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West of England line

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Not to be confused with Great Western Main Line.

West of England line
Templecombe station in February 2010
Overview
StatusOperational
OwnerNetwork Rail
Termini
Stations21 (Basingstoke to Exeter St Davids)
Service
TypeSuburban rail, Heavy rail
SystemNational Rail
Operator(s)South Western Railway
Depot(s)Salisbury TMD
Rolling stockClass 158 "Express Sprinter"
Class 159 "South Western Turbo"
Technical
Line length120 mi 77 ch (194.67 km) [Basingstoke to Exeter St Davids]
172 mi 12 ch (277.05 km) [London to Exeter St Davids via SWML]
Number of tracks
  • 2 (Basingstoke–Salisbury)
  • 1 (Salisbury–Pinhoe)
  • 2 (Pinhoe–Exeter St Davids)
Track gauge1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) standard gauge
Operating speed90 mph (140 km/h) maximum
Route map

(Click to expand)

The West of England line (also known as the West of England Main Line) is a railway line from Basingstoke, Hampshire, to Exeter St Davids in Devon, England. Passenger services run between London Waterloo station and Exeter via the South West Main Line; the line intersects with the Wessex Main Line at Salisbury.

The line was constructed by the London and South Western Railway (L&SWR) and the Salisbury and Yeovil Railway between 1854 and 1860, with the L&SWR eventually gaining full operation. Although it was once a significant connection from London to Southwest England, it has declined in importance since the years following the 1963 Beeching Report. Exeter can be reached more quickly from London Paddington via the Reading–Taunton line, with this route providing the only direct route to destinations west of Exeter since 2009. However, the West of England line is still important as a freight and diversionary route.

Route

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Trains between London Waterloo and Exeter run on the South West Main Line as far as Basingstoke. The West of England Line diverges at Worting Junction, a short distance west.[1] North of Worting Junction, stopping services to/from London Waterloo and CrossCountry services to/from the North of England via Reading use the outer pair of tracks, while express services to/from London Waterloo use the inner pair of tracks. The inner pair of tracks are unelectrified through the junction and continue west to Salisbury and Exeter.[2]

From here, the route heads generally westwards to Salisbury, where there is a connection with the Wessex Main Line, then over the Heart of Wessex Line without a junction just before Yeovil Junction. There is a connection to the Avocet Line just before Exeter. The line passes through Exeter Central before ending at Exeter St Davids. Overall, it passes through five counties – Hampshire, Wiltshire, Dorset, Somerset and Devon.[1]

Network Rail splits the line into two sections: the first section from the line's start at Worting Junction to Wilton Junction (near Salisbury) is classified as "London & SE commuter", while the rest is a "secondary" route. The secondary route west of Salisbury is predominantly single track, but has three sections of double track and four passing loops.[3] The double track sections and passing loops are: a loop just outside Tisbury station, a loop at Gillingham station, double track from Templecombe to Yeovil Junction, a loop at the former Chard Junction station, 3 miles of double track centred on Axminster, a loop at Honiton station, and double track from Pinhoe to Exeter.[4]

The route is broadly similar to the A303 road, which runs from Basingstoke to Honiton.[5]

The line's speed limit is mainly at 80 miles per hour (130 km/h) or above over its whole length from Basingstoke to Exeter.[6] Speed is further limited around the junctions. The first section to Wilton Junction has a listed line speed of 50–90 mph, and the secondary section to Exeter has a line speed of mainly 85 mph with parts at 70 mph.[3]

There are two depots on the line operated by the South Western Railway. The traincare depot is at Salisbury, while the traincrew depot is at Yeovil Junction.[4]

History

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The line was constructed in stages by between 1854 and 1860, and eventually wholly operated by the London and South Western Railway (L&SWR).[7] The sections and branches opened as follows:

There had been plans to construct a direct line from London to Exeter since the beginning of railways. Although the Great Western Railway (GWR) were the first to construct a line to Exeter in 1844, this went via Bristol. The L&SWR had agreed with the Southampton & Dorchester Railway that they would not construct any lines west of Salisbury or Dorchester, but changed their mind following the opening of the GWR route.[15]

