Portsmouth Harbour Station is situated on a pier in Portsmouth Harbour in between Gunwharf Quays and the Royal Navy Historic Dockyard. The station is at the end of the Portsmouth Direct Line from London Waterloo and has interchange with ferries to the Isle of Wight (and the Island Line of course) and Gosport. It is also the terminus of the West Coastway Line and services from Cardiff Central.
Southern 377 161 at Portsmouth Harbour
Information
Type:
National Rail (Portsmouth Direct Line)
Station code:
PMH
Opened:
1876
Platforms:
4
The station was opened in 1876 as the terminus of the Portsmouth Direct Line from London Waterloo. Services from Waterloo still form the bulk of traffic though there are also regular services from Cardiff and along the coast. South Western Railway, Southern and Great Western Railway currently serve the station which has four active platforms (and one disused).
The station was rebuilt in 1936-7 [2], however this new station did not last long. The station's proximity to military targets meant it suffered badly in the Second World War from German bombs in early 1941. The station was badly damaged in a raid on the night of January 11th which saw thirteen cars from stabled EMUs destroyed and the platform structures burnt out. One platform was restored to use but the rest of the station remained unavailable until 1946 [1].
Southern 377 153 and SWT 450 105
FGW 158 953
Two SWT trains
377 161 arrives
[1] David Brown, Southern Electric Vol 2 (Capital Transport, 2010) p. 47
[2] Vic Mitchell & Keith Smith, Woking to Portsmouth (Middleton Press, 1985) Fig. 117
