View source for Bournemouth railway station

{{Short description|Railway station in Dorset, England}}
{{See also|Bournemouth West railway station}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2021}}
{{more citations needed|date=December 2024}}
{{Infobox station
| name               = Bournemouth
| symbol_location    = gb
| symbol             = rail
| image              = Bournemouth Central-8309.jpg
| borough            = [[Bournemouth]], [[Dorset]],
| country            = England
| grid_name          = [[Ordnance Survey National Grid|Grid reference]]
| grid_position      = {{gbmapscaled|SZ096919|25|SZ096919}}
| manager            = [[South Western Railway]]
| platforms          = 4
| code               = BMH
| classification     = [[United Kingdom railway station categories|DfT category]] C1
| pregroup           = [[London and South Western Railway]]
| postgroup          = [[Southern Railway (Great Britain)|Southern Railway]]
| years              = 20 July 1885
| events             = Opened as ''Bournemouth East''
| years2             = 1 May 1899
| events2            = Renamed ''Bournemouth Central''
| years3             = 10 July 1967
| events3            = Renamed ''Bournemouth''
| mpassengers        = <!--{{Rail pass box |pass_year=2017/18 |passengers={{decrease}} 2.722 million |interchange={{pad|1em}}{{decrease}} 68,830}}
{{Rail pass box |pass_year=2018/19 |passengers={{increase}} 2.752 million |interchange={{pad|1em}}{{decrease}} 48,752}}-->
{{Rail pass box |pass_year=2019/20 |passengers={{decrease}} 2.526 million |interchange={{pad|1em}}{{increase}} 64,754}}
{{Rail pass box |pass_year=2020/21 |passengers={{decrease}} 0.698 million |interchange={{pad|1em}}{{decrease}} 13,233}}
{{Rail pass box |pass_year=2021/22 |passengers={{increase}} 2.010 million |interchange={{pad|1em}}{{increase}} 39,650}}
{{Rail pass box |pass_year=2022/23 |passengers={{increase}} 2.430 million |interchange={{pad|1em}}{{increase}} 48,487}}
{{Rail pass box |pass_year=2023/24 |passengers={{increase}} 2.521 million |interchange={{pad|1em}}{{increase}} 62,051}}
| footnotes          = Passenger statistics from the [[Office of Rail and Road]]
}}
{{Bournemouth Lines|collapse=yes}}

'''Bournemouth railway station''' serves the seaside town of [[Bournemouth]], in [[Dorset]], [[England]].  It was known previously as '''Bournemouth East''' (1885 to 1899) and then '''Bournemouth Central''' (1899 to 1967). It has long been treated as an obligatory principal stop on the [[South West Main Line]] between [[London Waterloo railway station|London Waterloo]] and [[Weymouth railway station|Weymouth]]. It is {{convert|108|mi|2|chain|km}} down the main line from Waterloo<ref name="chains" group="note">Railways in the United Kingdom historically are measured in miles and [[Chain (unit)|chain]]s. There are 80 chains to one mile.</ref> and is situated between {{rws|Pokesdown}} and {{rws|Branksome}}.

A previous incarnation of Bournemouth East station was on another site. [[Turnstile|Ticket barriers]] were installed in 2008 and [[British Transport Police]] have a Bournemouth office at the station which acts as a regional hub.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.southwesttrains.co.uk/SWTrains/TravelInformation/Safety+and+security/ |title=South West Trains > Rail Community Officers |access-date=2008-12-14 |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081217075625/http://www.southwesttrains.co.uk/SWTrains/TravelInformation/Safety%2Band%2Bsecurity/ |archive-date=17 December 2008 }}</ref>

== History ==
[[File:Bournemouth Central 2 Station 1861518 0b641180.jpg|thumb|Looking eastward in 1963]]

The station was designed by William Jacob, chief engineer of the [[London and South Western Railway]], and opened on 20 July 1885 as ''Bournemouth East''; it replaced [[Bournemouth East railway station (Ringwood, Christchurch and Bournemouth Railway)|the original station of the same name]] on the other side of Holdenhurst Road from 1870 to 1885.<ref>[http://www.semgonline.com/location/bomo2.html "Bournemouth Central – History"] semgonline.com</ref> The station was sited over {{cvt|0.62|mi|km|0}} from the town centre, on the insistence of town authorities of the time. 

