South East Hampshire Bus Rapid Transit

The South East Hampshire Bus Rapid Transit is a 2.8 miles (4.5 km) unguided busway between Gosport and Fareham in the county of Hampshire.

South East Hampshire BRT

An Eclipse BRT bus calls at Gregson Avenue bus stop, as seen from the road bridge over the busway.
Overview
Owner	Hampshire County Council
Locale	Gosport, United Kingdom
Transit type	Guided busway
Website	www.firstgroup.com/portsmouth-fareham-gosport/routes-and-maps/eclipse
Operation
Began operation	22 April 2012
Operator(s)	First Hampshire & Dorset
Technical
System length	2 miles (2.8 km)

Overview

The busway scheme is sponsored by Hampshire County Council using the route of the former Fareham to Gosport Line to reduce congestion on the parallel A32 between the towns.[1] The scheme was proposed following the collapse of the light rail scheme using the same route and funding was approved in July 2009 for the £20m scheme. The route opened on 22 April 2012 with services provided by First Hampshire & Dorset using branded "Eclipse" buses with custom specification on its own network of routes that uses the BRT.

Route

Gosport Eclipse Busway
Fareham–Gosport line Redlands Lane Redlands Lane Palmerston Drive Newgate Lane Hoeford Wych Lane   southbound Gregson Avenue northbound   Cameron Close Brewers Lane Tichborne Way Hutfield Link Fareham–Gosport line

The busway follows the route of the disused railway from Redlands Lane to Tichborne Way. It has 14 stops on the line with two connections in the middle of the line, being Palmerston drive and Wych Lane. It runs under four bridges and passes through three towns. The maximum speed on the road is 40 mph (64 km/h) for all vehicles and has a restricted time between 05:45 and 23:15 where outside those times the busway is closed.

Services

Two existing bus routes were replaced by the new Eclipse Bus Rapid Transit network and one was modified to use part of it. All routes are commercially operated by First Hampshire and Dorset.

Route E1/E2

Inside an Eclipse BRT bus. Note the wood effect flooring.

Buses on routes 86 and 82 became Eclipse routes E1 and E2 and at peak times route 88 (as the X88 service) was diverted to use part of the busway between Wych Lane and Redlands Lane.[2]

The E1 starts at Fareham Bus Station and travels westwards to Fareham station before heading south past Fareham College and joins onto the busway at Redlands Lane. It then continues down the busway until Hutfield Link where it continues down Tichborne way and goes to Elson, Forton and Newton before meeting up at Alverstoke with the E2 and ends at Gosport Bus Station.

The E2 continues a similar path with the E1, starting at Fareham Bus Station however it splits at Tichborne way, heading to Holbrook to continue down the A32, passing Brockhurst, Camdentown and Privett and meets up with the E1 at Alverstoke where it heads to its terminus at Gosport Bus Station.

Inside an Eclipse BRT bus showing the leather seating.

Both of these routes run a 10 minute frequency, or a 5 minute frequency combined between peak times. When the busway is closed during morning and evening times, both routes use the A32 instead until Tichborne Way.[3]

Route 9/9A

On 18 November 2012 service 88 was replaced by the new 9/9A, which was modified to use the busway. This route isn't part of the Eclipse network, hence it doesn't have the custom specification buses put onto the E1/E2 routes.

Both services start at Fareham Bus Station and travels westwards to Fareham station before heading south past Fareham College and joins onto the busway at Redlands Lane. It then continues down the busway until Wych Lane, where it continues down Tukes Avenue going past Bridgemary and Holbrook. The routes split up at Rowner Road with the 9 running along St Nicholas Avenue and Grange Lane and 9A running along Rowner Road and turning into Grange Road. Both routes meet up at Howe Road where they serve the areas of Browndown, Privett and Alverstoke before terminating at Gosport Bus Station.

Both of these routes run a 40 minute frequency, or a 20 minute frequency combined between peak times. When the busway is closed during morning and evening times, both routes use the A32 instead until Wych Lane.[4]

History

In 1998 Hampshire County Council and Portsmouth City Council proposed a Light Rail System to link Fareham and Portsmouth via Gosport.[5] Funding of £170m was approved in 2001 but withdrawn in 2004, a decision that was confirmed in 2006.[6] Following this decision, a cheaper, shorter BRT scheme was proposed which led to the creation of the South East Hampshire Bus Rapid Transit.

Future Proposals

In 2017, the Hampshire County Council announced plans to extend the busway further south. £1.4m was secured in partnership with Portsmouth City Council in March 2019 and later the same year, planning permission was granted to start work. The proposed extension would continue on from Tichborne way and Hutfield Link to Rowner Road (B3334) in Gosport, following the old disused railway. A ramp would be made to link the busway to the Rowner Road bridge.

Once the extension is complete, the busway operator would be expected to create a route to Daedalus, Hampshire and renew its fleet with new high specification, low emission buses.[7]

References

1. "Overview of the BRT scheme". 22 October 2012. Retrieved 3 December 2012.
2. "What is the Eclipse Phase 1 Bus Rapid Transit Network?". 7 June 2012. Retrieved 3 December 2012.
3. "Route E1/E2 Timetable". First Bus. Retrieved 9 January 2021.
4. "Route 9/9A Timetable". First Bus. Retrieved 9 January 2021.
5. "South Hants LRT". November 2004. Retrieved 3 December 2012.
6. "South Hants LRT sunk despite high VfM". 27 July 2006. Retrieved 3 December 2012.
7. "Eclipse Busway - Completion of Phase I". www.hants.gov.uk. Retrieved 9 January 2021.