Southampton Airport Parkway

[Mugby]

Noting that all Cross Country services stop there and presumably SWT services also, does Southampton Airport really generate that amount of usage, or is it used mainly for it's parkway aspect?

If the latter is the case, why do all late night trains stop there as well?

 

[The Ham]

Noting that all Cross Country services stop there and presumably SWT services also, does Southampton Airport really generate that amount of usage, or is it used mainly for it's parkway aspect?

If the latter is the case, why do all late night trains stop there as well?

As there are only two platforms it makes a good place to change trains (i.e. to/from the stopping services on the Salisbury 6), it also doesn't do well to change services calling patterns just as it is later in the evening.

It should also be noted that it has Airport in it's name, which should also give a hint as to the sort of passengers who may be wishing to use the trains later in the evening (there are 11 flights which are scheduled to arrive after 21:00).

 

[hs2critic]

Noting that all Cross Country services stop there and presumably SWT services also, does Southampton Airport really generate that amount of usage, or is it used mainly for it's parkway aspect?

If the latter is the case, why do all late night trains stop there as well?

That is a good question, especially if you look at relative passenger numbers at SOU when compared with other airports that have stations.

Two other additional factors:

1) It is such a direct juxtaposition that it makes obvious sense to have a station there, as no other infrastructure is required - similar, say to Prestwick. For anything other than this - ie Brum or Gatwick North with their people movers, you need much bigger numbers - although the original Gatwick airport station serving the Beehive was the first of its kind in Europe.

2) Southampton actually serves a much greater hinterland due to its range of niche destinations operated by Flybe using regional aircraft (Q400 / Embraer E jets). They're pulling out of Gatwick next year, as the airport can make more money from Heathrow's hand-me-downs and other larger aircraft.

Remember that there are other airports with stations very close by - eg Squire's Gate for Blackpool, but they aren't labelled as such.

 

[BananaRepublic]

Noting that all Cross Country services stop there and presumably SWT services also, does Southampton Airport really generate that amount of usage, or is it used mainly for it's parkway aspect?

If the latter is the case, why do all late night trains stop there as well?

There's definitely far more non-airport traffic, but there's still a healthy number of airport related passengers.

The station is usually quite busy through large parts of the day and attracts passengers from a wide local area and beyond. For example, it's known that people even drive there from areas like Ringwood and the the northern outlying areas of Bournemouth to catch trains to London, because it's easier to get there and park, rather than going into Bournemouth or Christchurch.

For many people living around the Southampton area, Airport Parkway is the station of choice, as it's easier and more convenient to get to than going into the city centre and Southampton Central.
Being situated alongside junction 5 on the M27 and near to the M3/M27 junction also helps draw in passengers from the surrounding towns and villages.

At 1.5 million passengers p.a., it compares quite well with many town stations across the UK. e.g......
Burton-upon-Trent 0.7 million p.a.
Carlisle 1.7 million p.a.
Banbury 1.9 million p.a.
Wigan Wallgate 1.6 million p.a.
Both Wrexham stations combined 0.6 million p.a.
Both Lichfield stations combined 1.5 million p.a.
Halifax 1.8 million p.a.
Taunton 1.2 million p.a.
Penzance 0.5 million p.a.
Lincoln Central 1.6 million p.a.
Macclesfield 1.3 million p.a.


Apart from one or two very early morning trains, all services stop here (SWT express, SWT local and XC).
In comparison, the larger Eastleigh station just a mile or so up the line, only has the locals, stoppers and Portsmouth-Waterloo trains. The Southampton/Bournemouth/Weymouth expresses and XC trains do not stop at Eastleigh.
The Airport Parkway station has also overtaken Eastleigh and has slightly more passengers p.a.

With the large car parks regularly full and overflowing, a few years ago it was decided to build a dedicated multi-story CP in addition to the surface parking. IIRC there are now over 900 car parking spaces there.

As for the airport; it's a fairly busy local airport and has quite a lot of flights, including quite a number of domestic services to northern and Scottish destinations, as well as serving quite a list of international destinations.

 

[GoByThameslink]

Southampton Airport Parkway is also the best station for Southampton University if arriving from London, the east and the north (Cross Country) as there is a direct bus (the 'U1').

