Brockenhurst railway station

Brockenhurst National Rail

Brockenhurst Railway Station from a pedestrian overbridge. Shows new £4.6 million footbridge (October 2015)
Location
Place Brockenhurst
Local authority District of New Forest
Coordinates 50°48′59″N 1°34′26″W / 50.8164°N 1.5739°W / 50.8164; -1.5739Coordinates: 50°48′59″N 1°34′26″W / 50.8164°N 1.5739°W / 50.8164; -1.5739
Grid reference SU301019
Operations
Station code BCU
Managed by South West Trains
Number of platforms 4
DfT category C2
Live arrivals/departures, station information and onward connections
from National Rail Enquiries
Annual rail passenger usage*
2010/11 Increase 1.355 million
– Interchange  Increase 0.237 million
2011/12 Decrease 1.196 million
– Interchange  Increase 0.245 million
2012/13 Decrease 1.145 million
– Interchange  Increase 0.249 million
2013/14 Increase 1.156 million
– Interchange  Increase 0.253 million
2014/15 Decrease 1.057 million
– Interchange  Increase 0.258 million
History
Original company Southampton and Dorchester Railway
Pre-grouping London and South Western Railway
Post-grouping Southern Railway
1 June 1847 Opened
National Rail – UK railway stations
* Annual estimated passenger usage based on sales of tickets in stated financial year(s) which end or originate at Brockenhurst from Office of Rail and Road statistics. Methodology may vary year on year.
UK Railways portal

Brockenhurst railway station is a railway station serving the village of Brockenhurst in Hampshire, England. It is located on the South Western Main Line from London Waterloo to Weymouth. It is also the junction of the Lymington Branch Line with the main line.

The station was winner of the 2009 National Rail Award for best medium-sized station, with the judges stating they "were impressed by the standard of customer service, station presentation, initiative and innovation they observed, all of which ensure that the station provides a smooth, efficient and pleasant departure and arrival point for the travelling customer".[1][2] The station was also winner of a National Cycling Award, for a system which informs passengers of where cycle spaces are on approaching trains, allowing them to speed boarding, and partnerships with local bike-hire firms.[3]

History

Brockenhurst station was opened on 1 June 1847 as part of the Southampton and Dorchester Railway (nicknamed the Castleman's Corkscrew) with services running to Southampton in one direction and Dorchester via Ringwood and Wimborne Minster the other.[4] The following year, the railway was amalgamated with the London and South Western Railway. On 12 July 1858 the Lymington Branch Line opened, beginning shuttle services between the station and Lymington, turning the station into a junction station and leading to its name being changed between 1876 and 1888 to Brockenhurst Junction to emphasise this.[5]

On 5 March 1888 the direct line from Brockenhurst via Sway to Bournemouth and Poole and bypassing the longer 'Corkscrew', opened to traffic. This massively increased the number of trains passing through the station for both routes and enhancing its status as an interchange, especially after the downgrading of the 'corkscrew' in 1893 to that of a branch line.[6] Brockenhurst station, along with the L&SWR was taken over by Southern Railway in 1923 and under their ownership, the station was extended in 1936 to include two new platforms.[7] Services over the old Southampton and Dorchester line via Ringwood fell victim to the Beeching Axe, ceasing in May 1964. The track through the station was electrified in 1967 and the station saw minor changes as part of British Rail's Network South East region.

In 2014 the station received £4.6 million of government grants as part of the Access for All initiative to replace the footbridge at Brockenhurst with a new bridge complete with lift shafts.[8] Step-free access to platforms 1 and 2 was previously by a rotating turntable bridge across the tracks while step-free access to platforms 3 and 4 was across the track bed itself.[9]

Station layout

The station consists of four platforms, arranged in two island platforms, with a ticket office housed in the main building nearest Platform 1 on the side closest to the village. The platforms, ticket office and car park are all connected by footbridge, with the ticket office at one end and the car park and bicycle hire point at the other end of the walkway.[10]

The station has an unusual luggage traverser bridge, which can be moved out over the track to give access to platform 1 from the ticket hall. It is mainly used for disabled passengers and at peak times for the large flow of students to Brockenhurst College.

