Portsmouth Area
| Portsmouth Area | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Description | The West Coastway line between Chichester and Cosham, and the line from Havant to Portsmouth | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Country |  United Kingdom | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Time period | 2022 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Train Operating Company | South Western Railway, Great Western Railway, Southern | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Simulation difficulty |   | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Author | Oxalin | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Website | Portsmouth Area | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rolling Stock | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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This simulation covers the West Coastway line between Chichester and Cosham, as well as the Portsmouth Direct Line between Havant and Portsmouth.
The route between Chichester and Havant was first opened by the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway in March 1847, and onwards to Portsmouth later that year. The London and South Western Railway subsequently opened a route from Fareham to Portcreek Junction (via Cosham) in 1848, and the stretch onto Portsea island came under joint ownership. The Portsmouth Direct Line opened as far as Havant in January 1859, however disagreements between the LBSCR and LSWR meant through trains to Portsmouth were discontinued after several weeks, not returning until August that year.
Services today are operated by South Western Railway to London and Southampton, Southern to London, Southampton, Littlehampton and Brighton, and Great Western Railway to Bristol and Cardiff.
Timetables
Standard Weekday
A timetable for spring 2022 has been included, running from 04:00 until 03:59 the next morning (although only one service operates after about 01:00).
The standard service pattern is as follows:
| Portsmouth Area Weekday Services | |||
| Train Operating Company | Origin | Destination | Frequency (tph) |
| Great Western Railway | Portsmouth Harbour | Bristol Temple Meads / Cardiff Central | 1 |
| South Western Railway | London Waterloo (via Basingstoke) | 1 | |
| London Waterloo (via Guildford) | 1 | ||
| Portsmouth & Southsea | 1 | ||
| Southampton Central | 1 | ||
| Southern | Littlehampton | 1 | |
| Brighton | 1 | ||
| London Victoria | 1 | ||
| Southampton Central | 1 | ||
| Brighton | 1 | ||
Weekend Engineering
Added v1.1.0
A second timetable has been included simulating the engineering works on 3rd April 2022. This included a rare closure of all lines on Portsea island, meaning most services terminated at Havant instead. Being a Sunday, less services are scheduled, but there's still plenty to keep the signaller occupied!
The standard service is below:
| Portsmouth Area Sunday Engineering Services | |||
| Train Operating Company | Origin | Destination | Frequency (tph) |
| South Western Railway | Havant | London Waterloo (via Guildford) | 2 |
| Southern | London Victoria | 1 | |
| Brighton | 1 | ||
| Southampton Central | 1 | ||
Operational Notes
While these are the standard services, it is worth noting that trains can operate to either Portsmouth & Southsea or Portsmouth Harbour throughout the day. Particularly during peak hours, most trains run through to Portsmouth Harbour with only a few terminating at Portsmouth & Southsea. There are also additional services in peak hours that start from other locations, such as Havant.
Several freight services are included throughout the day - passenger services should typically be prioritised over these.
Where a train terminates at a station within the simulation, a suggested platform allocation has been provided in the train description. This is not essential, but it is recommended these are used. If all recommended platform allocations are followed, no trains should get stuck waiting for others. This is especially important at Portsmouth & Southsea, where trains regularly share platforms throughout the day. At Fratton, trains heading for Portsmouth Harbour typically use platform 3 while trains for Portsmouth & Southsea use platform 2, although this is not always the case and either platform can access both destinations if necessary.
Some trains join and split at Portsmouth Harbour and Portsmouth & Southsea - be sure to route the second train onto the back of the correct train already in the station!
Where platform sharing is required, it is advised that the first train to arrive be taken under signaller control once it has become the next service. This allows any subsequent trains to access the platform, using the "calling-on" feature included in the simulator. Remember to return the first train to timetable control before its scheduled departure though!
Be careful to route trains in the correct order. This is particularly important in the Fratton area, with trains entering and exiting the depot, but also at the triangle junction between Cosham, Hilsea and Bedhampton. Some trains to Brighton may stop at every station while others run fast, so the express service will typically be routed in front of the stopper. This should be clear from inspecting the arrival and departure times at the major stations. The junction at Havant is also important - don't give trains a route out of platform 1 towards Brighton too early or you may find the line from Guildford blocked at the wrong time!