Bitterne railway station

Not to be confused with Bittern railway station.

Bitterne railway station is located in eastern Southampton, England. It is on the main Southampton to Portsmouth coastal line, and serves the suburbs of Bitterne, Bitterne Manor, Bitterne Park and Midanbury.

Bitterne
Bitterne Station
General information
Location	Bitterne, Southampton England
Grid reference	SU438133
Managed by	South Western Railway
Platforms	2
Other information
Station code	BTE
Classification	DfT category F2
History
Opened	5 March 1866
Original company	Southampton and Netley Railway
Pre-grouping	London and South Western Railway
Post-grouping	Southern Railway
Passengers
2019/20	75,634
2020/21	19,646
2021/22	55,388
2022/23	65,298
2023/24	71,222
Location
Notes Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road

View NW, towards Southampton in 1963

History

The station was opened in March 1866 as Bitterne Road railway station.^[1] The station itself is located a mile west of Bitterne village, although original plans for the railway line would have seen the railway pass right through the centre of the village.

The line was originally single-track between St Denys and Fareham, with Bitterne acting as a "passing loop", where trains travelling in opposite directions could pass one another. There were three passing loops at stations on this stretch, with Netley and Swanwick being the other two.^[2]

In 2024, the old waiting room of the station, which had been unused for 30 years, was refurbished and reopened as a community hub by Friends of Bitterne Station with funding from Hampshire Community Rail partnership. The hub includes a community garden and space for events and meetups.^[3][4]

Services

All services at Bitterne are operated by South Western Railway using Class 450 EMUs.

The typical off-peak service is one train per hour in each direction between Portsmouth & Southsea and Southampton Central. Additional services call at the station during the peak hours.^[5]

Preceding station	National Rail			Following station
Woolston		South Western Railway West Coastway Line		St Denys