Hythe railway station (Hampshire)

Hythe (Hants) railway station in Hampshire was an intermediate station on the Totton, Hythe and Fawley Light Railway, which was built along the coast of Southampton Water to connect Totton and Fawley and to provide a freight link from the South Western Main Line to Fawley Refinery.

Hythe (Hants)
LocationHythe, New Forest
England
Coordinates50.8661°N 1.3955°W / 50.8661; -1.3955
Platforms1
Other information
StatusDisused
History
Original companyTotton, Hythe and Fawley Light Railway
Post-groupingSouthern Railway
Southern Region of British Railways
Key dates
20 July 1925 (1925-07-20)Opened
14 February 1966 (1966-02-14)Closed to passengers
2 January 1967 (1967-01-02)Closed to goods
1 September 2016 (2016-09-01)Line closed

History

The station opened on 20 July 1925 and closed to passengers on 14 February 1966 and goods on 2 January 1967.[1] The single-track non-electrified line through Hythe closed after the last train on 1 September 2016.

Reopening

In June 2009 the Association of Train Operating Companies published a report (Connecting Communities: Expanding Access to the Rail Network) strongly indicating that the reopening of Hythe railway station would be viable, in that the ratio of business, economic and social benefits to costs would be as high as 4.8.[2][3] The ATOC report gave the indicative capital cost of reopening as £3 million. ATOC's evaluation was based on a diesel service, but it recommended that electrification of the seven miles from Hythe to Totton should also be evaluated, on the basis that some services now terminating at Southampton could be extended to Hythe.

In January 2014, Hampshire County Council shelved the plans due to the business case "offering poor value for money". The scheme could however be revisited in the future if local circumstances change.[4]

Following the withdrawal of the oil trains from Fawley [5] in August 2016, Waterside Community Railway group held a supporters meeting at Hythe Community Centre on 17 October 2016·to discuss current plans to re-open the branch line for passenger services.[6] The line has been identified as a priority for reopening to passenger use by Campaign for Better Transport.[7]

Route
Preceding station Historical railways Following station
Marchwood   Southern Region of British Railways
Fawley Branch Line		   Hardley Halt

References
  1. "Disused Stations". Subterranea Britannica.
  2. "BBC NEWS - England - Operators call for new rail lines". BBC News. 15 June 2009. Retrieved 15 June 2009.
  3. "Connecting Communities – Expanding Access to the Rail Network" (PDF). London: Association of Train Operating Companies. June 2009. p. 18. Retrieved 7 September 2018.
  4. "Waterside Totton and Hythe rail plan shelved"BBC News; Retrieved 8 April 2016
  5. "Oil refinery's decision could end hopes of Waterside trains". Daily Echo. Retrieved 20 October 2016.
  6. "Waterside Community Railway - Timeline | Facebook". www.facebook.com. Retrieved 20 October 2016.
  7. "Reopen these rail lines and put 500,000 people in reach of the railways". Campaign for Better Transport.
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