Christchurch railway station (England)

Christchurch railway station serves the town of Christchurch in Dorset, England. The station is a stop on the South West Main Line between London Waterloo and Weymouth. It is located 104 mi down the line from Waterloo, with services currently operated by South Western Railway

History
The original Christchurch station was opened on 13 November 1862 by the Ringwood, Christchurch and Bournemouth Railway; it was sited to the east of Fairmile Road.

Becoming part of the London and South Western Railway, it gained a presence on the South West Main Line. This first station was closed on 30 May 1886 and was replaced by a station at its current site.

In 1935, the branch from Christchurch to Ringwood was closed.

The main line was electrified in 1967, when faster and more frequent services were introduced.

Location
As well as serving the town of Christchurch, the station is useful for reaching eastern parts of Bournemouth

Road access to the station is from two directions:
 * The northern end of Stour Road, near to the junction with Bargates coming from the town centre
 * At the end of Fairmile, coming from the direction of Bournemouth International Airport and the Wessex Way.

Services


All passenger trains serving this station are operated by South Western Railway, which provides the following off-peak services in both directions:
 * Monday - Friday
 * 1 train per hour between Weymouth, Poole, Bournemouth and London Waterloo, semi-fast
 * 1 train per hour between Bournemouth and Winchester, stopping
 * these services join / split at Southampton Central from the fast Weymouth service, giving an additional service each hour for London at peak times
 * Saturday
 * 1 train per hour between Weymouth and London Waterloo, semi-fast
 * 1 train per hour between Poole and Winchester, stopping
 * Sunday
 * 1 train per hour between Poole and London Waterloo, stopping

Trains are usually formed by Class 444 Desiro electric multiple units.