View source for Wessex Main Line

{{Short description|Railway line in England}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2017}}
{{Use British English|date=March 2017}}
{{Infobox rail line
 | box_width   =
 | name        = Wessex Main Line
 | color       =
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 | image       = Romsey Station Class 158 April 2014.jpg
 | image_width = 300px
 | caption     = A [[South West Trains]] {{brc|158}} at {{stnlink|Romsey}} in 2014
 | type        = [[Regional rail]], [[Heavy rail]]
 | system      = [[National Rail]]
 | status      = Operational
 | locale      = [[Somerset]]<br>[[Wiltshire]]<br/>[[Hampshire]]<br/>[[South East England]]<br/>[[South West England]]
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 | owner       = [[Network Rail]]
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 | linelength  = 85mi&nbsp;49ch (137.77&nbsp;km)
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 | gauge       = {{RailGauge|sg|allk=on}}
 | old_gauge =
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 | map         = [[File:Wessex Main Line.png|300px]]<br>([[:commons:File:Wessex Main Line.png|Click to expand]])
 | map_state   = uncollapsed
}}
{{Wessex Main Line diagram|collapse=y}}
The '''Wessex Main Line''' is the railway line from [[Bristol Temple Meads railway station|Bristol Temple Meads]] to [[Southampton Central railway station|Southampton Central]].<ref>{{cite book|last1=Le Vay|first1=Julian|last2=Le Vay|first2=Benedict|title=Britain from the Rails: Including the nation's best-kept-secret railways|date=2014|publisher=Bradt Travel Guide|isbn=9781841629193|pages=145–147|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MxmxBgAAQBAJ&q=Wessex+Main+Line+Bristol+Southampton&pg=PA145}}</ref> Diverging from this route is the [[Heart of Wessex Line]] from [[Westbury, Wiltshire|Westbury]] to [[Weymouth, Dorset|Weymouth]]. The Wessex Main Line intersects the [[Reading to Taunton Line]] at {{Stnlink|Westbury}} and the [[West of England Main Line]] at {{Stnlink|Salisbury}}.

==Stations served==
The stations served are listed below.
*{{rws|Bristol Temple Meads}}
*{{rws|Keynsham}}
*[[Oldfield Park railway station|Oldfield Park]]
*{{rws|Bath Spa}}
**[[Great Western Main Line]] diverges to {{rws|Chippenham}}, {{rws|Swindon}} and [[London Paddington]]
*{{rws|Freshford}}
*{{rws|Avoncliff}}
*{{rws|Bradford-on-Avon}}
**TransWilts Line joins from {{rws|Melksham}}, {{rws|Chippenham}} and {{rws|Swindon}}
*{{rws|Trowbridge}}
*{{rws|Westbury}}
**[[Heart of Wessex Line]] diverges to {{rws|Frome}}, {{rws|Yeovil Pen Mill}} and {{rws|Weymouth}}
*{{rws|Dilton Marsh}}
*{{rws|Warminster}}
*{{rws|Salisbury}}
*{{rws|Dean}}
*[[Mottisfont & Dunbridge railway station|Mottisfont & Dunbridge]]
*{{rws|Romsey}}
**[[Eastleigh to Romsey Line]] diverges to {{rws|Chandlers Ford}} and {{rws|Eastleigh}}
**[[South Western Main Line]] joins from {{rws|Bournemouth}}, {{rws|Poole}} and {{rws|Weymouth}}
*{{rws|Redbridge}}
*[[Millbrook (Hampshire) railway station|Millbrook]]
*{{rws|Southampton Central}}

