Hedge End and Botley

[PedroHav]

With a vast increase in housing in and around Hedge End and Botley over the last 10 years and with so much more being built isn't it about time the those stations were upgraded from an hourly service?
Yes there are problems. The single track between Botley and Fareham and on the approaches to Eastleigh don't help.
Years ago there were rumours that the track would be redoubled again in the tunnels to Fareham but nothing ever materialised.
Southern run 2 services a day via Eastleigh from Southampton to Fareham so there is capacity as it stands.
Even an Eastleigh/Fareham shuttle would be useful.

 

[30907]

Where do people most want to go to from Hedge End/Botley, and is the railway well placed for that?
Genuine question, but I suspect the answers are Southampton and no .
Maybe Fareham-Eastleigh-Southampton would be useful?

 

[JonathanH]

Even an Eastleigh/Fareham shuttle would be useful.

What for? Short distance shuttles that don't really go anywhere are notorious for moving fresh air, because passengers favour the through or faster service on the route.

 

[Gloster]

Fareham Tunnels haven’t been double since 1904 and I believe the singling was due to them being tight to gauge. It is highly likely that work done since has further reduced the tunnel’s cross-section as only clearance for a single line was needed. Redoubling would be an enormous job, even if the limited clearances were adequate, which I doubt.

 

[PedroHav]

Where do people most want to go to from Hedge End/Botley, and is the railway well placed for that?
Genuine question, but I suspect the answers are Southampton and no .
Maybe Fareham-Eastleigh-Southampton would be useful?

Yes you're probably right but many people go to Southampton via Eastleigh already..
Yes Eastleigh and Winchester for college and days/evenings out in Portsmouth as well

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 10 Jan 2024 ==

There are no through or faster services

 

[JonathanH]

There are no through or faster services

I was drawing the analogy to other routes. If there was a Fareham to Eastleigh shuttle, it would carry fewer passengers from Hedge End and Botley than the Portsmouth Harbour to London Waterloo via Basingstoke service, which is the 'through' service in this context.

 

[TEW]

Pre-Covid there was generally 2tph in the peak. Seems unlikely that will be back though.

 

[PedroHav]

Maybe it would be better reintroducing the Basingstoke to Brighton semi fast service stopping at Hedge End and Botley. That would be really welcome on the West Coastway....
I know - a pipe dream

 

[weeklycommuter]

Fareham Tunnels haven’t been double since 1904 and I believe the singling was due to them being tight to gauge. It is highly likely that work done since has further reduced the tunnel’s cross-section as only clearance for a single line was needed. Redoubling would be an enormous job, even if the limited clearances were adequate, which I doubt.

Could just double track from Botley to the Fareham Tunnels leaving a short single track section through Fareham Tunnels. May need to leave a single track section in the Tapnage Tunnel just North of the River Meon. The following report from 2020 also looks at making Fareham Station bay platform 2 a through platform. A lot of people travel by train from Fareham to Eastleigh and Winchester.

https://sacuksprodnrdigital0001.blob.core.windows.net/regional-long-term-planning/Southern/Solent%20Connectivity%20Continuous%20Modular%20Strategic%20Planning.pdf

Land is reserved in the new development at Welborne in North Fareham to build a new railway station on the Fareham to Botley line at the Option 4 site at Welborne in the following pre-GRIP feasibility study from 2017

https://www.fareham.gov.uk/PDF/welborne/WelborneStationPre-GRIPFeasibilityStudy.pdf

A possible problem with making the London Waterloo to Portsmouth Harbour via Eastleigh and Fareham service two an hour instead of one an hour is platform capacity at Portsmouth Harbour. The above Solent CMSP report from 2020 looks at reopening Portsmouth Harbour platform 2 but notes that to do this platforms 2 and 3 would have to be shortened by 15 metres and this would not work as the 10 coach class 444s and the 12 coach class 450s would not fit the platforms. I do not know if anyone has considered joining the currently unused London Waterloo to Haslemere service path with one of the London Waterloo to Basingstoke services to make an additional hourly clockwise and anticlockwise loop service London Waterloo-Woking-Guildford-Havant-Fareham-Eastleigh-Basingstoke-Woking-London Waterloo and London Waterloo-Woking-Basingstoke-Eastleigh-Fareham-Havant-Guildford-Woking-London Waterloo. This would create new direct train services between many pairs of places in Surrey and Hampshire eg Petersfield and Winchester and give Eastleigh, Hedge End, Botley, Welborne if built, Fareham, Portchester, Cosham and Havant two additional trains an hour to London Waterloo (and other stations on route to London Waterloo), one via Winchester and one via Guildford. The only terminating platforms needed would be at London Waterloo from the existing paths. Hedge End, Botley, Fareham, Portchester and Cosham currently have just one direct train an hour to London Waterloo which is to and from Portsmouth Harbour and this is also currently the only direct hourly train from Eastleigh to London Waterloo as the two fast trains from Weymouth do not stop at Eastleigh and the stopping train calling at Eastleigh that used to run London Waterloo to Poole is reduced to separate Southampton to Winchester and Southampton to Bournemouth trains.

 

[evergreenadam]

Maybe it would be better reintroducing the Basingstoke to Brighton semi fast service stopping at Hedge End and Botley. That would be really welcome on the West Coastway....
I know - a pipe dream

Or a Reading to Portsmouth via Basingstoke service, I’ve always thought that Portsmouth should have a through service to the Thames Valley like Southampton already does.

I get that most people in the Hedge End and Botley areas want to travel to Southampton and there are probably competing bus services that stop closer to people’s front doors and stop right in the city centre, so rail will always be at a disadvantage for such journeys.

There was a study into running a Southern service hourly to Southampton via Hedge End either reversing at Eastleigh or via a new stretch of track through Eastleigh Depot avoiding Eastleigh entirely. Operationally it sounded a bit of a nightmare and if Southern can’t keep the existing Victoria to Southampton service to time there is not much hope!

 

[Kite159]

The bus from Hedge End/Botley to Southampton will be better as it will serve more of the town rather than a station located away from the village/town centre.

 

[A S Leib]

Where do people most want to go to from Hedge End/Botley, and is the railway well placed for that?
Genuine question, but I suspect the answers are Southampton and no .
Maybe Fareham-Eastleigh-Southampton would be useful?

Winchester, Waterloo and Eastleigh have far more passengers than Portsmouth or Southampton right now (although that could be partly because it's not massively useful for Southampton). Hedge End + Botley – Winchester, Waterloo, Eastleigh + Basingstoke ≈ 110,000 journeys per year; to Southampton Central, Portsmouth Harbour, Portsmouth & Southsea and Fratton it's ≈ 32,000.

 

[PedroHav]

Agreed but with 2500 houses being built at One Horton Heath, Boorley Park development and Grange Park there is a large catchment area. Especially when you look at the long circuitous route the Southampton bus takes

 

[PTR 444]

There was a study into running a Southern service hourly to Southampton via Hedge End either reversing at Eastleigh or via a new stretch of track through Eastleigh Depot avoiding Eastleigh entirely. Operationally it sounded a bit of a nightmare and if Southern can’t keep the existing Victoria to Southampton service to time there is not much hope!

I’ve always thought it would make sense to have an additional hourly Southampton - Fareham service routed via Eastleigh, although where that continues on to doesn’t really matter IMO. I know there has been a long standing ambition to make Southampton - Portsmouth 3tph, so the extra Botley train could be either that or one of the Southern services diverted all day.