West of England line

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Template:Short description Template:Distinguish Template:Use British English Template:Use dmy dates Template:Infobox rail line Template:West of England Main Line The West of England line (also known as the West of England Main Line) is a railway line from Template:Stnlnk, Hampshire, to Template:Stnlnk in Devon, England. Passenger services run between London Waterloo station and Exeter via the South West Main Line; the line intersects with the Wessex Main Line at Template:Stnlink.

The line was constructed by the London and South Western Railway (L&SWR) and the Salisbury and Yeovil Railway between 1854 and 1860, with the L&SWR eventually gaining full operation. Although it was once a significant connection from London to Southwest England, it has declined in importance since the years following the 1963 Beeching Report. Exeter can be reached more quickly from London Paddington via the Reading–Taunton line, with this route providing the only direct route to destinations west of Exeter since 2009. However, the West of England line is still important as a freight and diversionary route.

Route

Trains between London Waterloo and Exeter run on the South West Main Line as far as Template:Stnlnk. The West of England Line diverges at Worting Junction, a short distance west.Template:Sfn North of Worting Junction, stopping services to/from London Waterloo and CrossCountry services to/from the North of England via Reading use the outer pair of tracks, while express services to/from London Waterloo use the inner pair of tracks. The inner pair of tracks are unelectrified through the junction and continue west to Salisbury and Exeter.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

From here, the route heads generally westwards to Template:Rws, where there is a connection with the Wessex Main Line, then over the Heart of Wessex Line without a junction just before Template:Rws. There is a connection to the Avocet Line just before Exeter. The line passes through Template:Rws before ending at Template:Rws. Overall, it passes through five counties – Hampshire, Wiltshire, Dorset, Somerset and Devon.Template:Sfn

Network Rail splits the line into two sections: the first section from the line's start at Worting Junction to Wilton Junction (near Salisbury) is classified as "London & SE commuter", while the rest is a "secondary" route. The secondary route west of Salisbury is predominantly single track, but has three sections of double track and four passing loops.Template:Sfn The double track sections and passing loops are: a loop just outside Tisbury station, a loop at Gillingham station, double track from Template:Rws to Yeovil Junction, a loop at the former Chard Junction station, 3 miles of double track centred on Axminster, a loop at Honiton station, and double track from Pinhoe to Exeter.Template:Sfn

The line has a similar route to the parallel A303 road, which runs from Basingstoke to Honiton.<ref name=bbc>Template:Cite news</ref>

The line's speed limit is mainly at Template:Convert or above over its whole length from Basingstoke to Exeter.Template:Sfn Speed is further limited around the junctions. The first section to Wilton Junction has a listed line speed of 50–90 mph, and the secondary section to Exeter has a line speed of mainly 85 mph with parts at 70 mph.Template:Sfn

There are two depots on the line operated by the South Western Railway. The traincare depot is at Salisbury, while the traincrew depot is at Yeovil Junction.Template:Sfn

History

Construction

The line was constructed in stages by between 1854 and 1860, and eventually wholly operated by the London and South Western Railway (L&SWR).Template:Sfn The sections and branches opened as follows:

There had been plans to construct a direct line from London to Exeter since the beginning of railways. Although the Great Western Railway (GWR) were the first to construct a line to Exeter in 1844, this went via Bristol. The L&SWR had agreed with the Southampton & Dorchester Railway that they would not construct any lines west of Salisbury or Dorchester, but changed their mind following the opening of the GWR route.Template:Sfn

The section from Salisbury to Yeovil was originally constructed by the Salisbury and Yeovil Railway.Template:Sfn To allow an easy transfer at Salisbury, the original station at Milford was closed and rerouted to its current site at Fisherton on 2 May 1859.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn The section from Yeovil to Exeter involved a lengthy tunnel near Honiton, constructed from 11 million bricks. The tunnel has since been closed on occasion because of drainage problems with nearby natural springs.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Later history

File:Yeovil Junction Signal Box 159018 159107.jpg
Yeovil Junction

The line was upgraded from single to double track in the 1860s, and was complete by 1 July 1870; most bridges had been built to accommodate two tracks.Template:Sfn When the line was first opened in 1854, Worting Junction was constructed as a flat junction.<ref name="DjGmH">Template:Cite book</ref> This required that down trains heading west and up trains from Southampton cross each other's paths. Initially this was not a great problem, however as traffic and speeds increased the junction became a bottleneck. To relieve this, a flying junction was provided to the south, opening on 30 May 1897.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> This changed the arrangement so that up trains from Southampton line now crossed over the up and down Salisbury lines on Battledown Flyover, west of Basingstoke.Template:Sfn

