Branksome railway station serves the Branksome and Branksome Park areas of Poole in

Dorset Dorset ( ; archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the unitary authority areas of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and Dorset. Covering an area of , ...

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 on 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 ...

, down the line from .

History

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 ...

(LSWR) opened its line from Bournemouth to Poole in 1874, but the station was not opened until 1893. The S&DJR opened a locomotive depot at the station in 1895 which operated until closure of the line into Bournemouth West in 1965, after which the S&D trains ran, for the remaining few months of operation, into Bournemouth Central railway station, which had its own locomotive shed. The line between Bournemouth Central to Branksome and

Bournemouth Traction and Rolling Stock Maintenance Depot Bournemouth Traction and Rolling Stock Maintenance Depot is a traction maintenance depot located in Bournemouth, South West England. The depot is situated on a spur off the South West Main Line and is to the east of Branksome station. The dep ...

was electrified in 1967 to enable stock to access Bournemouth Depot. The route west of Branksome to was electrified in 1988 using the standard British Rail Southern Region system of a third rail with 750 volts direct current.

Accommodation

The station is able to accommodate trains of up to five coaches; longer trains only open the doors in the first four or five coaches depending on the type of unit operating the service. To the east of the station is the junction leading to Bournemouth Train Care Depot, built on part of the site of Bournemouth West carriage sidings. Trains can often be seen arriving on platform 2 and then reversing into the depot.

Services

The station is served by South Western Railway. The typical off-peak stopping pattern of this station, as of June 2021, is below: * 1 train per hour on Monday-Friday on Poole-London Waterloo express service. * 2 trains per hour on Saturday, 1 on Weymouth-London Waterloo express service, and 1 on Poole-Winchester stopping service. * 1 train per hour on Sunday on Weymouth-London Waterloo express service.

External links

SDJR.net Junctions and Pottery Siding
{{Dorset railway stations Railway stations in Poole Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1893 Former London and South Western Railway stations Railway stations served by South Western Railway DfT Category E stations