When the line was first opened in 1854, Worting Junction was constructed as a flat junction.[16] This required that down trains heading west and up trains from Southampton cross each other's paths. Initially this was not a great problem, however as traffic and speeds increased the junction became a bottleneck. To relieve this, a flying junction was provided to the south, opening on 30 May 1897.[17] This changed the arrangement so that up trains from Southampton line now crossed over the up and down Salisbury lines on Battledown Flyover, west of Basingstoke.[18]

The section from Salisbury to Yeovil was originally constructed by the Salisbury and Yeovil Railway.[19] As a result of this, the original Salisbury station at Milford was closed and rerouted to its current site at Fisherton.[9] The section from Yeovil to Exeter involved a lengthy tunnel near Honiton, constructed from 11 million bricks. The tunnel has since been closed on occasion because of drainage problems with nearby natural springs.[20]

The line was upgraded from single to double track in the 1860s, and was complete by 1 July 1870; most bridges had been built to accommodate two tracks.[21] A Rail Motor service was briefly introduced between Exeter and Honiton in 1906, but was quickly cancelled.[22]

After the Second World War, the line initially saw heavy investment from British Rail following nationalisation, including the Atlantic Express service from Waterloo to various points past Exeter,[7] and a regular service from Brighton to Plymouth.[23] The line speed past Salisbury was increased to 85 miles per hour (137 km/h) in 1949.[7] However, control of the section west of Salisbury was transferred from the Southern to the Western region in 1963, which led it into direct comparisons with the Paddington – Taunton – Exeter service and concerns over its viability.[7][24]

The Beeching Report identified the duplication of routes from London to the West Country, and concluded the West of England line was redundant, as it carried 20% of the overall traffic between London and Exeter compared to the route via Paddington and the Reading–Taunton line.[7] Although a complete closure west of Salisbury was rumoured, the line was instead downgraded in 1967 by reducing long sections west of Salisbury to single track, closing minor stations, and reducing services to one train every 2 hours. This provided sufficient savings to prevent closure.[7][25] All services beyond Exeter had been withdrawn by 1968.[24] The proposal was toned down after concerns with overcrowding, and a 10-mile (16 km) section between Templecombe and Yeovil Junction was retained as double track.[26] A passing loop at Tisbury opened on 24 March 1986.[27]

The line has never been considered for electrification, and consequently all rolling stock has been steam, then diesel.[27] By the 1980s, the line was clearly in decline, with limited traffic and unpleasant locomotive stock. However, services began to be improved after the introduction of British Rail Class 159s in the early 1990s.[28] Services began running beyond Exeter again in 1992, and continued until 2009.[27] Additional Class 159s and British Rail Class 158s were introduced in 2006/07, having previously been used on the TransPennine Express route.[29]

An additional passing loop was constructed at Axminster in 2009. This allowed hourly services to run between Waterloo and Exeter St David's.[27]

Current operations

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Passengers

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A Class 159 at Honiton

Passenger services are operated by South Western Railway using Class 159 and Class 158 trains.[30] They generally run half-hourly from London to Salisbury and hourly to Exeter, calling at Clapham Junction and/or Woking and then most stations between Basingstoke and Exeter St Davids, although some smaller stations east of Salisbury and near Exeter have a reduced service.[31][32] The fastest typical off-peak time between Waterloo and Exeter is 3 hours 24 minutes.[33]

The 2006 Network Rail South West Main Line Route Utilisation Strategy recommended building an extended section of double track from Chard Junction to Axminster, and a passing loop at Whimple. However, Network Rail's 2008 Route Plan did not mention this.[34] The Axminster Loop is centred on Axminster station, and does not extend to Chard Junction as originally proposed.

Freight

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The West of England line carries a significant amount of goods traffic such as aggregate, sand, quarried stone and spoil. At the eastern end, there is a branch line to the Ministry of Defence site at Ludgershall. Freight from Southampton Docks is sometimes sent via this route. The line also acts as an important freight diversion when the Reading–Taunton line is closed, along with the South Western Main Line from Basingstoke to Winchester.[35][36] Historically, the line carried a significant amount of milk from Chard, which continued until March 1980.[37]

Future

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The line is not electrified, but proposals have been made to partially change this.[38] In 2025, train operator South Western Railway estimated that their Class 159 and 158s would reach the end of their life by 2030. As an alternative to replacement by diesels or electrification, a proposal has been made for battery-operated trains with intermittent third rail charging points.[5]

