Pokesdown railway station

Pokesdown for Boscombe
Pokesdown station platforms looking southwards (towards Bournemouth), 8 September 2006
Location
Place	Pokesdown
Local authority	Bournemouth
Operations
Station code	POK
Managed by	South West Trains
Number of platforms	2
Live arrivals/departures and station information from National Rail Enquiries
Annual rail passenger usage
2004/05 *	0.233 million
2005/06 *	0.263 million
2006/07 *	0.268 million
2007/08 *	0.268 million
2008/09 *	0.291 million
2009/10 *	0.293 million
History
Opened 1 July 1886 (1 July 1886)
History
Original company	Ringwood, Christchurch and Bournemouth Railway
Pre-grouping	London and South Western Railway
Post-grouping	Southern Railway
1 July 1886	Opened as "Boscombe"
?	Renamed "Pokesdown (Boscombe)"
1897	Renamed "Pokesdown"
16 May 2009	Renamed "Pokesdown for Boscombe"
National Rail - UK railway stations
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
* Annual estimated passenger usage based on sales of tickets in stated financial year(s) which end or originate at Pokesdown for Boscombe from Office of Rail Regulation statistics. Please note: methodology may vary year on year.

Pokesdown for Boscombe railway station is a railway station serving the Pokesdown, Boscombe and Southbourne areas of Bournemouth in Dorset, England. It is located on the South Western Main Line from London Waterloo to Weymouth.

The station is served by South West Trains, who operate semi-fast services from London Waterloo to Weymouth and London Waterloo to Poole stopping services.

The station

The station was opened in 1886 by the Southampton and Dorchester Railway. It was originally named "Boscombe", which was later altered to "Pokesdown (Boscombe)", since the station was closer to Pokesdown than Boscombe. In 1897, when Boscombe station was opened, the station was renamed again to just "Pokesdown".

In the 1930s the Southern Railway made the platform facilities considerably larger, allowing the station to accommodate longer trains. Although some facilities have since been removed, at the time they provided an asset for the non-stopping services because there were tracks to use as fast lines in the up and down direction.

In the 1970s, there was no longer a need for four tracks and a signal box. Therefore, two of the tracks were removed and the signal box closed.

On 16 May 2009 the station was renamed Pokesdown for Boscombe, and station signage was changed to reflect this. The station is a short bus ride or walk from Boscombe's main shopping area.

Most South West Trains services operated by units working in multiple cannot be accommodated fully by the platforms and only the doors of the leading unit are opened, the exception being occasional eight carriage trains which can open all doors when using the Bournemouth-direction Platform 2.

Services

Preceding station	National Rail			Following station
Christchurch		South West Trains London-Weymouth semi-fast services		Bournemouth
Christchurch		South West Trains London-Poole stopping services		Bournemouth