General information | |
---|---|
Location | Portsmouth, Hampshire, England |
Grid reference | SU629000 |
Managed by | South Western Railway |
Platforms | 5 (4 in use) |
Other information | |
Station code | PMH |
Classification | DfT category C1 |
History | |
Opened | 2 October 1876 |
Original company | Portsmouth and Ryde Joint Railway |
Pre-grouping | Portsmouth and Ryde Joint Railway |
Post-grouping | Southern Railway |
Passengers | |
2018/19 | 2.101 million |
Interchange | 0.188 million |
2019/20 | 2.036 million |
Interchange | 0.121 million |
2020/21 | 0.540 million |
Interchange | 14,576 |
2021/22 | 1.455 million |
Interchange | 41,024 |
2022/23 | 1.747 million |
Interchange | 12,920 |
Notes | |
Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road |
Portsmouth Harbour railway station is a railway station in Portsmouth,England. It is situated beside Gunwharf Quays in the city's harbour,and is an important transport terminal,with a bus interchange and ferry services to Gosport and the Isle of Wight. The station currently has four platforms in use:numbered 1,3,4 and 5. It is managed by South Western Railway. Platform 2 is no longer in use,having been decommissioned in the early 1990s following major repair and refurbishment work to the pier that the platforms sit on. [1] The station is located adjacent to Portsmouth Harbour between the Gunwharf Quays shopping centre and the Historic Dockyard. Unusually for a mainline railway station,it is built over water as the station was originally constructed on wooden piles,which were later replaced by iron supports. [2]
The station opened on the 2nd October 1876 [2] as the terminus of Chief Engineers Frederick Banister's Portsmouth Waterside Extension to the Portsmouth Direct Line,which runs between this station and London Waterloo station. [3] The construction of the station superseded an earlier pier on the site called the Albert Pier that was used for passenger steamships in the mid-Victorian era. [2]
The station was rebuilt in 1937 when the route was electrified but was almost totally destroyed during World War II by fire after German bombing,then rebuilt after the war.
A short branch line built on piles used to connect the station to the neighbouring dockyard,but this was taken out of service when a German bomb damaged the swing bridge in 1941.
Railways in the Portsmouth area |
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The station is served by a number of train operators. South Western Railway operate two services to London Waterloo, one on the Portsmouth Direct Line (via Guildford) and the other via Fareham, Winchester and Basingstoke. They also operate local trains to Southampton Central.
There are train services along the West Coastway route, operated by Southern to Brighton, Littlehampton, Gatwick Airport, East Croydon and London Victoria. Great Western Railway operate trains via Southampton, Salisbury and Bristol Temple Meads to Cardiff Central, via the Wessex Main Line.
The ferry from Portsmouth Harbour Station to Ryde on the Isle of Wight is operated by Wightlink. National Rail tickets between the Isle of Wight and stations on Great Britain include travel on the ferry.
The Monday-Saturday off peak rail service in trains per hour (tph) and trains per day (tpd) is as follows:
Preceding station | National Rail | Following station | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
Portsmouth & Southsea | South Western Railway Portsmouth Direct Line | Terminus | ||
Southern West Coastway Line | ||||
Great Western Railway West Coastway Line | ||||
Ferry services | ||||
Terminus | Wightlink ferry | Fishbourne | ||
Terminus | Wightlink high-speed catamaran | Ryde Pier Head | ||
Terminus | Gosport Ferry Passenger ferry | Gosport | ||
Connection to Portsmouth International Port for Brittany Ferries to France/Spain and Condor Ferries to the Channel Islands |
The station was served by Virgin CrossCountry until May 2003 with services to and from Liverpool and Manchester with InterCity 125 sets and in its last years, Class 220 Voyagers and Class 221 Super Voyagers. [8]
The station was also served by Wessex Trains with one train a day to and from Penzance, as well as the services that are now run by its successor Great Western Railway.
With the award of the South West Region franchise to South Western Railway in 2017, Portsmouth City Council announced the intention to "spruce up" the station as part of a £90 Million investment by the new operating company. Potential improvements could include a direct walking route in to the Gunwharf Quays shopping complex. [9]
Stagecoach South Western Trains Limited, trading as South West Trains (SWT), was an English train operating company owned by Stagecoach, which operated the South Western franchise between February 1996 and August 2017.
The London and South Western Railway 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 and Plymouth, and to Padstow, Ilfracombe and Bude. It developed a network of routes in Hampshire, Surrey and Berkshire, including Portsmouth and Reading.
