| Swanwick | |
| Symbol Location: | gb |
| Symbol: | rail |
| Borough: | Park Gate, Fareham |
| Country: | England |
| Grid Name: | Grid reference |
| Manager: | South Western Railway |
| Platforms: | 2 |
| Code: | SNW |
| Classification: | DfT category E |
| Original: | London and South Western Railway |
| Pregroup: | London and South Western Railway |
| Postgroup: | Southern Railway |
| Opened: | 2 September 1889 |
| Footnotes: | Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road |
Swanwick railway station is a railway station in Fareham, Hampshire, England. Despite its name, it is actually located in Park Gate, one mile south of Swanwick.
The station opened on 2 September 1889,[1] and was specially built for the local strawberry industry. For a short time each year, it was one of the busiest stations in the country.[2] The station is near a small industrial estate between the residential areas of Locks Heath and Whiteley.
The railway line between and was built by the London and South Western Railway; it was authorised on 20 August 1883, construction began in April 1886, and the line was opened on 2 September 1889. Swanwick was one of two intermediate stations originally provided, but unlike its neighbour, it was provided with a crossing loop so that two trains could pass each other on the single-track route.[3] The local area's strawberry industry provided up to 7,000 tons each year in the late 1800s. During the harvest, Swanwick Station became one of the busiest in the country with "Strawberry Specials" heading to Covent Garden and across the country. Long platforms were constructed to accommodate the trains.[4]
After the Second World War, the station was mainly used for passenger services.
Services at Swanwick are operated by Southern and South Western Railway using and EMUs.
The typical off-peak service in trains per hour is:
On Sundays, the services between Southampton Central and Brighton via Worthing are reduced to hourly.
The station is by far the busiest between Fareham and Southampton and has more facilities than most on the line. The ticket office is open between 5.45am and 7pm weekdays (shorter hours at the weekend).[5] Toilet facilities and a waiting room are within the ticket office area (not available when the ticket office is closed).
The station is covered by CCTV, as is the cycle shed and car park next to the station. There are customer help points and covered areas on both platforms. Disabled customers cannot gain access to the Fareham-bound platform.
Outside the station in the forecourt there is a taxi rank and a refreshment caravan. The Park Gate Tandoori restaurant is located in the former station master's house which forms part of the station building.