Portsmouth & Southsea railway station is a
Grade II listed building
In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...
and the main railway station in the
Landport
Landport is a district located on Portsea Island and is considered the city centre of modern-day Portsmouth, England. The district is centred around Commercial Road and encompasses the Guildhall, Civic Centre, Portsmouth and Southsea Statio ...
area of the city of
Portsmouth
Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council.
Portsmouth is the most dens ...
in
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 ...
. It is close to the Commercial Road shopping area.
British Transport Police
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, abbreviation = BTP
, patch =
, patchcaption =
, logo = British Transport Police Logo.svg
, logocaption = Logo of the British Transport Police
, badge =
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, f ...
maintain a presence at the station. There is a
taxi rank
A taxi, also known as a taxicab or simply a cab, is a type of vehicle for hire with a driver, used by a single passenger or small group of passengers, often for a non-shared ride. A taxicab conveys passengers between locations of their choice ...
at the front of the building and regular local buses within five minutes' walking distance.
The station, which is managed by
South Western Railway, has
ticket barriers
In rail transport, the paid area is a dedicated "inner" zone in a railway station or metro station, accessible via turnstiles or other barriers, to get into which, visitors or passengers require a valid ticket, checked smartcard or a pass. A sys ...
in operation.
History
![The_Old_Dockyard_Gate_at_the_top_of_Edinburgh_Road_-_geograph](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c4/The_Old_Dockyard_Gate_at_the_top_of_Edinburgh_Road_-_geograph.org.uk_-_897278.jpg)
An earlier and smaller station building was opened as ''Portsmouth'' on 14 June 1847 and served as a terminus station. The present station was built in 1866 and was further extended via additional high level platforms to Portsmouth Harbour in 1876.
It was later renamed ''Portsmouth Town'' on 2 October 1876
to avoid confusion with other stations in Portsmouth, such as
Portsmouth Harbour
Portsmouth Harbour is a biological Site of Special Scientific Interest between Portsmouth and Gosport in Hampshire. It is a Ramsar site and a Special Protection Area.
It is a large natural harbour in Hampshire, England. Geographically it i ...
.
The station's present-day name of ''Portsmouth & Southsea'' originates from after the closure of the
Southsea Railway
The Southsea Railway was a branch of the Portsmouth Direct Line, located on Portsea Island, Hampshire in the United Kingdom. The railway was opened on 1 July 1885 and closed on 6 August 1914.
History
In 1879, South Parade Pier was opened by Pr ...
branch line, which had a terminus station in Southsea named
East Southsea from 1885-1914. Competing trams and trolleybuses put the Southsea Railway out of business and it was closed in 1914. Train passengers and tourists bound for Southsea were then diverted to Portsmouth's main railway station, ''Portsmouth Town'' which was later renamed ''Portsmouth & Southsea'' in 1925.
A year later, the town of Southsea became officially integrated into the city of Portsmouth on 21 April 1926.
Portsmouth & Southsea station was once the junction for the
Portsmouth Dockyard
His Majesty's Naval Base, Portsmouth (HMNB Portsmouth) is one of three operating bases in the United Kingdom for the Royal Navy (the others being HMNB Clyde and HMNB Devonport). Portsmouth Naval Base is part of the city of Portsmouth; it is l ...
branch, known as the Admiralty Line. The line branched off from the west end of today's platform 1 and passed through Victoria Park, close to the rear of Stanhope Road, before crossing Bishop Crispian Way via a level crossing (the gates still exist) and entering the naval base at the Unicorn Gate.
During the 1980s, Portsmouth & Southsea station lost three of its five low level platforms to redevelopment, a large retail store and car park were built on their location to the south of Station Street.
Part of the station, specifically the 1980s canopy over high level platforms 1 and 2, is still in its original red
Network SouthEast
Network SouthEast (NSE) was one of the three passenger sectors of British Rail created in 1982. NSE mainly operated commuter rail trains within Greater London and inter-urban services in densely populated South East England, although the netwo ...
livery. In early 2021 strengthening work was carried on Landport Viaduct which carries the high level platforms 1 & 2.
Presently, the station is still informally and colloquially known as ''Town Station'' by Portsmouth's local population, despite Portsmouth having been awarded city status on 21 April 1926.
Station name issue
Portsmouth & Southsea station's name is both geographically incorrect and outdated. The station is not located in the Southsea area of Portsmouth, but in Portsmouth's inner-city Landport area instead.
The station's name also seems to suggest that Southsea is a separate town near Portsmouth, rather than part of it. Southsea is no longer a separate town near Portsmouth as it was incorporated into Portsmouth in the early twentieth century.
A logical solution to the station name issue is to update the station name to something more geographically accurate or neutral, such as ''Portsmouth Central''.
