Pokesdown railway station

Pokesdown
Pokesdown station platforms looking southwards (towards Bournemouth), 22 February 2014
Location
Place	Pokesdown
Local authority	Borough of Bournemouth
Grid reference	SZ124924
Operations
Station code	POK
Managed by	South West Trains
Number of platforms	2
DfT category	E
Live arrivals/departures, station information and onward connections from National Rail Enquiries
Annual rail passenger usage*
2011/12	0.312 million
2012/13	0.299 million
2013/14	0.312 million
2014/15	0.315 million
2015/16	0.319 million
History
Original company	London and South Western Railway
Pre-grouping	London and South Western Railway
Post-grouping	Southern Railway
1 July 1886	Opened as Boscombe
1 October 1891	Renamed Pokesdown (Boscombe)
1 May 1897	Renamed Pokesdown
1930	Renamed Pokesdown for Eastern Bournemouth
?	Renamed Pokesdown
National Rail – UK railway stations
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
* Annual estimated passenger usage based on sales of tickets in stated financial year(s) which end or originate at Pokesdown from Office of Rail and Road statistics. Methodology may vary year on year.

Pokesdown railway station is a railway station serving the Pokesdown, Boscombe and Southbourne areas of Bournemouth in Dorset, England. It is located on the South Western Main Line from London Waterloo to Weymouth.

The station is served by South West Trains, who operate semi-fast services from London Waterloo to Weymouth and London Waterloo to Poole stopping services.

The station was opened on 1 July 1886 by the London and South Western Railway. It was originally named Boscombe, which was altered on 1 October 1891 to Pokesdown (Boscombe), since the station was closer to Pokesdown than Boscombe. On 1 May 1897, when Boscombe station was opened, the station was renamed again to just "Pokesdown".

In 1930, the station was again renamed, becoming Pokesdown for Eastern Bournemouth, although it reverted to Pokesdown under British Railways. In the 1930s the Southern Railway made the platform facilities considerably larger, allowing the station to accommodate longer trains. Although some facilities have since been removed, at the time they provided an asset for the non-stopping services because there were tracks to use as fast lines in the up and down direction.

During the 1970s two of the four tracks were removed, and the signal box was closed.

On 16 May 2009 the station signage was changed to Pokesdown for Boscombe with announcements at other stations and on trains changed later on but the station remains officially named Pokesdown. The station is a short bus journey or walk from Boscombe's main shopping area.