It was renamed ''Bournemouth Central'' on 1 May 1899 and became ''Bournemouth'' on 10 July 1967, following the closure of [[Bournemouth West railway station|Bournemouth West]]. By 1967, third rail electrification had reached Bournemouth and continued beyond to [[Branksome railway station|Branksome]] and [[Bournemouth Train & Rolling Stock Maintenance Depot]] but no further. From the end of the steam era, most trains were formed of [[British Rail Class 432|4REP]] [[Electric multiple unit|EMU]]s coupled up with one or more unpowered [[British Rail Class 438|4TC]] units.  The 4TC units would be uncoupled at Bournemouth and attached to a [[British Rail Class 33|Class 33/1]] diesel locomotive for the onward journey to [[Weymouth railway station|Weymouth]]. This continued until the electrification of the line from Branksome to Weymouth and the introduction of [[British Rail Class 442|Class 442]] units in 1988. The end of steam also saw the removal of the station's centre tracks which ran between the up and down lines serving platforms 2 and 3 respectively and the demolition of the locomotive sheds to the west; the station car park took over their site.

The station roof was severely damaged by the [[Great Storm of 1987]] that hit the South of England. It was extensively refurbished in 2000 by [[Railtrack]] after many years of disrepair and being surrounded by scaffolding to protect people from falling debris.

[[Turnstile|Ticket barriers]] were installed in 2008.

Bournemouth railway station was once served by services and goods deliveries across five railways, the [[South West Main Line]], [[Southampton and Dorchester Railway]], [[Ringwood, Christchurch and Bournemouth Railway]], [[Salisbury and Dorset Junction Railway]] and [[Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway]].

===Motive power depot===
[[File:Bournemouth Central railway station 2115342 984e330b.jpg|thumb|BR Standard 5MT 4-6-0 No. 73110 approaching the station 10 May 1958. The depot is visible behind the locomotive]]

A small locomotive depot was opened at Bournemouth East in 1870, but closed in 1883.<ref>{{cite book | last = Griffiths | first = Roger |author2=Paul Smith | title =The directory of British engine sheds  | publisher =Oxford Publishing Co | volume =1 | year =1999 | location =Oxford | pages =50 | isbn = 0-86093-542-6 }}</ref> This was replaced by a larger shed, adjacent to Bournemouth Central station, in 1883. This, in turn, was supplemented by another shed nearby in 1888. 

In 1921, the 1883 shed was closed and the 1888 one was extended to increase capacity; between 1936 and 1938 this was rebuilt and enlarged. The new shed included a {{convert|65|ft|abbr=on}} [[Railway turntable|turntable]] and a {{convert|50|lt|abbr=on}} hoist. However the facilities remained cramped and awkwardly sited; there were proposals to move the depot to [[Branksome railway station|Branksome]] which were never implemented. This site therefore remained in use until June 1967 when the site was cleared.<ref>{{cite book | last =Hawkins | first =Chris |author2=George Reeve | title =An historical survey of Southern sheds | publisher =Oxford Publishing Co  | year =1979 | location =Oxford | pages =15 | isbn =0-86093-020-3 }}</ref>

===Recent service history===
In May 1994, [[Network SouthEast]] extended its service [[London Victoria railway station|London Victoria]] to [[Southampton Central railway station|Southampton Central]] service to terminate at Bournemouth.<ref>Network SouthCentral goes west ''[[Rail (magazine)|Rail]]'' issue 230 6 July 1994 page 19</ref> It was truncated back to Southampton Central in the 2000s by [[Southern (train operating company)|Southern]]. The service was one of the few regular services to use platform 1.

Before the [[CrossCountry]] service was standardised in 2007, there were services to many other destinations than today; these included the ''Dorset Scot'', ''[[Pines Express]]'', ''Wessex Scot'' and other trains to Scotland via both the [[West Coast Main Line]] and [[East Coast Main Line]], along with trains to {{rws|Leeds}} and to {{rws|Liverpool Lime Street}}.

===Accidents and incidents===
On 2 September 1961, a train hauled by [[SR West Country and Battle of Britain classes|SR West Country Class]] [[4-6-2]] No. 34045 ''Ottery St. Mary'' was derailed by trap points at the west end of the down platform.<ref name=Trevena2>{{cite book |last=Trevena |first=Arthur |title=Trains in Trouble: Vol. 2. |year=1981 |publisher=Atlantic Books |location=Redruth |isbn=0-906899 03 6 |page=42 }}</ref>

== Layout ==
[[File:View from the footbridge at Bournemouth Railway Station..jpg|thumb|View from the footbridge, looking in the direction of London]]

The station has four platforms:
* Platform 1: east facing [[bay platform]] capable of accommodating trains of up to four 20-metre coaches. As of April 2024, trains to Winchester depart from this platform.
* Platform 2: for through services to the east towards Southampton and London Waterloo.
* Platform 3: for terminating services from London Waterloo and Manchester Piccadilly, and through services to Weymouth.
* Platform 4: rarely used by trains in passenger service.