 

[The Ham]

At 1.5 million passengers p.a., it compares quite well with many town stations across the UK. e.g......
Burton-upon-Trent 0.7 million p.a.
Carlisle 1.7 million p.a.
Banbury 1.9 million p.a.
Wigan Wallgate 1.6 million p.a.
Both Wrexham stations combined 0.6 million p.a.
Both Lichfield stations combined 1.5 million p.a.
Halifax 1.8 million p.a.
Taunton 1.2 million p.a.
Penzance 0.5 million p.a.
Lincoln Central 1.6 million p.a.
Macclesfield 1.3 million p.a.

but if you compare it to other stations along the line 1.5 million pa is fairly low, for instance Winchester sees about 4.5 million pa.

 

[BananaRepublic]

but if you compare it to other stations along the line 1.5 million pa is fairly low, for instance Winchester sees about 4.5 million pa.

Well yes, compared to the major cities and towns along this stretch of the line, which see heavy commuting traffic, it is lower; e.g.......
Basingstoke 5.2 million p.a.
Winchester 4.5 million p.a.
Southampton Central 6.0 million p.a.
and to a lesser extent, Bournemouth 2.6 million p.a.

...but at 1.5 million p.a., Southampton Airport Parkway still compares quite favourably with other stations along the route; e.g....
Eastleigh 1.5 million
St. Denys 0.25 million p.a.
Totton 0.28 million p.a.
Brockenhurst 1.35 million p.a.
Christchurch 0.45 million p.a.
Poole 1.25 million p.a.
Weymouth 0.8 million p.a.

Not to mention other stations in the region...
Salisbury 1.9 million p.a.
Fareham 1.6 million p.a.

Further comparison can be made with other stations around the UK...
Harrogate 1.3 million p.a.
Grantham 1.0 million p.a.
Newbury 1.5 million p.a.
Rugby 1.7 million p.a.
Lancaster 1.8 million p.a.
Stafford 1.8 million p.a.
Halifax 1.8 million p.a.
Carlisle 1.7 million p.a.

The point being that this is a well used station and justifies all trains making a stop there.

 

[Muzer]

Apart from one or two very early morning trains, all services stop here (SWT express, SWT local and XC).

Sorry to be picky, but I believe some of the few Southern and FGW trains that go that way don't stop there (correct me if I'm wrong).


But yeah, I agree with everything else you said. It serves a wide area, it's closer to a lot of the housing areas of Southampton than Central, it's the best station for the uni that is served by more than local trains and the odd peak London train.

 

[BananaRepublic]

Sorry to be picky, but I believe some of the few Southern and FGW trains that go that way don't stop there (correct me if I'm wrong)......

The FGW services normally run from Southampton Central, via Redbridge on their way to Romsey and beyond; but some do reverse at Central and route via Eastleigh and Chandlers Ford (not stopping of course).
I don't know if that's simply for pathing reasons or route knowledge?

The twice hourly Southern services that reach Southampton normally route along the Netley branch on their way to/from Fareham and beyond. However the franchise now requires a couple of services a day to route to/from Fareham via Eastleigh (where they reverse to reach Southampton Central) for the specific purpose of serving the Airport.
So they do stop at the Airport Parkway station, but it really only amounts to a token gesture.

 

[Muzer]

Ah, right. Come to think of it, I did see a 377 the other day stopped at Airport.

I'm pretty sure the few FGW ones routed that way don't stop, though. They *do* stop at Eastleigh, since they have to reverse there anyway (I expect it's the same with the Southern ones).

 

[The Ham]

Hampshire Council Council, have a disire to see a line to allow services to run from Portsmouth to Southampton via the Airport without a reversal at Eastleigh. However it would block the entrance to the Eastliegh works or would require a lot of works to brovide a bridge (either into the works or over the works entrance).

 

[SussexSpotter]

The twice hourly Southern services that reach Southampton normally route along the Netley branch on their way to/from Fareham and beyond. However the franchise now requires a couple of services a day to route to/from Fareham via Eastleigh (where they reverse to reach Southampton Central) for the specific purpose of serving the Airport.
So they do stop at the Airport Parkway station, but it really only amounts to a token gesture.

