Fawley Branch freight traffic

Harbornite · 11 Aug 2016

Two questions here.

First, how often do the Marchwood MOD facility's sidings get used? I assume that this will vary depending on Britain's military commitments.

Secondly, I heard that traffic to Fawley Esso will cease on August 25th, with the last freight train running on that date. Can anyone confirm if this is the case?

Cheers.

RailUK Forums

Freightmaster · 11 Aug 2016

Harbornite said:
Two questions here.

First, how often do the Marchwood MOD facility's sidings get used? I assume that this will vary depending on Britain's military commitments.

Typically one/two trains a week, either a trip working from Eastleigh yard
or a 'special' (class 3) through working from Kineton or Longtown

Secondly, I heard that traffic to Fawley Esso will cease on August 25th, with the last freight train running on that date. Can anyone confirm if this is the case?

Correct, although the only remaining traffic is crude oil from Holybourne (Alton);
the last remaining outbound fuel oil traffic finished last year.

MARK

Harbornite · 11 Aug 2016

Freightmaster said:
Typically one/two trains a week, either a trip working from Eastleigh yard
or a 'special' (class 3) through working from Kineton or Longtown

Correct, although the only remaining traffic is crude oil from Holybourne (Alton);
the last remaining outbound fuel oil traffic finished last year.

MARK

Thanks. This is a pity, I hope that the line is retained in case traffic picks up again.

STANDISH · 11 Aug 2016

UK Rail Tours visit the branch on the 5th November

swt_passenger · 12 Aug 2016

Does this mean the Holybourne tanks are going somewhere else? Or does it cease to be a rail served terminal?

montyburns56 · 13 Aug 2016

Harbornite said:
Thanks. This is a pity, I hope that the line is retained in case traffic picks up again.

I don't know if that's likely as most of the oil is now transferred by pipeline just like it is at Stanlow. That's just the way the industry works these days.

Harbornite · 13 Aug 2016

STANDISH said:
UK Rail Tours visit the branch on the 5th November

Ah right.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

montyburns56 said:
I don't know if that's likely as most of the oil is now transferred by pipeline just like it is at Stanlow. That's just the way the industry works these days.

I remember an article in the railway mag which was about petroleum traffic and it painted a grim picture with regards to loss of freight from oil terminals. The cessation of this working isn't really a big surprise.

Paul180 · 13 Aug 2016

swt_passenger said:
Does this mean the Holybourne tanks are going somewhere else? Or does it cease to be a rail served terminal?

The Holybourne tanks are going to cease running. The last train is apparently on the 24th August 2016 and they are moving to pipeline and road transport.

59CosG95 · 14 Aug 2016

Paul180 said:
The Holybourne tanks are going to cease running. The last train is apparently on the 24th August 2016 and they are moving to pipeline and road transport.

I suppose that means the end of freight on the Alton line for the foreseeable future

The Ham · 14 Aug 2016

Although, this means less freight traffic on the two lines, could this mean that there could be scope for more passenger services (either an increase in the Alton line or new services, as are often suggested, for the Fawley line)?

As if IIRC one of the reasons that the Fawley line doesn't have passengers is due to the freight paths that had historicity been required.

NSEFAN · 14 Aug 2016

The Ham said:
Although, this means less freight traffic on the two lines, could this mean that there could be scope for more passenger services (either an increase in the Alton line or new services, as are often suggested, for the Fawley line)?

As if IIRC one of the reasons that the Fawley line doesn't have passengers is due to the freight paths that had historicity been required.

IIRC the Alton line has a couple of daily gaps in the half-hourly service to provide a path for the Holybourne tanks to run? These could now be filled in with passenger services.

Regarding the Fawley line, there was a study done fairly recently which seemed to conclude that it wasn't worth reinstating services to Marchwood and Hythe, as it would abstract from the local buses which would then risk being culled. It seems a shame as the site of Marchwood and Hythe stations are largely intact (especially Marchwood). Fawley would be out of the question as it's in the middle of the oil refinery now.

Edit: this is the report, from 2013, with the following quote.

However, the latent demand in the area, overlayed with existing good provision of public transport (bus / ferry) in the area, is not sufficient to support the service. Should rail services be a strong priority, one of the other public transport modes would need to be sacrificed, and that has a host of political ramifications associated with it.

trainmania100 · 24 Aug 2016

Last freight will be this coming Monday.
Wednesday will run empties to store

marrk · 15 Oct 2016

sad to hear the Esso refinery at Fawley is closing.. i spent many night staring through the windows at the flares lighting up th night sky. happy childhood memories.

Paul180 · 15 Oct 2016

marrk said:
sad to hear the Esso refinery at Fawley is closing.. i spent many night staring through the windows at the flares lighting up th night sky. happy childhood memories.

It is just the rail link which has closed. If you referring to the refinery do you have any links to this please?

jimm · 15 Oct 2016

marrk said:
sad to hear the Esso refinery at Fawley is closing.. i spent many night staring through the windows at the flares lighting up th night sky. happy childhood memories.

The refinery is not closing.

The equipment used at Fawley to empty the oil trains was worn out and Esso didn't want to spend money on renewing it when the supply from Holybourne was a tiny proportion of the crude oil that is processed there.

Class 170101 · 15 Oct 2016

The Ham said:
Although, this means less freight traffic on the two lines, could this mean that there could be scope for more passenger services (either an increase in the Alton line or new services, as are often suggested, for the Fawley line)?

As if IIRC one of the reasons that the Fawley line doesn't have passengers is due to the freight paths that had historicity been required.

I doubt it would get a through service to London except in the peaks (portion working) even if it was electrified due to capacity constraints on the SWML and at Waterloo but given issues with Third Rail extensions, as discussed elsewhere, I cannot see that being likely.

Local DMU only therefore to / from Southampton Central I would have thought.

swt_passenger · 16 Oct 2016

Class 170101 said:
I doubt it would get a through service to London except in the peaks (portion working) even if it was electrified due to capacity constraints on the SWML and at Waterloo but given issues with Third Rail extensions, as discussed elsewhere, I cannot see that being likely.

Local DMU only therefore to / from Southampton Central I would have thought.

There have been a few different threads on this subject, and as discussed in one of the other threads the current view of Network Rail (in the Wessex route study) is that there is no likelihood of a passenger service at all. Hampshire County Council are not remotely interested.

Mire discussion here: http://www.railforums.co.uk/showthread.php?t=134955&highlight=fawley

Fawley Branch freight traffic

Harbornite

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