West of England Main Line

West of England Main Line
Templecombe station
Overview
Type	Suburban rail, Heavy rail
System	National Rail
Status	Operational
Stations	21 (Basingstoke to Exeter St Davids)
Operation
Owner	Network Rail
Operator(s)	South West Trains
Depot(s)	Salisbury TMD
Rolling stock	Class 158 "Express Sprinter" Class 159 "South Western Turbo"
Technical
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in) standard gauge
Operating speed	90 mph maximum

The West of England Main Line is a British railway line from Basingstoke, Hampshire, to Exeter St Davids in Devon, England. Passenger services run between London Waterloo station and Exeter. Despite its historic title, it is not today's principal route from London to the West of England: Exeter and everywhere further west is reached more quickly by Great Western Railway services from London Paddington. At Salisbury, the line intersects with the Wessex Main Line.

When all sections had been incorporated into the London and South Western Railway, they consisted of the following:

The line was downgraded by being singled for long sections west of Salisbury by British Rail. This restricts the number of trains on this section, but passing loops have been added to alleviate this problem.

Beyond Exeter, the line continued to Plymouth via Okehampton and as the Exeter to Plymouth railway of the LSWR. This line is now partly closed, with the surviving sections downgraded to branch lines. The section from Exeter to Coleford Junction, near Yeoford, is still in existence as part of the Tarka Line (which continues to Barnstaple). The Dartmoor Railway still exists as a heritage line and industrial line from Coleford Junction to Okehampton, where the track breaks. Tavistock lacks a rail connection, and the final section of the original main line, from Bere Alston, continues to Plymouth as part of the Tamar Valley Line.