Eastleigh–Fareham line
| Eastleigh–Fareham line | |
|---|---|
| Overview | |
| Type | Suburban rail, heavy rail |
| System | National Rail |
| Status | Operational |
| Locale |
Hampshire South East England |
| Operation | |
| Opened | 1841 |
| Owner | Network Rail |
| Operator(s) | South Western Railway |
| Technical | |
| Track gauge | 1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in) standard gauge |
The Eastleigh–Fareham line is the railway line from Eastleigh to Fareham in the United Kingdom. At Eastleigh, trains join the South Western Main Line for onward travel to Basingstoke, Reading or to London Waterloo. At Fareham trains join the West Coastway Line for onward travel to Portsmouth or Brighton.
Services and stations on this line are operated by South Western Railway. It has an approximately hourly service in each direction. It is a useful diversionary route, used when the Portsmouth Direct Line is closed or when the lines around Southampton are closed.
The line was electrified with 750 V DC third rail; electric services commencing May 1990.
The Eastleigh–Fareham line was built by the London and South Western Railway (LSWR) and opened in 1841. It linked the original Southampton to London trunk route (at Eastleigh) to Fareham which was a developing market town, small port and had a rapidly developing brick and tile industry. At the same time, the LSWR also built a line from Fareham to Gosport, with the intention of extending services to the city and important naval dockyard of Portsmouth. The area was the scene of competition between the LSWR and its main competitor in the region, the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway (LBSCR). In the event, the latter were the first to physically reach Portsmouth (in 1847) though the LSWR followed in 1848.
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