Fawley railway station

Fawley railway station was the terminus of the Totton, Hythe and Fawley Light Railway, which was built along the coast of Southampton Water to connect Totton and Fawley and to provide a freight link from the South Western Main Line to Fawley Refinery.

Fawley
Private charter train at Fawley, 23 April 1978
Location	Fawley, New Forest England
Coordinates	50.83504°N 1.35387°W
Platforms	1
Other information
Status	Disused
History
Original company	Totton, Hythe and Fawley Light Railway
Post-grouping	Southern Railway Southern Region of British Railways
Key dates
20 July 1925	Opened
14 February 1966	Closed (passenger)
2 January 1967	Closed (general goods) but remained open for oil traffic
1 September 2016	Closed (oil)

History

The station opened on 20 July 1925 and closed to passengers on 14 February 1966 and goods on 2 January 1967.[1]

Present situation

In June 2009 the Association of Train Operating Companies published a report (Connecting Communities: Expanding Access to the Rail Network) strongly indicating that the reopening of Hythe station, to serve the village of Hythe, north of Fawley, would be viable, in that the ratio of business, economic and social benefits to costs would be as high as 4.8.[2][3] However the ATOC report did not suggest any passenger service for Fawley, or anywhere south of Hythe.

The last train serving the refinery ran on 1 September 2016,[4] after which trains would run only as far as Marchwood.

Proposed reopening

In August 2018, it was revealed that plans to reopen the Fawley Branch Line had been resurrected as part of the redevelopment known as Fawley Waters. It proposed a half-hourly service on a Monday to Saturday from Southampton Central to Fawley. At Marchwood the journey time would take 12 minutes and the linespeed would be 60 mph (97 km/h). Fawley station, if reopened, would be known as Hythe & Fawley Parkway which would serve both Hythe and Fawley.[5] The line has been identified as a priority for reopening to passenger use by Campaign for Better Transport.[6]

Route

Preceding station	Historical railways			Following station
Hardley Halt		Southern Region of British Railways Fawley Branch Line		Terminus

References

1. "Disused Stations". Subterranea Britannica.
2. "BBC NEWS - England - Operators call for new rail lines". BBC News. 15 June 2009. Retrieved 15 June 2009.
3. "Connecting Communities – Expanding Access to the Rail Network" (PDF). London: Association of Train Operating Companies. June 2009. p. 18. Retrieved 7 September 2018.
4. "Hampshire railway history hits buffers after branch line between Totton and Fawley closes". Southern Daily Echo. 1 September 2016. Retrieved 1 September 2016.
5. RAIL Issue 859 p.24
6. "Reopen these rail lines and put 500,000 people in reach of the railways". Campaign for Better Transport.