page_title: West of England line
section_title: Current operations
hierarchical_section_title: West of England line / Current operations
caption_attribution_description: English: Newly wrapped in South Western Railway vinyls, 159003 calls at Honiton with a London to Exeter service.
context_page_description: The West of England line is a British railway line from Basingstoke, Hampshire, to Exeter St David's in Devon, England. Passenger services run between London Waterloo station and Exeter; the line intersects with the Wessex Main Line at Salisbury. Despite its historic title, it is not today's principal route from London to the West of England: Exeter and everywhere further west are reached more quickly from London Paddington via the Reading–Taunton line.
context_section_description: Passenger services are operated by South Western Railway using Class 159 and Class 158 trains. They generally run half-hourly from London to Salisbury and hourly to Exeter, calling at Clapham Junction and/or Woking and then most stations between Basingstoke and Exeter St David's, although some smaller stations east of Salisbury and near Exeter have a reduced service.
  The Network Rail South West Main Line Route Utilisation Strategy (March 2006) recommended building an extended section of double track from Chard Junction to Axminster, and a passing loop at Whimple. However, Network Rail's 2008 Route Plan is silent on the Whimple loop. The Axminster Loop is centred on Axminster station, and does not extend to Chard Junction as originally proposed. The line between Basingstoke, Salisbury and Exeter is not electrified.
caption: A Class 159 at Honiton
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