West of England Main Line
Encyclopedia : W : WE : WES : West of England Main Line
| West of England Main Line |
| Principal stations
London Waterloo Clapham Junction Woking Basingstoke (for South Western Main Line) Overton Whitchurch Andover Grateley Salisbury (for Wessex Main Line) Tisbury Gillingham Templecombe Sherborne Yeovil Junction Crewkerne Axminster Honiton Feniton Whimple Pinhoe Exeter Central Exeter St Davids (for Great Western Main Line) |
The West of England Main Line is the from London Waterloo to Exeter.
The main towns served by the route are listed below. The line between London and Basingstoke is shared with the South Western Main Line.
- London Waterloo
- Clapham Junction
- Woking
- Basingstoke
- *Route converges from Reading, diverges to Winchester and Southampton (see South Western Main Line)
- Andover
- Salisbury
- *Route converges from Southampton, diverges to Westbury (see Wessex Main Line)
- Gillingham
- Templecombe
- Yeovil Junction
- Crewkerne
- Axminster
- Honiton
- Exeter St. David's
- *Line continues to Newton Abbot, Paignton and Plymouth (see Great Western Main Line)
Passenger services are currently operated by South West Trains using Class 159 and Class 170/3 trains. Currently trains run half hourly from London to Salisbury, hourly to Yeovil Junction and two hourly to Exeter. There are proposals to double the frequency to Exeter [link]; however, the long single track section between Yeovil and Exeter limits capacity and any increase would require the construction of new passing loops (possibly at Whimple and Axminster, according to local media reports).
The line is not electrified (except for the SWML portion).
Watership Down
The section of line between Overton and Whitchurch plays a significant role in Richard Adams' novel Watership Down. When Holly is recounting to the Watership rabbits how his party had escaped from the Efrafans, he explains as best he can how they ran up on to the embankment, and were terrified by the "fire and smoke and light" of a train, which (as is later revealed) runs over and kills Captain Charlock, the leader of the Efrafan pursuers. Holly cannot comprehend the idea of a train, only managing to tell how it "was full of fire and smoke and light and it roared and beat on the metal lines until the ground shook beneath it." The only explanation he can manage is to say that "Lord Frith sent one of his great Messengers to save us."Later, after Bigwig brings the does and Blackavar out of Efrafa, the gull Kehaar attacks General Woundwort close to a roadless arch carrying the railway across the fields; in the feature film we actually see Kehaar waiting on the track and diving from the bridge itself to attack Woundwort.
See also
- London and South Western Railway for history of the route
| Railway lines in South-East England:''' | ||
|---|---|---|
| Main lines: | Arun Valley Line Ashford via Maidstone East Line Ashford to Ramsgate (via Canterbury West) line>Ashford-Ramsgate via Canterbury Line Brighton Main Line Channel Tunnel Rail Link Chatham Main Line East Coastway Hastings Line Kent Coast Line London–Ashford–Dover Line North Downs Line Portsmouth Direct Line South Western Main Line West Coastway West of England Main Line | |
| Commuter lines: | Alton Line Bexleyheath Line>Bexleyheath Line Caterham Line Catford Loop Dartford Loop Eastleigh-Fareham Line Eastleigh-Romsey Line Hayes Line Hounslow Loop Mid-Kent Line North Kent Line Oxted Line Sheerness Line Slough-Windsor & Eton Line South London Line Staines-Windsor & Eton Line Sutton Mole Valley Line Tattenham Corner Line Waterloo-Reading Line West London Line | |
| Rural lines: | Brockenhurst-Lymington Line Henley Branch Line Island Line Marlow Branch Line Marshlink Line Medway Valley Line Redhill-Tonbridge Line | |
| Railway lines in South-West England and the "Great Western" zone :''' | |
|---|---|
| Main lines: | Cross Country Route (MR)>Cross-Country Route Great Western Main Line Cherwell Valley Line Gloucester-Newport Line Exeter-Paignton "Riviera" Line South Wales Main Line Wessex Main Line West of England Main Line |
| Commuter lines: | Severn Beach Line Slough to Windsor & Eton Line>Slough-Windsor & Eton Line |
| Rural lines: | Exeter-Barnstaple "Tarka" Line Exeter-Exmouth "Avocet" Line Golden Valley Line Heart of Wessex Line Henley Branch Line Looe Valley Line Marlow Branch Line Par-Newquay "Atlantic Coast" Line St Ives Bay Line Tamar Valley Line Truro-Falmouth "Maritime" Line |
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