Ringwood, Christchurch and Bournemouth Railway

Ringwood, Christchurch
& Bournemouth Railway
Ringwood
Avon Lodge
Hurn
Christchurch
(original)
Christchurch
Pokesdown
Boscombe
Bournemouth East
(original)
Bournemouth East

The Ringwood, Christchurch and Bournemouth Railway was a railway company formed to link Christchurch and Bournemouth, England, to the London and South Western Railway's Southampton and Dorchester line at Ringwood. The RC&BR opened in 1862 from Christchurch to Ringwood, and was extended to Bournemouth in 1870, sharing in the growing popularity of the town. However the route was circuitous, and the London and South Western Railway opened a shorter route between Brockenhurst and Christchurch via Sway in 1888, making the Ringwood to Christchurch section a branch line.

A feature of the line was that a landowner had the right to stop any train at a private station, a fact that became an embarrassment when express trains started to operate.

The section from Ringwood to Christchurch closed in 1935, but the Christchurch to Bournemouth section remains as part of the South West Main Line.