St Denys railway station serves the

St Denys St Denys is a partially riverside district of Southampton, England, centred north north-east of the city centre facing variously Bitterne Park and quay across the River Itchen estuary. The river is here spanned in the mid-east extreme of ...

and

Portswood Portswood is a suburb and Electoral Ward of Southampton, England. The suburb lies to the north-north-east of the city centre and is bounded by (clockwise from west) Freemantle, Highfield, Swaythling, St. Denys and Bevois Valley. Portswood ...

suburbs of

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 ...

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

, England. It is down the line from . Built in 1865, the station is named after the surrounding area, which in turn is named after the Priory of St Denys, a major landmark in medieval Southampton. The station is at the site of the junction between the London to Weymouth mainline and the West Coastway Line running between Southampton and

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 d ...

. It is currently served mainly by South Western Railway, with additional services operated by

Southern Southern may refer to: Businesses * China Southern Airlines, airline based in Guangzhou, China * Southern Airways, defunct US airline * Southern Air, air cargo transportation company based in Norwalk, Connecticut, US * Southern Airways Express, M ...

. There are four platforms; two on the main line and two on the branch line.

History

The original station was opened by 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 ...

on 1 May 1861 and named ''Portswood'' after the small village to the west of the main line. Shortly after, to accommodate the Portsmouth branch line, a new station building was built to the south; the relocated station was opened on 5 March 1866. However to avoid confusion with Portsmouth, the station was renamed to ''St Denys'' on 1 January 1876. The station buildings themselves are fine examples of the Victorian Italianate classical style architecture introduced to the LSWR by

William Tite Sir William Tite (7 February 179820 April 1873) was an English architect who twice served as President of the Royal Institute of British Architects. He was particularly associated with various London buildings, with railway stations and cemetery ...

. The original 1867 station building on platform 1 is Grade II

listed Listed may refer to: * Listed, Bornholm, a fishing village on the Danish island of Bornholm * Listed (MMM program), a television show on MuchMoreMusic * Endangered species in biology * Listed building, in architecture, designation of a historicall ...

, now privately owned and renamed Drummond House. Platforms 2 and 3 house the waiting room and ticket window, whilst the old station buildings on platform 4 house The Solent Model Railway Group, a local organisation.

Services

Off-peak, all services are operated by South Western Railway. The off-peak service in trains per hour is: * 1 tph to * 1 tph to * 1 tph to via * 1 tph to via During the peak periods, there are additional services to , , operated by South Western Railway.

also provide a few services during the peak periods.

Accidents and incidents

*In August 1939, a train overran signals and was derailed by trap points. The accident caused a set of points to move, diverting an approaching boat train. This averted a more serious accident, as wreckage was foul of the route the boat train should have taken. *On 14 August 1940, a passenger train hauled by ''Lord Nelson'' class locomotive 860 ''Lord Hawke'' was derailed due to enemy action. A bomb fell on the line ahead of the train, which was unable to stop in time. *On 29 October 1959, a passenger train overran signals and was derailed by trap points. *On 12 December 1960, a passenger train overran signals and was derailed. Two people were injured. *On 28 February 2022 a scooter was thrown onto the tracks at the station, causing a

short circuit A short circuit (sometimes abbreviated to short or s/c) is an electrical circuit that allows a current to travel along an unintended path with no or very low electrical impedance. This results in an excessive current flowing through the circu ...

with the

third rail A third rail, also known as a live rail, electric rail or conductor rail, is a method of providing electric power to a railway locomotive or train, through a semi-continuous rigid conductor placed alongside or between the rails of a railway ...

electrical supply. Eyewitnesses reported that the subsequent

electrical arcing An electric arc, or arc discharge, is an electrical breakdown of a gas that produces a prolonged electrical discharge. The current through a normally nonconductive medium such as air produces a plasma; the plasma may produce visible light. An ...

caused flames so bright that it "looked like daytime".

References

External links

Local Rail Information
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Denys Railway Station Railway stations in Southampton DfT Category E stations Former London and South Western Railway stations Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1861 Railway stations in Great Britain closed in 1866 Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1866 Railway stations served by Govia Thameslink Railway Railway stations served by South Western Railway Grade II listed buildings in Hampshire 1861 establishments in England