Botley railway station

Botley
Botley station (seen from road bridge)
Location	Botley, City of Winchester England
Coordinates	50°55′01″N 1°15′32″W / 50.917°N 1.259°W / 50.917; -1.259Coordinates: 50°55′01″N 1°15′32″W / 50.917°N 1.259°W / 50.917; -1.259
Grid reference	SU521132
Managed by	South Western Railway
Platforms	2
Other information
Station code	BOE
Classification	DfT category F2
History
Opened	29 November 1841
Original company	London and South Western Railway
Pre-grouping	London and South Western Railway
Post-grouping	Southern Railway
Passengers
2016/17	0.164 million
2017/18	0.162 million
2018/19	0.157 million
2019/20	0.137 million
2020/21	34,436
Notes
Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road

Botley Station in 1963

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.

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, with only the main line side in use, 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[]

South Western Railway operate all off-peak services at Botley using Class 444 and 450 EMUs.

The typical off-peak service in trains per hour is:^[4]

• 1 tph to London Waterloo via Basingstoke
• 1 tph to Portsmouth Harbour

During the weekday peak hours, the service is increased to 2 tph.

The station is also served by a single Great Western Railway service from Cardiff Central to Portsmouth Harbour on weekdays only. This service is operated using Class 165 and 166 DMUs.

Preceding station	National Rail			Following station
Hedge End		South Western Railway Eastleigh to Fareham Line		Fareham
		Great Western Railway Eastleigh to Fareham Line Limited Service
	Disused railways
Terminus		London and South Western Railway Bishops Waltham branch		Bishops Waltham (1862-1909) Durley Halt (1909-1933)

References[]

External links[]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Botley railway station.

• Train times and station information for Botley railway station from National Rail