Portsmouth & Southsea railway station

Aerial view of the station in 1946

View of the west end of platforms 2 (left) and 1 (right)

View of the 1980s British Rail era canopy over upper level platforms 1 & 2

View of the surviving Admiralty Line level crossing gates on Edinburgh Road close to Victoria Park.

The station was first opened as Portsmouth on 14 June 1847.[1] It was later renamed Portsmouth Town on 2 October 1876[1] to avoid confusion with other stations in Portsmouth, such as Portsmouth Harbour.

The station's present-day name of Portsmouth & Southsea originates from the closure of the Southsea Railway branch line, which had a terminus station in Southsea named East Southsea from 1885-1914. Competing trams and trolleybuses put the Southsea Railway out of business and it was closed in 1914. Train passengers and tourists bound for Southsea were then diverted to Portsmouth's main railway station, Portsmouth Town which was later renamed Portsmouth & Southsea in 1925.[1] A year later, the town of Southsea became officially integrated into the city of Portsmouth on 21 April 1926. Curiously, the pre city status Portsmouth & Southsea station name was left unchanged and continues to present day.

Portsmouth & Southsea station was once the junction for the Portsmouth Dockyard branch, known as the Admiralty Line. The line branched off from the west end of today's platform 1 and passed through Victoria Park, close to the rear of Stanhope Road, before crossing Bishop Crispian Way via a level crossing (the gates still exist) and entering the naval base at the Unicorn Gate.

Part of the station, specifically the 1980s canopy over high level platforms 1 and 2, is still in its original red Network SouthEast livery. In early 2021 strengthening work was carried on the viaduct that carries two of the stations four platforms.[2]

The station is located on the Portsmouth Direct Line which runs between London Waterloo and Portsmouth Harbour. In addition there are regular services to Cardiff Central, Bristol Temple Meads, Southampton Central, Eastleigh, Woking, Brighton, Gatwick Airport, East Croydon and London Victoria. The station is split into two distinct parts: the high level (one island platform for through trains) and the low level (two bay platforms) where some trains terminate. In addition, Hovertravel run a bus service from Portsmouth & Southsea which connects to their Hovercraft service from Southsea to the Isle of Wight. The IoW terminal is located next to Ryde Esplanade, with a single price ticket for journeys via rail/hover/rail, similar to that provided by Wightlink from Portsmouth Harbour.

The Monday-Saturday off-peak service is:

South Western Railway:

• 3 tph to London Waterloo via Guildford (2 fast, 1 stopping)
• 1 tph to London Waterloo via Basingstoke
• 3 tph to Portsmouth Harbour
• 1 tph to Southampton Central

Southern:

• 1 tph to London Victoria via Horsham
• 1 tph to Littlehampton
• 1 tph to Brighton
• 1 tph to Portsmouth Harbour

Great Western Railway:

• 1 tph to Cardiff Central via Bristol Temple Meads
• 1tph to Portsmouth Harbour

Preceding station	National Rail			Following station
Fratton		South Western Railway Portsmouth Direct Line		Portsmouth Harbour or Terminus
		Southern West Coastway Line
		Great Western Railway West Coastway Line
	Hovercraft services
Terminus		Hovertravel Hovercraft		Ryde Esplanade via Hoverbus

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Portsmouth and Southsea railway station.

• Train times and station information for Portsmouth & Southsea railway station from National Rail