The Island Line is a railway line on the Isle of Wight which runs along the island's east coast and links Ryde Pier Head with Shanklin. Trains connect at Ryde Pier Head with passenger ferries to Portsmouth Harbour, and these ferries in turn connect with the rest of the National Rail network via the Portsmouth Direct Line. The line also connects to the Isle of Wight Steam Railway, a heritage railway, at Smallbrook Junction. For much of its length the line runs alongside the A3055, criss-crossing this road by means of the Ryde Tunnel and bridges at Rowborough, Morton Common, Lake Hill and Littlestairs.
The Portsmouth Direct line is a railway route between Woking in Surrey and Portsmouth Harbour in Hampshire, England. It forms the principal route for passenger trains between London, Guildford and Portsmouth; connections are made to the ferry services which operate between Portsmouth and the Isle of Wight. The final section of line from Havant to Portsmouth is shared with other passenger routes.
Fratton railway station is a railway station in the city of Portsmouth, on Portsea Island in England. It was opened in the Fratton area of Portsmouth on 1 July 1885 as an interchange station between the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway and the short-lived Southsea Railway branchline.
Cosham railway station serves Cosham, a northern suburb of the city of Portsmouth, Hampshire in southern England. It is 90 miles 6 chains from London Waterloo.
Portsmouth & Southsea railway station is a Grade II listed building and the main railway station in the city of Portsmouth in Hampshire, England. It is in the Landport area close to the Commercial Road shopping area. 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.
Havant railway station is a railway station in Havant, Hampshire, near Portsmouth, located on the Portsmouth Direct Line which runs between London Waterloo and Portsmouth Harbour.
Farncombe railway station opened in 1897 as a minor stop on the Portsmouth Direct Line between Guildford and Godalming, England. It is said to have been built at the instigation of General Sir Frederick Marshall, a director of the London and South Western Railway Company, who lived nearby at Broadwater.
Fareham railway station is on the West Coastway Line situated about 0.62 miles (1 km) from the town of Fareham in Hampshire, England. It is 84 miles 21 chains (135.6 km) down the line from London Waterloo.
Portchester railway station serves the village of Portchester in Hampshire, England, 87 miles 35 chains from London Waterloo. It was first opened by the LSWR in 1848 on their line from Fareham to Portsmouth.
Eastleigh railway station serves the town of Eastleigh in the county of Hampshire in England. It is located on the South West Main Line and is the junction station for two other routes, the Eastleigh-Fareham Line and the Eastleigh-Romsey Line. It is 73 miles 35 chains (118.2 km) from London Waterloo. South of the station are Eastleigh Railway Works and Eastleigh Depot.
Southampton Central railway station is a main line station serving the city of Southampton in Hampshire, southern England. It is on the South West Main Line and also serves the Wessex Main Line and the West Coastway Line. The station is approached from the London direction by passing through Southampton Tunnel and is 79 miles 19 chains (127.5 km) measured from London Waterloo.
Liss railway station is a stop on the Portsmouth Direct Line, serving the village of Liss in Hampshire, England, 51 miles 35 chains (82.8 km) down the line from London Waterloo via Woking. As a small station, for most of the day there is one train each way an hour. The station is managed by South Western Railway, which operates all trains serving it.
Dean railway station, also shown as Dean (Wilts), serves the village of West Dean in Wiltshire, England. The station is on the Wessex Main Line, 88 miles 10 chains (141.8 km) from London Waterloo. Whilst the station building is in Wiltshire, the platforms straddle the county boundary with Hampshire.
Ryde Pier Head railway station is one of three stations in the town of Ryde on the Isle of Wight. Situated at the end of the town's pier, it is adjacent to the terminal for the Wightlink fast catamaran service connecting the island with Portsmouth on the English mainland. Passengers can use this to connect with the rest of the National Rail network at Portsmouth Harbour station, which is adjacent to the Portsmouth terminal. Through rail tickets for travel via Pier Head station are available to and from other stations on the Isle of Wight. These include travel on the catamaran service to or from Portsmouth as appropriate.
There are currently three different ferry companies that operate vessels carrying passengers and, on certain routes, vehicles across the Solent, the stretch of sea that separates the Isle of Wight from mainland England. These are Wightlink, Red Funnel and Hovertravel.
The Gosport and Cosham lines were a collection of railway lines in southern Hampshire. Most of the lines are now closed but some elements are still in use, forming part of the West Coastway line. The lines originally linked to the main London to Southampton line via the Eastleigh–Fareham line and subsequently with a line from Southampton via Bursledon, both of which are still in use.
The Stokes Bay line was a short railway branch line in Hampshire, England, near Gosport. Associated with a new pier, it was intended to give direct and easy access from trains to steamers to the Isle of Wight in comparison to the conventional route through Portsmouth, which required a road transport connection though the town. Railway operation to the Stokes Bay pier started in 1863.
South Western Railway is a British train operating company owned by FirstGroup (70%) and MTR Corporation (30%) that operates the South Western franchise.