterfront to

East Anglia East Anglia is an area in the East of England, often defined as including the counties of Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire. The name derives from the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of the East Angles, a people whose name originated in Anglia, in ...

without the need to change at

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

. It was also hoped it would reduce the traffic around Southampton with a local commuter line linking the Waterfront to

, Halterworth and Chandler's Ford, but the plan failed to come about for reasons unknown. The line between Eastleigh and Romsey was reopened for passenger traffic in May 2003 with a re-built station at

Chandler's Ford Chandler's Ford (originally The Ford and historically Chandlersford) is a largely residential area and civil parish in the Eastleigh (borough), Borough of Eastleigh in Hampshire, England. It has a population of 21,436 in the 2011 UK Census. Cha ...

Services

Services and stations on this line are operated by South Western Railway. It has an hourly service in each direction which runs a 'figure of six' route from

, running from Romsey via

and

before re-visiting Romsey and continuing to Salisbury. The service is currently operated by Class 158 DMUs.

Route

For much of the route, the line runs close to the

Monks Brook Monks Brook is a river in the English county of Hampshire. It is a tributary of the River Itchen, which it joins at a medieval salmon pool in Swaythling. The brook is formed from seven streams that rise in the chalky South Downs, with the offi ...

; north-east of Chandler's Ford, it crosses the edge of the

Trodds Copse Trodds Copse () is a 25.23 hectare biological Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), in central Hampshire, notified in 1989. It comprises ancient semi-natural woodland, unimproved meadows and flushes. Location The copse is situated to the ...

Site of Special Scientific Interest A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain or an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom and Isle of ...

History

Services

Route

References

See also