Passenger services are currently operated by [[Great Western Railway (train operating company)|Great Western Railway]] services between {{rws|Portsmouth Harbour}} and {{rws|Cardiff Central}} , supplemented by [[South Western Railway (train operating company)|South Western Railway]] between {{rws|Salisbury}} and {{rws|Southampton Central}} with their service between Salisbury and {{rws|Romsey}} via Southampton Central, and by Great Western Railway intercity services between Bristol Temple Meads and [[Bath Spa railway station|Bath Spa]] that operate between {{rws|London Paddington}} and Bristol Temple Meads.<ref>{{cite web |title=Rail Travel |url= http://www.destinationwessex.org.uk/travel-by-rail.htm |publisher=Destination Wessex |access-date=19 December 2015}}</ref> Some services start at [[Swindon]]. Almost all Great Western Railway services continue beyond Southampton Central along the [[West Coastway line]] to {{rws|Portsmouth Harbour}}, and beyond Bristol Temple Meads to [[Severn Tunnel Junction]], [[Newport (South Wales) railway station|Newport]] and [[Cardiff Central railway station|Cardiff Central]] along the [[South Wales Main Line]].

==Chippenham branch==
There is a link from {{stnlnk|Trowbridge}} to {{stnlnk|Chippenham}}, with an intermediate stop at {{stnlnk|Melksham}}. Despite showing strong passenger growth in the previous few years, the new franchise reduced services in December 2006 to two each way per day, at times barely convenient for commuters. The frequency was increased from December 2013 and services were extended south to {{Stnlnk|Westbury||Westbury}} and north to {{Stnlnk|Swindon||Swindon}}, providing a regular timetable branded as TransWilts.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Train timetable|url=http://www.mrug.org.uk/timetable.html|access-date=2020-07-25|website=Melksham Rail User Group}}</ref>

==History==
=== Southampton to Salisbury ===
The [[South West Main Line]] of the [[London and Southampton Railway]], which changed its name to the [[London and South Western Railway]] in 1839, had reached Southampton in 1840. A [[Eastleigh to Salisbury line|branch to Salisbury]] ([[Milford railway station (Wiltshire)|Milford]]) from a junction on the main line at [[Eastleigh railway station|Eastleigh]] (then called Bishopstoke) was opened in 1847. The branch passes through [[Romsey railway station|Romsey]] and the Dean valley; today part of its route forms the [[Eastleigh–Romsey line]].

A more direct route between Southampton and Romsey was adopted in 1865 on completion of the [[Sprat and Winkle Line]] (at first by the Andover and Redbridge Railway, but taken over by the LSWR before completion). This forms the current route of the Wessex Main Line: departing westbound from Southampton Central via [[Millbrook (Hampshire) railway station|Millbrook]] and [[Redbridge railway station|Redbridge]] before branching north to Romsey.

=== North of Salisbury ===
[[File:Bradford on Avon railway bridge.jpg|thumb|250px|Crossing the river at {{Stnlnk|Bradford-on-Avon}}]]
{{main | Wilts, Somerset and Weymouth Railway}}
The line through Wiltshire and Somerset was completed in stages, after the Wilts, Somerset and Weymouth Railway (WS&WR) was authorised by Parliament in 1845. The first section to be opened, in 1848, ran from Thingley junction to the west of Chippenham on the [[Great Western Railway]], via Melksham and Trowbridge to [[Westbury railway station|Westbury]].{{sfn|Oakley|2004|p=140}} The WS&WR company was unable to fund further construction, and in 1849 the directors decided to sell their line to the GWR.

The GWR's [[Salisbury branch line (Great Western Railway)|branch to Salisbury]] from Westbury was completed through the Wylye valley in 1856, with the first section, as far as [[Warminster railway station|Warminster]], having been opened in 1851.{{sfn|Oakley|2004|p=138}}

The route from a junction near Staverton, north of Trowbridge, to [[Bradford-on-Avon railway station|Bradford-on-Avon]] had been constructed in 1848 but the rails were not laid. This branch, via Bradford then along the Avon valley to join the GWR main line at [[Bathampton railway station|Bathampton]], was completed in 1857.