Platforms 3 and 4 are continuous and both can accommodate full-length trains. This means that Bournemouth has one of the longest platforms in the country; other stations with this arrangement include [[Gloucester railway station|Gloucester]], [[Cambridge railway station|Cambridge]], [[Bristol Temple Meads railway station|Bristol Temple Meads]] and [[Edinburgh Waverley railway station|Edinburgh Waverley]].

The station is fully accessible, with an underpass connecting platforms 2 and 3.<ref>{{cite web |title=Bournemouth |url=https://images.nationalrail.co.uk/e8xgegruud3g/5Wu8fWv3MioVYkQNF4TIph/7ec578af6ed16764edef936cc32c872d/Bournemouth_station_map.jpg |website=National Rail |access-date=18 April 2024}}</ref>

== Services ==
[[File:Bournemouth 221131.jpg|thumb|A CrossCountry service]]
The station is primarily served by two [[train operating companies]]:
* [[South Western Railway]] provides fast and semi-fast trains between {{rws|London Waterloo}} and {{rws|Weymouth}} or {{rws|Poole}}, and stopping services between {{rws|Winchester}} and Bournemouth.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Timetables |work=South Western Railway |date=2 June 2024 |access-date=23 July 2024 |url= https://www.southwesternrailway.com/plan-my-journey/timetables |quote=}}</ref>
* [[CrossCountry]] operates services between Bournemouth and {{rws|Manchester Piccadilly}}, via {{rws|Reading}} and {{rws|Birmingham New Street}}.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Train Timetables |work=CrossCountry |date=2 June 2024 |access-date=23 July 2024 |url= https://www.crosscountrytrains.co.uk/travel-updates-information/train-timetables |quote=}}</ref>

As of 2024, the typical off peak stopping pattern at the station is as follows:

* Monday to Saturday:
** 2 tph to London Waterloo (1 fast, 1 semi-fast)
** 2 tph to Weymouth (1 non-stop to Poole, 1 calls at all stations)
** 1 tph to Poole (stopping)
** 1 tph to Winchester (stopping)
** 1 tph to Manchester Piccadilly

* Sunday:
** 2 tph to London Waterloo (1 fast, 1 semi-fast)
** 1 tph to Weymouth (calling at all stations except Holton Heath)
** 1 tph to Poole (fast)
** 1 tph to Manchester Piccadilly

{{rail start}}
{{rail line|previous=[[Brockenhurst railway station|Brockenhurst]] or [[Southampton Central railway station|Southampton Central]]|next=''Terminus''|route=[[CrossCountry]]<br /><small>Manchester–Bournemouth</small> |col={{XC colour}} }}
{{rail line|previous=[[Pokesdown railway station|Pokesdown]] or [[New Milton railway station|New Milton]] or [[Brockenhurst railway station|Brockenhurst]]|route=[[South Western Railway (train operating company)|South Western Railway]]<br /><small>[[South West Main Line|London–Weymouth]]</small>|next=[[Branksome railway station|Branksome]] or [[Poole railway station|Poole]]|col={{SWR colour}} }}
{{Historical Rail Insert}} 
{{Rail line |next={{rws|Meyrick Park Halt}}<br /><small>Line open, station closed</small> |col={{LSWR colour}} |route=[[London and South Western Railway]]<br /><small>[[Southampton and Dorchester Railway]]</small> |previous={{rws|Boscombe}}<br /><small>Line open, station closed</small>}}
{{s-end}}

==Connections==
Bournemouth railway station also serves as a hub for local bus services. The [[rail direction|down]] side of the station is Bournemouth Travel Interchange is served by [[Morebus]], which operates frequent buses to the town centre, to [[Poole Bus Station]] and to [[Bournemouth Airport]]. It is also a stop on [[National Express Coaches|National Express]] coach routes which serve the town.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Stops in Bournemouth |url=https://bustimes.org/localities/bournemouth |website=Bustimes.org |access-date=23 July 2024}}</ref>

== Notes ==
{{reflist|group=note}}

== References ==
{{Commons category|Bournemouth railway station}}
{{Reflist}}

{{coord|50.728|N|1.864|W|type:railwaystation_region:GB|display=title}}
{{Dorset railway stations}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bournemouth Railway Station}}
[[Category:Railway stations in Bournemouth]]
[[Category:Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1885]]
[[Category:Former London and South Western Railway stations]]
[[Category:Railway stations served by CrossCountry]]
[[Category:Railway stations served by South Western Railway]]
[[Category:1885 establishments in England]]
[[Category:DfT Category C1 stations]]