How to take a train from London to Portsmouth and on to the Isle of Wight

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London to Portsmouth by train

There are two options for taking a train from London to Portsmouth, where transfers are available to the Isle of Wight and to cross-channel ferries.

1: South Western Railway operates the fastest route from London Waterloo station, which is served by the Bakerloo, Northern, Jubilee and Waterloo & City lines of the London Underground.
These trains terminate at Portsmouth Harbour station, which is conveniently located to the Historic Dockyard and also offers a direct link to the ferries which head for Ryde on the Isle Of Wight.
They also call at Portsmouth & Southsea station in the city centre.

Southern Railway operates trains on a slower route which departs from Victoria station.
The speed advantage of the trains from Waterloo is somewhat negated if Victoria station is more convenient to the starting point of your journey in central London.
Victoria is also served by the Circle, District and Victoria lines of the Underground.
These trains terminate at Portsmouth & Southsea station, which is served by bus links to the pier that the hovercraft service to the Isle Of Wight leaves from and to the cross-channel ferry terminal

Routes you can take to go from London to Portsmouth

When travelling between most cities by train there is only one logical option, though on other journeys there is a choice between different trains or alternative routes. If different options are available you can use the info to decide which is best for you.

Choose one of the following options:

Looking for connections?

Journey guides for travel to London

Route Information

Option 1: departing from Waterloo station

Station Guides

The main street entrance to Waterloo station is by the South Bank art complex

London Waterloo Rail Station Guide

Portsmouth Harbour (for the Isle Of Wight) Rail Station Guide

Travel Time (approx)

1hr 32min - 1hr 36min

Frequency

Daily

Travel Info

2 x trains per hour

Journey Summary:

Is the journey direct? = Yes
Is the journey scenic? = the railway travels through a rolling landscape between Guilford and Havant
When is the usual approximate earliest arrival at the destination? = Before 06:30 on Monday to Friday; before 07:45 on Saturday; around 10:00 on Sunday
When is the usual approximate latest departure? = Around 23:30 on Monday to Friday and Sunday; around 23:45 on Saturday
Are tickets cheaper if booked in advance? = Yes
How soon ahead of travel are tickets typically placed on sale? = 12 weeks; see the Ticket Information
What are the child ticket terms? = aged 5 to 15 = 50%; aged 4 and under = free
Does the ticket include assigned seats? = Varies: Yes with Advance Tickets, but reservations are not marked on the train; see the Ticket Information
Do rail pass users need to book reservations? = No
Is catering available on the train? = No

Travel Information

Arriving in Portsmouth:

All of these express trains from London Waterloo to Portsmouth call at two stations in the city, they arrive first at Portsmouth & Southsea station, which is in the central area.
So take care not to leave the train there if you’re travelling on to Portsmouth Harbour.

Connecting to the Isle Of Wight:

At Portsmouth Harbour very straightforward transfers are available on to the catamaran ferries to Ryde on the Isle Of Wight, which are operated by Wight Link.

The trains which depart from London Waterloo at 30mins passed the hour usually, always have an easily timed connection into a ferry – the ferries which depart Portsmouth at 15 mins passed the hour.
However, the trains which depart London at 00mins passed the hour don’t connect with ferries during the winter.

Then on arrival in Ryde, you can take Britain’s quirkiest train journey from Pier Head station on the Island Line to Brading, Sandown and Shanklin.
The Island Line uses trains which once travelled beneath London on its Underground Lines.

Depart Waterloo at 30 mins passed the hour and an end-to-end journey from London to Shanklin is scheduled to take 2hr 43 mins, but when the connections from the trains which depart at 00 mins passed the hour are available, the journey time is only 2hr 30mins.

Thanks to the easy connection at Portsmouth Harbour station, making the transfer so that you continue the journey by ferry, is always quicker than connecting in Portsmouth to the alternative hovercraft service – because its departure point is some distance from both Portsmouth Harbour and Portsmouth & Southsea stations, so requires a transfer on local buses.

This is a direct journey

You will be travelling on one of these trains...

These 'Desiro' trains are used on the London - Southampton - Bournemouth - Weymouth route

South Western Railway Desiro (UK) Train Guide

Good to Know

Taking the alternative trains from Victoria station:

These trains from Waterloo offer the fastest service from the capital, but depending on the location of the starting point of your journey, the alternative trains which depart from London Victoria station can be worth considering.
Waterloo station is served by the Bakerloo, Jubilee Northern and Waterloo & City lines of the London Underground, while Victoria station is connected to the Circle, District and Victoria lines.

A friend who regularly travels to Portsmouth takes that alternative route because his local station is on the Victoria Line.
Those trains which depart from Victoria can also be cheaper.

The alternative route from Waterloo to these recommended trains:

Thanks to its role as a naval base, Portsmouth was a prize worth targeting when rival companies were constructing Britain’s earliest railways in the 1850s.
Therefore since 1858 travellers have had a choice of taking one of three routes when travelling between London and Portsmouth.

However, one of these routes, the trains from Waterloo which travel via Winchester, are always best avoided.
They take a longer route than these trains which travel via Guildford, so are 40 minutes slower and aren’t any cheaper.

Though take care when looking at the departure boards at Waterloo station, as those trains via Winchester can be the next trains to Portsmouth Harbour that will be leaving, but the subsequent departure, which will be one of these trains travelling via Guildford, so it will actually arrive in Portsmouth sooner.

Taking any train from London to Portsmouth is a tad unconventional due to a quirk of British railway history.

Due to its south coast location Portsmouth was served by the Southern Railway which conveyed most of its passengers to and from London on short-distance routes, operated by metro-style electric trains.
Then in the 1930s the decision was made to extend the metro-style track all the way to Portsmouth, despite the city being more 120 km from London.

Travellers couldn’t be expected to put up with metro-style commuter trains for a journey of that distance, so this route has always been served by comparatively unique trains, which despite running on metro-style railway tracks, have the characteristics of long-distance expresses.
These ‘Desiro’ trains aren’t the fastest trains in Britain, they don’t travel at more than 150 kmh, but they are amongst the more comfortable British trains, so a pleasant journey is more likely than not.

However, these fast express services between London Waterloo and Portsmouth are shared between two types of train – and it isn’t possible to work out which of these trains you will be travelling by until it’s time to board.
On some departures a different type of Desiro train can be used, but those trains are mainly used on shorter-distance commuter routes – and the slower stopping trains, which travel as far as Portsmouth and Southsea station (and are best avoided)
But despite being a tad less comfortable, travelling by those trains sometimes can’t be avoided, if you want to hop on the next train.

In scenic terms a train journey from London to Portsmouth is perfectly fine but unremarkable.
South of Guildford the railway takes a route through the rolling hills of Hampshire, which showcases the 'green and pleasant land'.

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How to take a train from London to Portsmouth and on to the Isle of Wight

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London to Portsmouth by train