Pokesdown railway station

The station was opened on 1 July 1886 by the London and South Western Railway. It was originally named Boscombe, which was altered on 1 October 1891 to Pokesdown (Boscombe),[1] since the station was closer to Pokesdown than Boscombe. On 1 May 1897,[2] when Boscombe station was opened, the station was renamed again to just "Pokesdown".

In 1930, the station was again renamed, becoming Pokesdown for Eastern Bournemouth, although it reverted to Pokesdown under British Railways.[2] In the 1930s the Southern Railway made the platform facilities considerably larger, allowing the station to accommodate longer trains. Although some facilities have since been removed, at the time they provided an asset for the non-stopping services because there were tracks to use as fast lines in the up and down direction.

During the 1970s two of the four tracks were removed, and the signal box was closed.

On 16 May 2009 the station signage was changed to Pokesdown for Boscombe with announcements at other stations and on trains changed later on but the station remains officially named Pokesdown.[3] The station is a short bus journey or walk from Boscombe's main shopping area.

Some South Western Railway services operated by two four- or five-carriage electric multiple units coupled together cannot be accommodated fully by the platforms and only selected doors open on such trains.

Lifts are present at Pokesdown station but are now disused albeit with evidence of their former existence still in place.[4][5][6] A campaign involving the local MP Tobias Ellwood which began calling for the restoration of lifts at the station appears to have been successful with the winning bidders for the South Western Franchise, South Western Railway, required to install new lifts by 31 December 2019. However, this date has been pushed back to at least September 2020 because of difficulties accessing the disused lift shafts safely.[7] Until lift access is restored, the only means of access to Pokesdown's platforms is via stairs from the bridge.

The basic Monday- Friday service sees 1 train per hour to London Waterloo (semi-fast), 1 train per hour to Weymouth (all stations), 1 train per hour to Southampton Central (stopping service) and 1 train per hour terminating at Bournemouth. On a Saturday the station sees 2 trains per hour to London (one stopping service, one semi-fast), 1 train per hour to Weymouth (all stations) and 1 train per hour to Poole (stopping service) On a Sunday the station sees 1 train per hour to London Waterloo via Eastleigh (stopping service) and 1 train per hour to Poole (Fast Service) These times are subject to change and are based on SWRs reduced COVID-19 timetable. Pokesdown usually sees more trains Monday- Friday. Pokesdown has a short platform and can accommodate 5 coaches (442 stock), 9 coaches (444 Stock) or 11 coaches (450 stock) on the Down Platform towards Weymouth and 5 coaches (442 stock), 7 coaches (444 stock) or 9 coaches (450 stock) on the Up Platform towards London Waterloo