St Denys railway station
St Denys railway station serves the St Denys and Portswood suburbs of Southampton in Hampshire, England. It is down the line from.
Built in 1865, the station is named after the surrounding area, which in turn is named after the Priory of St Denys, a major landmark in medieval Southampton.
The station is at the site of the junction between the South West Main Line and the West Coastway Line running between Southampton and Portsmouth. It is currently served exclusively by South Western Railway, although historically there were some additional trains operated by Southern. There are four platforms; two on the South West Main line and two on the West Coastway line.
History
The original station was opened by the London and South Western Railway on 1 May 1861 and named Portswood after the small village to the west of the main line. Shortly after, to accommodate the Portsmouth branch line, a new station building was built to the south; the relocated station was opened on 5 March 1866. However to avoid confusion with Portsmouth, the station was renamed to St Denys on 1 January 1876.The station buildings themselves are fine examples of the Victorian Italianate classical style architecture introduced to the LSWR by William Tite. The original 1867 station building on platform 1 is Grade II listed, now privately owned and renamed Drummond House. Platforms 2 and 3 house the waiting room and ticket window, whilst the old station buildings on platform 4 house The Solent Model Railway Group, a local organisation.
Services
All services at St Denys are operated by South Western Railway.The typical off-peak service in trains per hour is:
- 1 tph to
- 1 tph to via
- 1 tph to
- 1 tph to via
Accidents and incidents
- In August 1939, a train overran signals and was derailed by trap points. The accident caused a set of points to move, diverting an approaching boat train. This averted a more serious accident, as wreckage was foul of the route the boat train should have taken.
- On 14 August 1940, a passenger train, hauled by SR Lord Nelson class 4-6-0 No. 860 Lord Hawke, was derailed due to enemy action. A bomb fell on the line ahead of the train, which was unable to stop in time.
- On 29 October 1959, a passenger train, hauled by SR West Country Class 4-6-2 No. 34020 Seaton, overran signals and was derailed by trap points.
- On 12 December 1960, a passenger train, hauled by SR West Country Class 4-6-2 No. 34022 Exmoor, overran signals and was derailed. Two people were injured.
- On 28 February 2022 a scooter was thrown onto the tracks at the station, causing a short circuit with the third rail electrical supply. Eyewitnesses reported that the subsequent electrical arcing caused flames so bright that it "looked like daytime".