Jump to content

Portsmouth & Southsea railway station

Coordinates: 50°47′54″N 1°05′25″W / 50.798448°N 1.090393°W / 50.798448; -1.090393
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Arjayay (talk | contribs) at 18:39, 20 January 2021 (Duplicate word removed). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Portsmouth & Southsea
National Rail
General information
LocationPortsmouth, Portsmouth
England
Grid referenceSU641002
Managed bySouth Western Railway
Platforms4
Other information
Station codePMS
ClassificationDfT category C1
History
Original companyLondon, Brighton and South Coast Railway
Pre-groupingPortsmouth and Ryde Joint Railway
Post-groupingSouthern Railway
Key dates
14 June 1847Opened (Portsmouth)
2 October 1876Renamed (Portsmouth Town)
1925Renamed (Portsmouth & Southsea)
Passengers
2015/16Decrease 2.114 million
2016/17Decrease 2.012 million
2017/18Decrease 1.990 million
 Interchange Increase 23,985
2018/19Increase 2.053 million
 Interchange Increase 25,817
2019/20Decrease 1.990 million
 Interchange Increase 25,972
Notes
Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road

Portsmouth & Southsea railway station is the main railway station in central Portsmouth in Hampshire, England. It is close to the Commercial Road shopping centre. British Transport Police maintain a presence at the station. There is a taxi rank 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 operation.

History

Aerial view of the station in 1946
View of the west end of platforms 2 (left) and 1 (right)
View of the 1980s British Rail era canopy over upper level platforms 1 & 2
View of the surviving Admiralty Line level crossing gates on Edinburgh Road close to Victoria Park.

The station was first opened as Portsmouth on 14 June 1847.[1] It was later renamed Portsmouth Town on 2 October 1876[1] to avoid confusion with other stations in Portsmouth, such as Portsmouth Harbour.

The station's present-day name of Portsmouth & Southsea originates from the closure of the Southsea Railway 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.[1] A year later, the town of Southsea became officially integrated into the city of Portsmouth on 21 April 1926. Curiously, the pre city status Portsmouth & Southsea station name was left unchanged and continues to present day.

Portsmouth & Southsea station was once the junction for the Portsmouth Dockyard 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.

Part of the station, specifically the 1980s canopy over high level platforms 1 and 2, is still in its original red Network SouthEast livery. In early 2021 strengthening work was carried on the viaduct that carries two of the stations four platforms.[2]

Services

The station is located on the Portsmouth Direct Line which runs between London Waterloo and Portsmouth Harbour. In addition there are regular services to Cardiff Central, Bristol Temple Meads, Southampton Central, Eastleigh, Woking, Brighton, Gatwick Airport, East Croydon and London Victoria. The station is split into two distinct parts: the high level (one island platform for through trains) and the low level (two bay platforms) where some trains terminate. In addition, Hovertravel 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 from Portsmouth Harbour.

The Monday-Saturday off-peak service is:

South Western Railway:

Southern:

Great Western Railway:

Preceding station National Rail National Rail Following station
Fratton   South Western Railway
Portsmouth Direct Line 		  Portsmouth Harbour
or
Terminus
  Southern
West Coastway Line 		 
  Great Western Railway
West Coastway Line 		 
  Hovercraft services  
Terminus   Hovertravel
Hovercraft 		  Ryde Esplanade
via Hoverbus

References

  1. ^ a b c Butt, R.V.J. (1995). The Directory of Railway Stations. Yeovil: Patrick Stephens Ltd. p. 190. ISBN 1-85260-508-1. R508. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
  2. ^ "Portsmouth rail line shut for viaduct strengthening". BBC News. 18 January 2021. Retrieved 19 January 2021.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Portsmouth and Southsea railway station.

50°47′54″N 1°05′25″W / 50.798448°N 1.090393°W / 50.798448; -1.090393

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Portsmouth_%26_Southsea_railway_station&oldid=1001664706"