Havant railway station

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Havant
Location
Place	Havant
Local authority	Havant
Operations
Station code	HAV
Managed by	South West Trains
Platforms in use	2
Live departures and station information from National Rail
Annual Rail Passenger Usage
2004/05 *	1.912 million
2005/06 *	1.944 million
History
Key dates	Opened 15 March 1847
National Rail - UK railway stations
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
* Annual passenger usage based on sales of tickets in stated financial year(s) which end or originate at Havant from Office of Rail Regulation statistics.
UK Railways Portal

Havant railway station is a railway station near Portsmouth.

It is located on the Portsmouth Direct Line which runs between London (London Waterloo) and Portsmouth (Portsmouth Harbour). Havant is served by trains operated by South West Trains, Southern, and First Great Western.

Contents 1 Services 2 History 3 Recent changes 3.1 The last 'fast' track & other changes 3.2 Next change planned 4 The "Battle of Havant" 5 Off Peak and Super Off Peak Servce Times 6 Gallery 7 Notes

[edit] Services

Havant is a junction station and provides passengers with an interchange between the West Coastway line and the Portsmouth Direct Line. It therefore has services to Portsmouth, London Waterloo, London Victoria via Gatwick Airport, Brighton, Southampton and less frequent long-distance services to Wales and the west country. As of 9th December 2007, South West Trains no longer serve the Brighton Line with the dominant train operator on this route, Southern, reworking its Coastway timetable to accommodate the move. A new service is also provided by First Great Western to and from Great Malvern. Cross Country services also divert via Guildford and Havant (but do not stop) when the Winchester line is closed due to engineering works.

[edit] History

Referring to the main picture, the gap between the left two tracks was once occupied by another fast track. This four track arrangement was once typical for less well-used stations. Over time, as Havant grew in population, the usage of the station grew. It is now served by all passenger services.

This is the third station to be named Havant. The first was built by the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway (LBSCR) 500 m to the east - a small wayside station (called Havant Halt). It was demolished after a serious fire. A newer station was built 200 m west to serve the then new London and South Western Railway (LSWR) Portsmouth Direct Line. This station was demolished so that a bigger station could be built 300 m further west to serve the new Hayling Island branch line^[1]. It had three platforms, one for Hayling Island^[2] and two for the stopping main line services. Many years ago, the Hayling Island tracks were removed and replaced with a car park and a fence on the south side of the platform^[3].

For many years the station had four tracks, two for slow trains and two inner lines for fast trains. The northernmost of the two fast tracks (as mentioned above) has now been removed. The remaining fast (through) track was removed in late 2006. Judging by the new track layout east of the station, this arrangement seems to be permanent.

[edit] Recent changes

Since July 2006, the Hayling Island platform face no longer exists and a new cycle centre has been built in place of the former platform. A new station name pole has been erected at the position also. As well as these, most of the signs within the station have also been changed and new seats have been installed on the platforms. This is in line with commitments made in the current South West Trains franchise. The signs are in the more traditional style (as seen at Clapham Junction, Wimbledon and across the Southern Railway network).

There has been some discussion about putting a third (terminating) platform in the gap, however this would have to be very short and narrow. There has also been discussion about reinstating the Hayling Island platform, and even the whole Hayling Island branch. Both of these proposals have now been completely abandoned.^[4]

[edit] The last 'fast' track & other changes

The fast southbound through track was removed in December 2006 and both the entry and exit from the southbound platform were straightened out to allow a quicker entry and exit speed. New crossovers were put in place to allow bi-directional working on both platforms. From west to east the new layout will be: new NB->SB crossover, new SB->NB crossover, existing road bridge, platforms, new NB->SB crossover, existing SB->NB crossover, level crossing. The level crossing was also resurfaced and new crossing gates installed

[edit] Next change planned

The footbridge is to be modified, and new lifts installed on each platform to allow Disabled Access under DDA. A new set of barriers is also being considered for the upside platform, when the upside frontage is redesigned.

[edit] The "Battle of Havant"

The "Battle of Havant" took place between the LB&SCR and the L&SWR. The two railway companies fought for the right to use LB&SCR tracks into Havant so the L&SWR could reach Portsmouth. For more details see Denvilles halt.

Such battles were quite common in the United States where they were called frog wars.

[edit] Off Peak and Super Off Peak Servce Times

The Off Peak times start at 8:40am at the station, with trains getting into London Waterloo for 10:00am. The Super Off Peak time starts at 10:40 at the station, with trains getting into London Waterloo for 12:00pm.

Preceding station	National Rail			Following station
Rowlands Castle		South West Trains Portsmouth Direct Line		Bedhampton
Chichester		First Great Western Cardiff-Brighton		Cosham
Warblington		Southern West Coastway Line		Bedhampton
				Cosham Mondays-Saturdays only
Disused Railways
Terminus		Southern Region of British Railways Hayling Island branch line		Langston

[edit] Gallery

Havant1.jpg Hayling Island train arriving into Down Main Platform 22/04/60	Havant2.jpg Locomotive 32661 running round train in bay platform at Havant 22 April 1960

[edit] Notes

• FallingRain Map - elevation = 1m

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