A signal box and level crossing is located at the northern end of the station.

Services

Rail

The station is primarily served by South West Trains, who operate fast and semi-fast trains from Waterloo to Weymouth (2tph), stopping services from Waterloo to Poole (1tph), and local stopping services to Lymington Pier (2tph). In addition, CrossCountry operate hourly services from Bournemouth to Manchester Piccadilly via Reading and Birmingham New Street.[11]

Some peak time South West Trains services by-pass the station without stopping.

Preceding station National Rail Following station
Southampton Central   CrossCountry
Bournemouth-Manchester		   Bournemouth
  South West Trains
Waterloo-Weymouth express services		  
Southampton Central   South West Trains
Waterloo-Weymouth semi-fast services		   New Milton
Ashurst New Forest
or Beaulieu Road		   South West Trains
London-Poole		   Sway
Terminus   South West Trains
Lymington Branch Line		   Lymington Town
Historical railways
Terminus   London and South Western Railway
Lymington Branch Line		   Shirley Holms Halt
Terminus   British Rail
Southern Region
Southampton and Dorchester Railway		   Holmsley

Bus

Local bus routes serve the bus stop located outside the ticket hall. There is a year-round Bluestar 6 service to Lymington in the south, Lyndhurst to the north and onward connections to Totton and Southampton.[12] In the summer time, this is supplemented by the seasonal New Forest Tour green and blue routes to Lymington, Beaulieu, Hythe and Lyndhurst and Burley, New Milton, Barton on Sea, Milford on Sea and Lymington.[13][14][15]

Gallery of historic pictures

View from station in 1906 showing the level crossing and signal box.
The station as it was in 1963 with Platforms 1 and 2 on the left, and platforms 3 and 4 on the right.
A class 414 electric at plarform 4 in 1973.
Former footbridge in 2010, now replaced by a modern accessible structure with lifts.

References

  1. ↑ "Tracking Our Performance - Achievement and Awards". Stagecoach. Retrieved 2012-03-25.
  2. ↑ "South West Trains wins top station honour at National Rail Awards". South West Trains. 2009-09-18. Retrieved 2012-03-25.
  3. ↑ "South West Trains rides away with two national cycling awards". South West Trains. Retrieved 2012-03-25.
  4. ↑ Holland, Julian (2011). The Lost Lines Of Britain. Basingstoke: AA. pp. 48–51. ISBN 978-0-7495-6631-9.
  5. ↑ Mitchell, Vic; Smith, Keith (1992). Branch Lines Around Wimborne. Midhurst: Middleton Press. ISBN 0 906520 97 5.
  6. ↑ Holland 2011, p. 50
  7. ↑ Mitchell, Vic; Smith, Keith (1998). South Coast Railways: Southampton to Bournemouth (second ed.). Midhurst: Middleton Press. ISBN 0 906520 42 8.
  8. ↑ "New improved passenger facilities at Brockenhurst station officially opened". South West Trains. South West Trains. Retrieved 29 August 2014.
  9. ↑ "£100 million pounds for accessible stations". rail.co.uk. rail.co.uk. Retrieved 29 August 2014.
  10. ↑ "Brockenhurst (BCU)". National Rail Enquiries. National Rail Enquiries. Retrieved 28 August 2014.
  11. ↑ Table 51 & 158 National Rail timetable, May 2016
  12. ↑ "Bluestar 6". Bluestar. Go South Coast. Retrieved 28 August 2014.
  13. ↑ "Green Route". New Forest Tour. Go South Coast. Retrieved 28 August 2014.
  14. ↑ "Blue Route". New Forest Tour. Go South Coast. Retrieved 28 August 2014.
  15. ↑ "Travel Map". New Forest National Park. New Forest National Park Authority. Retrieved 28 August 2014.

External links

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