West Coastway line

Services

Southern is the main operator of passenger services and stations on the line. Their primary route is a slow service (calling at most or all stations) from Brighton to Portsmouth. They also operate regular services from London Victoria via Gatwick both of which avoid Brighton by using the tunnel between Preston Park and Hove. Both services now run to Littlehampton with onward connections to Chichester, Portsmouth and Southampton (change at Worthing). There is also a service from London Victoria via Gatwick and the Arun Valley Line that runs along the West Coastway line, between Ford and Chichester. All of the Southern services are operated by electric multiple-units.

Great Western Railway operate services to Wales and the West Country, to Cardiff Central or Great Malvern. Southern now operate hourly services between Brighton and Southampton Central and Portsmouth Harbour with one of the Southern services to Southampton operating via Eastleigh. These are new service patterns that were introduced in the December 2007 timetable because South West Trains were not required by their renewed franchise to operate their Brighton services which left free train paths which were quickly filled by Southern. However, this has resulted in a whole new West Coastway timetable to be introduced, and it has suffered many teething problems with numerous cancellations and delays. South West Trains also operate regular services from Portsmouth to Southampton and from Portsmouth to London Waterloo via Fareham and Guildford .

History

The lines now operated under the banner "West Coastway" have a complex history and were built in stages by five different companies between 1840 and 1889.

The line from Brighton to Shoreham was a branch of the London and Brighton Railway which opened 12 May 1840, before the completion of the main line. The extensions of this line to Worthing (opened 24 November 1845), to Arundel & Littlehampton (opened 16 March 1846) and to Chichester (opened 8 June 1846) were built by the Brighton and Chichester Railway. In July 1846 these two companies merged with others to form the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway (LBSCR), which continued the line to Havant (opened 15 March 1847) and Portsmouth (opened 14 June 1847). Part of this section became jointly owned with the London and South Western Railway (LSWR), following the opening of the LSWR line from Fareham to Portcreek Junction on 1 October 1848 (connecting to the Eastleigh to Fareham line).

The Southampton and Netley Railway built a line to connect with the Victoria Military Hospital at Netley, which opened 5 March 1866 and was operated by the LSWR. The final connecting link from Netley to Fareham was opened by the LSWR on 2 September 1889.

In the meanwhile the LBSCR opened the Littlehampton branch from Ford Junction on 17 August 1863 and the Bognor Regis branch from Barnham Junction on 1 June 1864.

Accidents and incidents

On 22 September 1965, an electric multiple unit collided with a double decker bus on a level crossing between Angmering and Goring-by-Sea stations, due to errors by the crossing keeper. Eight people were injured and three killed.

The routes

Brighton trains serving the West Coastway leave from platforms 1, 2 and 3 which curve round to leave the Brighton Main Line route to pass through.

here was Holland Road Halt opened 1905 and closed 1956; when closed it was the only station on the West Coastway line to retain timber decking. This station was sited just west of the Holland Road bridge.

Note: To the east of the Holland Road bridge lay the site of a first Hove station, 1840 to 1880, the site was later used as a commercial coal yard

Aldrington opened as Dyke Junction Halt 1905 to serve the Devil's Dyke single-line branch (3.5 miles or 5.6 kilometres in length) opened 1887, closed 1938

here is the now closed branch to Kingston Wharf, serving Shoreham Harbour

here was the junction for the line to Horsham, opened 16 September 1861 and closed 7 March 1966. The line followed the valley of the River Adur

here was Bungalow Town Halt opened 1910, later to serve Shoreham Airport, closed in 1940 for national security reasons (Shoreham Airport became an RAF base during WWII).

Littlehampton branch

This is a 2-mile (3.2 km) branch line opened as a single line in 1863 and doubled in 1887

Ford, was Ford Junction: at the third node of the triangle

Barnham was Barnham Junction until 1929 opened 1864 as the junction for

Bognor Regis branch

This a 3.5 miles (5.6 km) branch line

Drayton station – closed

Chichester Original terminus of the Brighton and Chichester Railway on 6 June 1846; present station opened 1847 when the line was extended to Havant. Junction for the West Sussex Railway opened in 1897, closed 1935; and for the LBSCR branch to Midhurst, opened 1881 and closed to passengers 1935.

Havant: Junction for the L&SWR Portsmouth Direct Line through Petersfield and also for the LBSCR Hayling Island branch line opened 16 July 1867, 4.5 miles (7.2 km) in length with two intermediate stations serving Langstone and North Hayling. The line closed in 1963.

here there is a triangular junction for the two routes to Southampton and Portsmouth Harbour. After Farlington Junction and Portcreek Junction (between which was the now closed Farlington station) Portsmouth Direct Line trains use the joint L&SWR/LBSCR metals to Portsmouth. The main West Coastway route travels across the triangle to Cosham Junction where the L&SWR section, opened on 2 September 1889, begins:

Cosham

Portchester

Fareham First opened in 1841 as part of the Eastleigh-Fareham line. The east and west Coastway routes opened 1848 and 1889 respectively (see dates above). Here were also junctions for Gosport (the original connection from London to the Portsmouth area) and to Alton via the Meon valley – both closed.

Swanwick

Bursledon

Hamble

Netley Original terminus of the Southampton and Netley Railway, built to serve the Military Hospital, which had its own short railway and station. The line from here to St Denys was originally single track (later doubled)

Sholing

Woolston

Bitterne on the outskirts of Southampton. Here was a passing point when the line was single track.

With the junction at St Denys the West Coastway Line joins the route of the South Western Main Line