South West Main Line

South West Main Line
A South Western Railway Class 701 approaching Clapham Junction
Overview
StatusOperational
OwnerNetwork Rail
Locale
Termini
Service
TypeMain line
SystemNational Rail
Operator(s)
Depot(s)
Rolling stock
History
Opened1838-1840
Technical
Line length142 miles 64 chains (229.8 km)
Number of tracks
  • 4 (Waterloo–Basingstoke)
  • 2 (Basingstoke–Moreton)
  • 1 (Moreton–Dorchester South)
  • 2 (Dorchester South–Weymouth)
Track gauge1,435 mm (4 ft 8+12 in) standard gauge
ElectrificationThird rail750 V DC
Operating speed100 mph (160 km/h)
Route map

(Click to expand)

The South West Main Line[1] (SWML) is a 143-mile (230 km) major railway line between Waterloo station in central London and Weymouth on the south coast of England. A predominantly passenger line, it serves many commuter areas including south western suburbs of London and the conurbations based on Southampton and Bournemouth. It runs through the counties of Surrey, Hampshire and Dorset. It forms the core of the network built by the London and South Western Railway, today mostly operated by South Western Railway.

Operating speeds on much of the line are relatively high, with large stretches cleared for up to 100 mph (160 km/h) running. The line has four tracks for most of the length between Waterloo and Worting Junction near Basingstoke, from which point most of the line is double track. A couple of miles from the Waterloo terminus, the line runs briefly alongside the Brighton Main Line west branch out of London Victoria, including through Clapham Junction – the busiest station in Europe by railway traffic.[citation needed]

The oldest part of the line, in the London Borough of Lambeth, was used from 1994 to 2007 by Eurostar trains running out of Waterloo International.

  1. ^ "Wessex route". Network Rail. Main railway lines. Retrieved 9 August 2021.