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The 50 mile long line from Westbury via Salisbury to Southampton forms part of the important secondary route from Bristol and South Wales to the Solent and South Coast. As well as DMUs, there are a number of regular stone trains on this attractive rural route through the Wessex countryside.
The broad gauge line between Westbury and Salisbury was opened by the GWR between 1851 and 1856. The LSWR had already opened its line from Eastleigh through Romsey to Salisbury in 1847 but the two did not connect for a number of years. It was 1859 before the LSWR line was extended westwards, passing close to the GWR terminus, and 1878, 4 years after the GWR line was converted to standard gauge, that a physical connection was made between the two lines. Through passenger services between Cardiff and Portsmouth commenced in 1896.