A Rail Motor service was briefly introduced between Exeter and Honiton in 1906, but was quickly cancelled.Template:Sfn

After the Second World War, the line initially saw heavy investment from British Rail following nationalisation, including the Atlantic Express service from Waterloo to various points past Exeter,Template:Sfn and a regular service from Template:Rws to Template:Rws.Template:Sfn The line speed past Salisbury was increased to Template:Convert in 1949.Template:Sfn However, control of the section west of Salisbury was transferred from the Southern to the Western region in 1963, which led it into direct comparisons with the Paddington – Taunton – Exeter service and concerns over its viability.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn

The Beeching Report identified the duplication of routes from London to the West Country, and concluded the West of England line was redundant, as it carried 20% of the overall traffic between London and Exeter compared to the route via Paddington and the Reading–Taunton line.Template:Sfn Although a complete closure west of Salisbury was rumoured, the line was instead downgraded in 1967 by reducing long sections west of Salisbury to single track, closing minor stations, and reducing services to one train every 2 hours. This provided sufficient savings.Template:Sfn<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> All services beyond Exeter had been withdrawn by 1968.Template:Sfn The proposal was toned down after concerns with overcrowding, and a Template:Convert section between Template:Rws and Template:Rws was retained as double track.Template:Sfn A passing loop at Tisbury opened on 24 March 1986.Template:Sfn

The line has never been considered for electrification, and consequently all rolling stock has been steam, then diesel.Template:Sfn By the 1980s, the line was clearly in decline, with limited traffic and unpleasant locomotive stock. However, services began to be improved after the introduction of British Rail Class 159s in the early 1990s.Template:Sfn Services began running beyond Exeter again in 1992, and continued until 2009.Template:Sfn Additional Class 159s and British Rail Class 158s were introduced in 2006/07, having previously been used on the TransPennine Express route.Template:Sfn

An additional passing loop was constructed at Template:Rws in 2009. This allowed hourly services to run between Waterloo and Exeter St David's.Template:Sfn

Current operations

Passengers

File:Honiton - SWR 159003 down train.JPG
A Template:Brc at Template:Stnlnk

Passenger services are operated by South Western Railway using Class 159 and Class 158 trains.Template:Sfn They generally run half-hourly from London to Salisbury and hourly to Exeter, calling at Template:Stnlnk and/or Template:Stnlnk and then most stations between Basingstoke and Exeter St Davids, although some smaller stations east of Salisbury and near Exeter have a reduced service.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The fastest typical off-peak time between Waterloo and Exeter is 3 hours 24 minutes.Template:Sfn

The 2006 Network Rail South West Main Line Route Utilisation Strategy recommended building an extended section of double track from Chard Junction to Axminster, and a passing loop at Whimple. However, Network Rail's 2008 Route Plan did not mention this.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Freight

The West of England line carries a significant amount of goods traffic such as aggregate, sand, quarried stone and spoil. At the eastern end, there is a branch line to the Ministry of Defence site at Ludgershall. Freight from Southampton Docks is sometimes sent via this route. The line also acts as an important freight diversion when there are closures on the Reading–Taunton line or on the South Western Main Line through Template:Rws.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn Historically, the line carried a significant amount of milk from Chard, which continued until March 1980.Template:Sfn

Future

There have been proposals to electrify the line.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> In 2025, train operator South Western Railway estimated that their Class 159 and 158s would reach the end of their life by 2030. As an alternative to replacement by diesels or electrification, a proposal has been made for battery-operated trains with intermittent third rail charging points.<ref name=bbc/>

Following the 2024 general election, the incoming Labour government cancelled the A303 Stonehenge road tunnel; study group Greengauge 21 recommended improving the West of England line instead. The single track sections have particularly affected growth to the east of Exeter, and re-dualling the track between there and Axminster would allow a Devon Metro service to operate, with more frequent short-distance trains.<ref name=bbc/> In reply to a written question in Parliament in May 2025, Lilian Greenwood, the parliamentary undersecretary for the Department for Transport, responded that there were no plans to improve the West of England line at that time.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

See also

References

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