Christchurch railway station (England)

For the former railway station, see Christchurch railway station (1862–1886).

Christchurch railway station serves the town of Christchurch in Dorset, England. The station is a stop on the South West Main Line between London Waterloo and Weymouth. It is located 104 miles 28 chains (167.9 km) down the line from Waterloo, with services currently operated by South Western Railway

Christchurch
Station building, seen in 2013
General information
Location	Christchurch, Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole England
Grid reference	SZ152932
Managed by	South Western Railway
Platforms	2
Other information
Station code	CHR
Classification	DfT category D
History
Pre-grouping	London and South Western Railway
Post-grouping	Southern Railway
Key dates
30 May 1886	Opened
Passengers
2018/19	0.523 million
2019/20	0.488 million
2020/21	0.118 million
2021/22	0.338 million
2022/23	0.401 million
Notes Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road

History

The original Christchurch station was opened on 13 November 1862 by the Ringwood, Christchurch and Bournemouth Railway; it was sited to the east of Fairmile Road.

Becoming part of the London and South Western Railway, it gained a presence on the South West Main Line. This first station was closed on 30 May 1886 and was replaced by a station at its current site.^[1]

In 1935, the branch from Christchurch to Ringwood was closed.^[2]

The main line was electrified in 1967, when faster and more frequent services were introduced.

Location

As well as serving the town of Christchurch, the station is useful for reaching eastern parts of Bournemouth

Road access to the station is from two directions:

• The northern end of Stour Road, near to the junction with Bargates coming from the town centre
• At the end of Fairmile, coming from the direction of Bournemouth International Airport and the Wessex Way.

Services

A train from London

All passenger trains serving this station are operated by South Western Railway, which provides the following off-peak services in both directions:^[3]

• Monday - Friday
  • 1 train per hour between Weymouth, Poole, Bournemouth and London Waterloo, semi-fast
  • 1 train per hour between Bournemouth and Winchester, stopping
    • these services join / split at Southampton Central from the fast Weymouth service, giving an additional service each hour for London at peak times
• Saturday
  • 1 train per hour between Weymouth and London Waterloo, semi-fast
  • 1 train per hour between Poole and Winchester, stopping
• Sunday
  • 1 train per hour between Poole and London Waterloo, stopping

Trains are usually formed by Class 444 Desiro electric multiple units.

Preceding station	National Rail			Following station
Hinton Admiral		South Western Railway South West Main Line		Pokesdown
	Disused railways
Hurn Line and station closed		Southern Railway Ringwood, Christchurch and Bournemouth Railway		Terminus

References

1. Quick, M E (2002). Railway passenger stations in England, Scotland and Wales – a chronology. Richmond: Railway and Canal Historical Society. p. 125. OCLC 931112387.
2. Catford, Nick. "Station name:Hurn". Disused Stations. Retrieved 13 July 2024.
3. "Timetables". South Western Railway. 2 June 2024. Retrieved 13 July 2024.

50.738°N 1.785°W / 50.738; -1.785