Following the 2024 general election, the incoming Labour government cancelled the A303 Stonehenge road tunnel; study group Greengauge 21 recommended improving the West of England line instead. The single track sections have particularly affected growth to the east of Exeter, and re-dualling the track between there and Axminster would allow a Devon Metro service to operate, with more frequent short-distance trains.[5] In reply to a written question in Parliament in May 2025, junior minister Lilian Greenwood said there were no plans to improve the West of England line at that time.[39]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b Network Rail 2020, p. 14.
  2. ^ Padgett, David; Kelman, Leanne (November 2019) [1994]. Munsey, Myles (ed.). Railway Track Diagrams 5: Southern & TfL (4th ed.). Frome: Trackmaps. map 30B. ISBN 978-1-9996271-2-6.
  3. ^ a b Network Rail 2010, p.29, figure 20.
  4. ^ a b Network Rail 2020, p. 15.
  5. ^ a b c "Railway sorely in need of investment, study finds". BBC News. 17 January 2025. Retrieved 25 June 2025.
  6. ^ Network Rail 2010, p. 9, figure 4.
  7. ^ a b c d e f Network Rail 2020, p. 16.
  8. ^ a b Maggs 2017, p. 256.
  9. ^ a b c d e Thomas 1981, p. 52.
  10. ^ Thomas 1981, p. 64.
  11. ^ Thomas 1981, p. 59.
  12. ^ Thomas 1981, pp. 59–60.
  13. ^ Thomas 1981, p. 60.
  14. ^ Thomas 1981, p. 61.
  15. ^ Thomas 1981, p. 49.
  16. ^ The Railway Handbook ... Railway Publishing Company Limited. 1945. p. 16. ... the railway to Southampton at Worting Junction, near Basingstoke, and was opened to Andover in 1854, to Salisbury in ...
  17. ^ Verrall, Charlie (2017). Steam Around Basingstoke and Salisbury. Amberley. p. 20. ISBN 978-1-445-66393-7.
  18. ^ Reed 2022, p. 20.
  19. ^ Thomas 1981, p. 48.
  20. ^ "West of England line reopens after important renewal work". Network Rail. 25 November 2024. Retrieved 26 June 2025.
  21. ^ Thomas 1981, p. 53.
  22. ^ Thomas 1981, p. 55.
  23. ^ Thomas 1981, p. 56.
  24. ^ a b White 1982, p. 199.
  25. ^ Sedgwick, Cathy (2021). "Dinton Railway Station" (PDF). Wiltshire OPC Project. Retrieved 24 February 2022.
  26. ^ Network Rail 2020, pp. 16–17.
  27. ^ a b c d Network Rail 2020, p. 17.
  28. ^ Network Rail 2020, p. 20.
  29. ^ Network Rail 2020, p. 21.
  30. ^ Network Rail 2020, p. 18.
  31. ^ "Table 160: London to Salisbury and Exeter" (PDF). Electronic National Rail Timetable. Network Rail. May 2015. Archived from the original (PDF) on 22 December 2015. Retrieved 15 October 2015.
  32. ^ "Timetable No. 20" (PDF). South West Trains. Archived from the original on 10 August 2016.
  33. ^ Network Rail 2020, p. 19.
  34. ^ "Route 4: Wessex Routes" (PDF). Route Plans. Network Rail. 2008. Archived from the original (PDF) on 7 June 2011. Retrieved 6 August 2008.
  35. ^ Network Rail 2010, p. 5.
  36. ^ Network Rail 2020, p. 22.
  37. ^ Thomas 1981, p. 57.
  38. ^ "Discontinous third rail idea for West of England Line". Rail Magazine. 26 September 2024. Retrieved 25 June 2025.
  39. ^ "West of England Line: Standards". Hansard. 19 May 2025. Retrieved 27 June 2025.


Bibliography

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Further reading

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  • Johnston, Howard (22 April – 5 May 1998). "Unlocking the potential to Exeter". RAIL. No. 329. EMAP Apex Publications. pp. 20–24. ISSN 0953-4563. OCLC 49953699.
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Media related to West of England Line at Wikimedia Commons

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