Services
![Portsmouth & Southsea Railway Station and Surrounding Area at Dusk](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9e/Portsmouth_%26_Southsea_Railway_Station_and_Surrounding_Area_at_Dusk.jpg)
The station is located on the
Portsmouth Direct Line which runs between
London Waterloo
Waterloo station (), also known as London Waterloo, is a central London terminus on the National Rail network in the United Kingdom, in the Waterloo area of the London Borough of Lambeth. It is connected to a London Underground station of ...
and
Portsmouth Harbour
Portsmouth Harbour is a biological Site of Special Scientific Interest between Portsmouth and Gosport in Hampshire. It is a Ramsar site and a Special Protection Area.
It is a large natural harbour in Hampshire, England. Geographically it i ...
. In addition there are regular services to
Cardiff Central,
Bristol Temple Meads
Bristol Temple Meads is the oldest and largest railway station in Bristol, England. It is located away from London Paddington. It is an important transport hub for public transport in the city; there are bus services to many parts of the city ...
,
Southampton Central,
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 ...
,
Woking
Woking ( ) is a town and borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in northwest Surrey, England, around from central London. It appears in Domesday Book as ''Wochinges'' and its name probably derives from that of a Anglo-Saxon settlement o ...
,
Brighton
Brighton () is a seaside resort and one of the two main areas of the City of Brighton and Hove in the county of East Sussex, England. It is located south of London.
Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze A ...
,
Gatwick Airport
Gatwick Airport (), also known as London Gatwick , is a major international airport near Crawley, West Sussex, England, south of Central London. In 2021, Gatwick was the third-busiest airport by total passenger traffic in the UK, after H ...
,
East Croydon
East Croydon is a railway station and tram stop in Croydon, Greater London, England, and is located in Travelcard Zone 5. At from , it is one of the busiest non-terminal stations in London, and in the United Kingdom as a whole. It is one of t ...
and
London Victoria
Victoria station, also known as London Victoria, is a central London railway terminus and connected London Underground station in Victoria, in the City of Westminster, managed by Network Rail. Named after the nearby Victoria Street (not the Q ...
. The station is split into two distinct parts: the high level island (Platforms 1 and 2) for through trains to the Harbour, and the low level (bay Platforms 3 and 4) where some trains terminate. In addition,
Hovertravel
Hovertravel is a ferry company operating from Southsea, Portsmouth to Ryde, Isle of Wight, UK. It is the only passenger hovercraft company currently operating in Britain since Hoverspeed stopped using its craft in favour of catamarans and sub ...
run a bus service from Portsmouth & Southsea which connects to their Hovercraft service from Southsea to the Isle of Wight. The IoW terminal is located next to
Ryde Esplanade, with a single price ticket for journeys via rail/hover/rail, similar to that provided by
Wightlink
Wightlink is a ferry company operating routes across The Solent between Hampshire and the Isle of Wight in the south of England. It operates car ferries between Lymington and Yarmouth, and Portsmouth and Fishbourne and a fast passenger-only ...
from Portsmouth Harbour.
The Monday-Saturday off-peak service is:
South Western Railway:
* 3 tph to via
Guildford
Guildford ()
is a town in west Surrey, around southwest of central London. As of the 2011 census, the town has a population of about 77,000 and is the seat of the wider Borough of Guildford, which had around inhabitants in . The name "Guildf ...
(2 fast, 1 stopping)
* 1 tph to via
Basingstoke
Basingstoke ( ) is the largest town in the county of Hampshire. It is situated in south-central England and lies across a valley at the source of the River Loddon, at the far western edge of The North Downs. It is located north-east of Southa ...
* 3 tph to
* 1 tph to
Southern:
* 1 tph to via
Horsham
Horsham is a market town on the upper reaches of the River Arun on the fringe of the Weald in West Sussex, England. The town is south south-west of London, north-west of Brighton and north-east of the county town of Chichester. Nearby to ...
* 1 tph to
Littlehampton
Littlehampton is a town, seaside resort, and pleasure harbour, and the most populous civil parish in the Arun District of West Sussex, England. It lies on the English Channel on the eastern bank of the mouth of the River Arun. It is south sout ...
* 1 tph to
* 1 tph to
Great Western Railway
The Great Western Railway (GWR) was a British railway company that linked London with the southwest, west and West Midlands of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, received its enabling Act of Parliament on 31 August 1835 and ran ...
:
* 1 tph to via
* 1 tph to
References
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Portsmouth and Southsea railway station
Railway stations in Portsmouth
DfT Category C1 stations
Grade II* listed buildings in Hampshire
Former Portsmouth and Ryde Joint Railway stations
Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1847
Railway stations served by Great Western Railway
Railway stations served by Govia Thameslink Railway
Railway stations served by South Western Railway
1847 establishments in England