Botley railway station

Botley railway station serves Botley in Hampshire, England, on the line between Eastleigh and Fareham. It is 78 miles 72 chains (127.0 km) down the line from London Waterloo.

Botley
Botley station (seen from road bridge)
LocationBotley, City of Winchester
England
Coordinates50.917°N 1.259°W / 50.917; -1.259
Grid referenceSU521132
Managed bySouth Western Railway
Platforms2 (Was 3)
Other information
Station codeBOE
ClassificationDfT category F2
History
Opened29 November 1841
Original companyLondon and South Western Railway
Pre-groupingLondon and South Western Railway
Post-groupingSouthern Railway
Passengers
2015/16 0.158 million
2016/17 0.164 million
2017/18 0.162 million
2018/19 0.157 million
2019/20 0.137 million
Notes
Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road
Botley Station in 1963

History

Botley station was opened on 29 November 1841 by the LSWR but closed on 3 December 1841 due to an earthslip and then reopening on 7 February 1842.[1] Botley was once the junction for the Bishops Waltham branch which was opened in 1863 and finally closed to freight in 1962. Some of the track from the branch still exists as a long siding, used by Foster Yeoman which operate an aggregate railhead depot and coated roadstone plant at Botley.

The photograph shows the view northwards in the direction of Eastleigh and London. The bay platform and signal-box for the closed Bishops Waltham line can be seen to the right, as can the junction itself, which is in the middle distance. The Foster Yeoman plant is at the top of the picture, occupying land on both sides of the line.

The station was a major loading point for strawberry traffic until about 1940, with trains taking the local produce up to London. The station possessed an extensive network of sidings and loading bays for this seasonal traffic and for storing the special ventilated vans that transported the fruit. The goods yard is now occupied by the Foster Yeoman stone plant. All traffic declined from 1950 onwards, but passenger numbers began to build again in the 1990s with the re-introduction of direct services to London for the first time since before the war. The line was electrified, on the 3rd rail system, in the 1990s. The station and route was again closed due to a land slip on 31 January 2014.[2] The line reopened on 15 March 2014.[3]

The station was refurbished in Summer 2015. New lighting, barriers and repainting took place. The platforms were also resurfaced.

Although the village of Botley is located within the boundaries of Eastleigh Borough Council the railway station falls within the boundaries of Winchester City Council.

Services

Botley station is located on the Fareham–Eastleigh line. Off-peak, South Western Railway operate all services at Botley. The off-peak service at the station in trains per hour is:

Additional services run during the peak periods. Great Western Railway also provide one train towards Portsmouth on weekdays only.

Preceding station National Rail Following station
Fareham   South Western Railway
London to Portsmouth via Basingstoke
  Hedge End
Fareham   Great Western Railway
Cardiff - Portsmouth via Southampton
One train per weekday (southbound only)
  Hedge End
Disused railways
Terminus   London and South Western Railway
Bishops Waltham branch
  Bishops Waltham
(1862-1909)
Durley Halt
(1909-1933)

References

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