A South Western Railway Class 701 approaching Clapham Junction
Overview
Status
Operational
Owner
Network Rail
Locale
Greater London
South East England
South West England
Termini
London Waterloo
Weymouth
Service
Type
Main line
System
National Rail
Operator(s)
South Western Railway
CrossCountry
Depot(s)
Clapham Junction
Wimbledon
Northam
Bournemouth
Rolling stock
Class 444 "Desiro"
Class 450 "Desiro"
Class 455
Class 220 "Voyager"
Class 221 "Super Voyager"
Class 159 "South Western Turbo"
History
Opened
1838-1840
Technical
Line length
142 miles 64 chains (229.8 km)
Number of tracks
4 (Waterloo–Basingstoke)
2 (Basingstoke–Moreton)
1 (Moreton–Dorchester South)
2 (Dorchester South–Weymouth)
Track gauge
1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) standard gauge
Electrification
Third rail, 750 V DC
Operating speed
100 mph (160 km/h)
Route map
(Click to expand)
v
t
e
South West Main Line
Legend
miles
South Eastern Main Line
to Charing Cross & Dover Priory
Waterloo East
0
London Waterloo
Waterloo International
(1994-2007)
London Necropolis
(
1854–1902
1902–1941
)
1¼
Vauxhall
Nine Elms
railway station (1838–1848) &
locomotive works (1839–1860s)
Linford curve
Chatham Main Line
to London Victoria, Dover Priory & Ramsgate
Queenstown Road
Brighton Main Line
to London Victoria
West London line
to Willesden Junction
Various junctions
4
Clapham Junction
Brighton Main Line
to Brighton
Waterloo–Reading line
to Reading
Clapham Common
(1838–1863)
5½
Earlsfield
River Wandle
Wimbledon TMD & Staff Platforms
District line
Sutton Loop Line
to Streatham
7¼
Wimbledon
Tramlink
to East Croydon
Sutton Loop Line
to Sutton
8¾
Raynes Park
Sutton and Mole Valley lines
& Chessington branch line
9¾
New Malden
Kingston loop line
to Twickenham
11
Berrylands
Kingston
(1838–1845)
12
Surbiton
Hampton Court branch line
to Hampton Court
New Guildford line
to Guildford
14½
Esher
River Mole
16
Hersham
17
Walton-on-Thames
19¼
Weybridge
Chertsey branch line
to Virginia Water
20½
Byfleet & New Haw
M25
Wey Navigation
Basingstoke Canal
21¾
West Byfleet
24¼
Woking
Portsmouth Direct line
to Guildford
28
Brookwood
Brookwood Cemetery
South
North
(1854–1941)
London Necropolis Railway
Bisley Camp
WWI to Deepcut
WWII to Pirbright
(1890–1952)
Alton line
to Alton
Ascot–Ash Vale line
to Ascot & Ash Vale
North Downs Line
to Reading & Guildford
33¼
Farnborough (Main)
Bramshot Halt
(1913–1946)
36½
Fleet
39¾
Winchfield
M3
42¼
Hook
River Loddon
Reading–Basingstoke line
47¾
Basingstoke
Basingstoke and Alton Light Railway
Park Prewett
(1913–1954)
Worting Junction
Battledown Flyover
West of England line
to Salisbury
Litchfield Tunnel (
198 yd
181 m
)
Popham No 1 Tunnel (
265 yd
242 m
)
Popham No 2 Tunnel (
199 yd
182 m
)
58
Micheldever
Micheldever Oil Terminal
Wallers' Ash Tunnel
Mid-Hants Railway
to Alresford
Didcot, Newbury and Southampton Railway
to Newbury
Winchester Junction
66½
Winchester
M3
69¾
Shawford
Eastleigh–Romsey line
73½
Eastleigh
Eastleigh–Fareham line
Eastleigh Works
74¾
Southampton Airport Parkway
M27
75¾
Swaythling
Portswood
(1861–1866)
West Coastway line
to Fareham
77¼
St Denys
77¾
† 78
Northam Short Mile
Northam
(1839–1840)
Northam Traincare Depot
Northam Junction
Northam
(1872–1966)
Southampton Tunnel
Southampton Terminus
(1840–1966)
to Southampton Eastern Docks
Southampton West End
(1847–1895)
79¼
Southampton Central
80¼
Millbrook
Southampton Western Docks
Southampton Container Terminals
82
Redbridge
Wessex Main Line
to Salisbury
River Test
82½
Totton
Fawley branch line
to Fawley Refinery
85½
Ashurst New Forest
88
Beaulieu Road
92¾
Brockenhurst
Lymington branch line
to Lymington Pier
Southampton and Dorchester Railway
to Ringwood
95½
Sway
98¼
New Milton
101
Hinton Admiral
Ringwood, Christchurch & Bournemouth Railway
to Ringwood
River Avon
104¼
Christchurch
River Stour
106¼
Pokesdown
Boscombe
(1897–1965)
Bournemouth East
(1870–1885)
108
Bournemouth
Meyrick Park Halt
(1906–1917)
Bournemouth West
(1874–1965)
Bournemouth Traincare Depot
110¾
Branksome
112
Parkstone
Parkstone Pottery Tramway
South Western Pottery (c. 1856–1967)
Salterns Pier (1867–1922)
113¾
Poole
Poole Quay Line
Somerset and Dorset Railway
to Broadstone
Holes Bay Causeway
Southampton and Dorchester Railway
to Broadstone
116
Hamworthy
Hamworthy Freight Branch
to Poole Docks
Royal Navy Cordite Factory
118¾
Holton Heath
Sandford Pottery
121
Wareham
Swanage Railway
Bovington Camp
125¾
Wool
UKAEA Winfrith
130¼
Moreton
Woodsford Halt
(1919–1926)
136
Dorchester South
unbuilt line to Exeter
Heart of Wessex Line
Dorchester West
Dorchester Junction
Monkton and Came Halt
(1905–1957)
Bincombe Tunnel
Upwey Wishing Well Halt
(1905–1957)
Abbotsbury Railway
(166½)
Upwey
Radipole Halt
(1905–1984)
Portland Branch Line
(168¾)
Weymouth
Weymouth Harbour Tramway
Weymouth Quay
(1889–1987)
Miles measured from London Waterloo except Upwey and Weymouth which are from London Paddington † Northam Short Mile - mileage jump from 77 miles 68 chains to 78 miles
The South West Main Line[1] (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 western suburbs of London and the conurbations based on Southampton and Bournemouth. It runs through the counties of Surrey, Hampshire and Dorset. It forms the core of the network built by the London and South Western Railway, today mostly operated by South Western Railway.
Operating speeds on much of the line are relatively high, with large stretches cleared for up to 100 mph (160 km/h) running. The line has four tracks for most of the length between Waterloo and Worting Junction near Basingstoke, from which point most of the line is double track. A couple of miles from the Waterloo terminus, the line runs briefly alongside the Brighton Main Line west branch out of London Victoria, including through Clapham Junction – the busiest station in Europe by railway traffic.[citation needed]
The oldest part of the line, in the London Borough of Lambeth, was used from 1994 to 2007 by Eurostar trains running out of Waterloo International.
^"Wessex route". Network Rail. Main railway lines. Retrieved 9 August 2021.
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Global Information
