The South Western Mainline, is a British mainline set in the south west of England that starts in the heart of London at Waterloo, and runs down to the south west coast at Weymouth, passing through major towns and cities. It is 142 miles in length. Today I will be suggesting the part of the Mainline between Waterloo and Portsmouth. The route length sits at about 69 miles from point to point, making it the 3rd longest uk route (overall) and 2nd longest point to point UK route, and the 5th longest route in Train Sim World 4. There are 34 stations on the route making it a very good choice of route for a variety of commuter, regional and passenger express services, as well as the large freight yards and movements making it good for freight movements and allowing the 66 to be reused. TSC example signalling systems include a 4 aspect BR signal and the track is 750v dc electrified Major Stations on the Line 1. London Waterloo: this is the penultimate stop on the route. Located in the heart of London, it is the northern terminal of the south western mainline. Fun fact: Waterloo has the highest number of platforms in the UK sitting at 24 platforms. it serves places such as Portsmouth, Reading, Weymouth, Southampton, Windsor, Alton, Exeter, etc. 2. Vauxhall: Located 1 mile away from Waterloo, this is a huge hub stop and the second station on the line, it is the second stop for slower inner city commuters and shorter distance services, but it isn’t served by faster longer distance servixes 3. Clapham Junction: Clapham Junction is the UKs busiest station, it is also where the line splits up and the mainline turns southward while the lines towards Staines head westwards, it is also the start of the Kingston loop. It is served by Southwest Trains and GX and southern. At this station, owners of the Brighton Mainline should have access to AI 377s and 387s to populate Clapham 4. Wimbledon: as the mainline heads further south westerly we are greeted by Wimbledon. Wimbledon is the most south-westerly part and is the southern end of London. It is a through station for faster non stop services and is a stopping point for slower services. 5. Woking: Woking is located in Surrey. Woking station is a significant railway hub located in Surrey, England, and serves as a key interchange for various rail routes, including the South West Main Line, Portsmouth Direct Line, Exeter lines and lines to London Waterloo and beyond. It is the first stopping point for fast services from Waterloo. 6. Guildford: Guildford station is a major railway hub situated in Surrey, England. It is strategically positioned on the Portsmouth Direct Line and serves as a crucial point on the South West Main Line. Guildford handles a mix of commuter trains to London and long-distance services to destinations like Portsmouth, Reading, and Gatwick Airport. 7. Havant: Havant is a Junction station on the mainline. It is where the west coastway joins up with the Portsmouth direct line, it is also a triangle junction with the line off to Southampton. 8.Portsmouth Harbour: Portsmouth Harbor is primarily served by South Western Railway. Trains run from Portsmouth Harbor to various destinations, including London Waterloo, Southampton, Bournemouth, and Weymouth. These services provide both commuter and long-distance travel options. it is also served by great western railway services that run up to Wales and is served by west coastway southern services. Trains to be used Class 444s Class 450s Class 455s Class 158s Miscellaneous
Would be fantastic, but likely still too complex a project for TSW just yet. BML was pushing the limits and this route is nearly one third larger. Something like Portsmouth to Southampton or a western segment of the south west main line might be more reasonable. Definitely would like to see a Desiro if we ever get another southern region route however!
Great suggestion however as Alex says above, it is too long for a distance spanning London (Waterloo) to Weymouth Personally, I would do Portsmouth to Southampton or Southampton to Bournemouth like in TSC to capture the then-SWT network
In real life. South West Trains does not exist. Would love the 455 to be added to Portsmouth Direct and Brighton Mainline. Actually it will be the third longest UK Route unlike LNER and Southeastern Routes. But they cannot do the 455 because it already got scrapped
Oh no I just used Weymouth as a general explanation of the mainline, I suggested Waterloo to Portsmouth as like the actual core
Should it include the Windsor and Reading lines too? I mean it would create some interesting scenarios for SWML diversions and some occasional freight diversions from the GWML.
It would be nice to see this route and to finally have more activity around Clapham Junction which currently feels deserted.
Excellent idea overall and remember some services are actually a combined 444 450 formation. For a Poole/Weymouth service drive them far as Woking.
This would be awesome. Given that London Commuter/BML is one of the most popular routes in TSW, I think Waterloo-Portsmouth is the obvious choice for a "London Commuter 2". Bigger/longer yes, but certainly doable looking at BML and SEHS, and about time Dovetail or a 3PD committed to a more ambitious project for once. I think this is the sort of route that players want if you look at the popularity of BML. A decent long end-to-end route, mix of fast and slow services, plus loads of options for London commuting (Hampton Court, Guildford, Woking). If they included the New Guildford Line through Effingham that would be amazing too. PDL was and is a favourite in TSC but it has got some major issues - it deserves a proper TSW rendition.
They would need to do all 3 variants of the 455 that SWR have otherwise theres gonna be a shortage of trains lol
I’d throw my vote in for PDL as well. It was a great route in TSC and has a number of interesting service patterns that would suit TSW well too. If Waterloo - Portsmouth is indeed too much for TSW to handle then even Waterloo - Guildford would capture a lot of variation in service patterns. Perhaps Waterloo - Haslemere would be an option too as I know some services terminate there. I’ve just spent some vacation in southern England with a few day trips into London on this line so it’s fresh in my head
maybe getting off topic for this post, but I believe I read that there are efforts happening to renationalize British rail by not renewing operating licenses? Maybe that will make life easier for DTG in the future. Unfortunate if they can’t get a southwest license now since they were able to make a SWT addon previously.
