At Salisbury, the Great Western Railway (GWR) line from Westbury and Bristol had its own terminus: the L&SWR continued the route southeast towards Southampton. This route is known nowadays as the Wessex Main Line.
To Sidmouth from Sidmouth Junction (also alternative route to Exmouth)
To Exmouth from Exmouth Junction near Exeter
The Beeching Report identified the duplication of routes from London to the West Country, therefore British Rail downgraded the line in 1967 by reducing long sections west of Salisbury to single track.[1] This restricts the number of trains on this section, but passing loops have been added to alleviate this.
Network Rail splits the line into two sections: the first section from the line's start at Worting Junction to Wilton Junction (near Salisbury) is classified as "London & SE commuter", while the section from Wilton Junction to Exeter is a "secondary" route. The secondary route west of Salisbury is predominantly single track, but has three sections of double track and four passing loops.[2] The double track sections and passing loops are: a loop just outside Tisbury station, a loop at Gillingham station, double track from Templecombe to Yeovil Junction, a loop at the former Chard Junction station, 3 miles of double track centred on Axminster, a loop at Honiton station, and double track from Pinhoe to Exeter.
The line's speed limit is mainly 80–90mph over its whole length from Basingstoke to Exeter.[3] Speed is further limited around the junctions. The first section to Wilton Junction has a listed line speed of 50–90mph, and the secondary section to Exeter has a line speed of mainly 85mph with parts at 70mph.[2]
Worting Junction
When the line was first opened in 1854, Worting Junction was constructed as a flat junction.[4] This required that down trains heading west and up trains from Southampton cross each other's paths. Initially this was not a great problem, however as traffic and speeds increased the junction became a bottleneck. To relieve this, a flying junction was provided to the south, opening on 30 May 1897. This changed the arrangement so that up trains from Southampton line now crossed over the up and down Salisbury lines on Battledown Flyover, 3+1⁄4 miles west of Basingstoke.
North of Worting Junction, stopping services to/from London Waterloo and CrossCountry services to/from the North of England via Reading use the outer pair of tracks, while express services to/from London Waterloo use the inner pair of tracks. The inner pair of tracks are unelectrified through the junction and continue towards the west to Salisbury and Exeter.
Current operations
Passenger services are operated by South Western Railway using Class 159 and Class 158 trains. They generally run half-hourly from London to Salisbury and hourly to Exeter, calling at Clapham Junction and/or Woking and then most stations between Basingstoke and Exeter St Davids, although some smaller stations east of Salisbury and near Exeter have a reduced service.[5][6]
The 2006 Network Rail South West Main Line Route Utilisation Strategy recommended building an extended section of double track from Chard Junction to Axminster, and a passing loop at Whimple. However, Network Rail's 2008 Route Plan[7] was silent on the Whimple loop. The Axminster Loop is centred on Axminster station, and does not extend to Chard Junction as originally proposed. The line between Basingstoke, Salisbury and Exeter is not electrified.
The Railway Handbook ... Railway Publishing Company Limited. 1945. p.16. ... the railway to Southampton at Worting Junction, near Basingstoke, and was opened to Andover in 1854, to Salisbury in ...
Johnston, Howard (22 April – 5 May 1998). "Unlocking the potential to Exeter". RAIL. No.329. EMAP Apex Publications. pp.20–24. ISSN0953-4563. OCLC49953699.