You will find the timetable for Southern stops at Southampton Airport very unbalanced. The weekday service is infrequent only once each way so not particularly that useful, but the weekend service is more frequent
.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

Hampshire Council Council, have a disire to see a line to allow services to run from Portsmouth to Southampton via the Airport without a reversal at Eastleigh. However it would block the entrance to the Eastliegh works or would require a lot of works to brovide a bridge (either into the works or over the works entrance).

I think this a non-starter to be honest, and whilst it is a good idea.....the Botley line would need to be redoubled first and that wouldn't be cheap...

 

[Lrd]

I think this a non-starter to be honest, and whilst it is a good idea.....the Botley line would need to be redoubled first and that wouldn't be cheap...

I think it would work quite well as it'll be quicker than going via Netley. Although, Southern would miss out Swanwick, which means they will only have the stopper to Southampton or Pompey. I think there is a problem with the Airport runway boundary, so if anything were to happen then it would probably have to be in a tunnel.

I'm always quite impressed by the amount of people who get on/off at Southampton Airport Parkway, the train pretty much empties out heading south, even late at night. And fills up quite rapidly on the way up.

 

[455driver]

The SN and FGW services from Southampton Central to Fareham via Eastleigh (and visa versa for the pedantic tw um people on here) run that way so the traincrew can keep their route knowledge up to date, the calls at Southampton Airport are purely incidental and are not meant to form any sort of suitable passenger service.

 

[swt_passenger]

I think it would work quite well as it'll be quicker than going via Netley. Although, Southern would miss out Swanwick, which means they will only have the stopper to Southampton or Pompey...

They'd probably only divert one of the SN services, so the other would still use the Netley route.

--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

The SN and FGW services from Southampton Central to Fareham via Eastleigh (and visa versa for the pedantic tw um people on here) run that way so the traincrew can keep their route knowledge up to date, the calls at Southampton Airport are purely incidental and are not meant to form any sort of suitable passenger service.

That wasn't the original plan though, the idea was to run the Brighton service via Eastleigh and Southampton Airport every hour, but only in the down direction. This service was shown in their SLC2, to commence in Dec 2010. Running both ways was not called for, as it needed an extra unit, because the extended timings removed the layover time at Southampton Central. Before it could be done, XC came up with their Southampton extensions, and following an access dispute committee ruling, XC got their paths and the SN proposal was binned.

 

[The Ham]

I'm always quite impressed by the amount of people who get on/off at Southampton Airport Parkway, the train pretty much empties out heading south, even late at night. And fills up quite rapidly on the way up.

I think that the reason for the low-ish official passenger numbers is proberbly due to that once you travel a short distance there is no cost difference going to Parkway rather than Central.

 

[BananaRepublic]

I think that the reason for the low-ish official passenger numbers is proberbly due to that once you travel a short distance there is no cost difference going to Parkway rather than Central.

The official passenger numbers are far from "low-ish", as the figures provided above on page 1 of this thread demonstrate. They may be lower than those for the bigger stations along the line, but are comparable with and in many cases, higher than those for many town and city stations across the UK.

However, it is true that some passengers alight early at SOA, rather than continue on to SOU to terminate or make connections to stations on the Netley branch.

 

[hs2critic]

There's definitely far more non-airport traffic, but there's still a healthy number of airport related passengers.

<snip>

As for the airport; it's a fairly busy local airport and has quite a lot of flights, including quite a number of domestic services to northern and Scottish destinations, as well as serving quite a list of international destinations.

For comparing local traffic, pax numbers alone may be a guide, but TOCs, and XC especially will look at figures based on yield, rather than bums alone.

If you are looking at P&Rs running along a branch or a metro which terminates at an airport - such as Newcastle, then local traffic will be your biggest interest.

SOU is quite different though, and even the range of routes tells only part of the story. It is the size of the aircraft (unviable at "main" London airports) and the niche destinations that attract people out from Waterloo and elsewhere.

I also suspect most of the P&R is ride to London, rather than into central Southampton, so again, we should be looking at some good yields for the operators.

I'd be interested to see the destinations breakdown, but either way, as said above, clearly a viable station, and one that has become so by serving several markets, not just one.