=== Across Salisbury ===
Further work was required at Salisbury to complete the Bristol-Southampton route, as the GWR station was in the west of the city at Fisherton, about {{convert|1|mi|km}} away from the earlier LSWR station at Milford on the southeast side. In 1857 the LSWR's [[West of England line]] (London-Exeter via Basingstoke and Andover) arrived in northeast Salisbury, at first using the Midford station. In 1859 the LSWR opened a new station at Fisherton, immediately south of the GWR station, to serve two lines: the Andover line, which had been extended across the city, and the new [[Salisbury and Yeovil Railway]] towards Exeter. The Milford station was then closed to passengers.{{sfn|Oakley|2004|pp=106–113}}

A [[transit shed]] was opened between the two Fisherton stations in 1860, to allow goods to be transferred between the GWR's broad gauge wagons and the LSWR's standard gauge. Following the conversion of the GWR to standard gauge in 1874, a connecting siding was built in 1878 to allow shunting of wagons. A direct route for passengers came into use with the inauguration of a Cardiff to Portsmouth service in 1896.{{sfn|Oakley|2004|p=107}}

=== 20th century ===
At Salisbury, the LSWR station (which had been expanded in 1878) was further expanded and remodelled, with a large extension to the station building completed in 1902.{{sfn|Oakley|2004|pp=110–112}} The GWR station continued to be used by branch services until it was closed to passengers in 1932; it was used as a goods depot until 1991 and is now part of [[Salisbury TMD|Salisbury Traincare Depot]].{{sfn|Oakley|2004|pp=108–109}} Milford continued as a major goods depot until 1967.{{sfn|Oakley|2004|p=113}}

Westbury station was rebuilt in 1899 to cater for the [[Stert and Westbury Railway]], opened 1900, which now forms part of the [[Reading–Taunton line]].

On the Chippenham branch, the halts at Beanacre and [[Broughton Gifford Halt railway station|Broughton Gifford]] closed in 1955.{{sfn|Oakley|2004|p=14}} The smaller stations on the Salisbury branch – [[Heytesbury railway station|Heytesbury]], [[Codford railway station|Codford]], [[Wylye railway station|Wylye]] and [[Wilton North railway station|Wilton North]] – closed to passengers in the same year,<ref>{{cite book |url=http://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/wilts/vol4/pp280-293 |title=A History of the County of Wiltshire: Volume 4 |pages=280–293 |chapter=Railways |editor-first=Elizabeth |editor-last=Crittall |date=1959 |via=British History Online |location=London |publisher=University of London |access-date=23 March 2017}}</ref> although in most cases goods service continued into the 1960s. In Hampshire, [[Nursling railway station|Nursling]] station closed in 1957.{{sfn|Butt|1995|p=176}}

[[Bathampton railway station|Bathampton]]{{sfn|Butt|1995|p=29}} and [[Limpley Stoke railway station|Limpley Stoke]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bradfordonavonmuseum.co.uk/archives/622|title=Limpley Stoke Station|date=30 September 2010|website=Bradford on Avon Museum|access-date=23 March 2017}}</ref> stations closed in 1966. The same year saw closure of the remaining local stations on the Chippenham branch: Lacock Halt, Beanacre Halt, {{rws|Melksham}}, [[Holt Junction railway station|Holt]] (along with the entire Devizes branch) and [[Staverton Halt railway station|Staverton Halt]].{{sfn|Oakley|2004|p=14}}{{sfn|Oakley|2004|pp=68–70}} The section of line between Thingley Jn and Bradford Junction continued to be used by freight trains and occasional passenger trains, such as during engineering works or summer excursions. A regular passenger service was reinstated in 1985 with the reopening of Melksham station.

==References==
{{Reflist}}
{{Commons category}}
* {{cite book|last1=Butt|first1=R. V. J.|title=The Directory of Railway Stations |year=1995 |publisher=Stephens |isbn=978-1-85260-508-7 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IwANAAAACAAJ}}
* {{cite book|last1=Oakley|first1=Mike|title=Wiltshire Railway Stations|date=2004 |publisher=The Dovecote Press |location=Wimborne |isbn=1904349331 |pages=61–62}}

==Further reading==
* {{Daniels-NoMore |edition=2nd |ref=none}}

{{Railway lines in South East England}}
{{Railway lines in South West England}}

[[Category:Rail transport in Wiltshire]]
[[Category:Rail transport in Hampshire]]
[[Category:Railway lines in South East England]]
[[Category:Railway lines in South West England]]
[[Category:Standard gauge railways in England]]
[[Category:Wessex]]