Portsmouth Direct preview

www.video125.com Portsmouth Direct. Portsmouth Harbour to London Waterloo via Guildford.
As the name implies, the Portsmouth Direct line was built to cut the distance and journey time from London to Portsmouth. Opening in 1859, it was an extension of the branch line to Godalming.
We travel in the cab of a class 444 Desiro EMU on a fast service to the capital. We board at the unique Portsmouth Harbour station, partially built over the sea.
The first few stations follow in quick succession before we turn to the North after Havant. The line is rural now, hugging the contours of the South Downs via Petersfield and Haslemere.
At Godalming our train runs over the original branch line into Guildford, an important interchange with lines from all points of the compass. Now just 30 minutes from Waterloo we're in easy commuting territory. Our final stop is at the burgeoning town of Woking. Now we join the fast line of the former LSWR main line for a non-stop run through Surbiton and even Clapham Junction into Waterloo. Nearing the terminus, the number of running lines increases to eight as we thread our way between the ever increasing high rise developments into Waterloo, Britain's largest Station with 24 platforms.
There is much interesting history of the line as well as current operations in the commentary.
As usual there is a commentary off button in the menu (discs only).
Narrated by Rob Curling (voted your number one narrator in our recent survey).
Written by Peter Middleton
Running time 98 minutes
Money back guarantee.

[@thebrummierailenthusiasts5329]

Rob curling is the best narrators which I hear his voice narrating not just for national rail services but also the underground

[@mdhazeldine]

You have NO IDEA how happy I am that you were able to film and publish this! Hopefully this means SWR have had a change of heart/policy towards cab rides. It's been 11 years since your last one! Hopefully we can see more out of Waterloo in the future?

[@video125com]

Neither SWT or SWR have ever refused to help with cab filming. On the contrary both companies have always been very supportive and take away cab footage as well as completed DVDs, in the latter case to use for driver recruitment.

[@flightsimmer9809]

cab rides are not required the cameras are fitted to the cab.

[@video125com]

@@flightsimmer9809 Please let us have more details.

[@BVEfan]

Rob Curling is one of the best narrators with Video125 Drivers Eye View. I've been on the Portsmouth Direct Line once 13 years ago when it was operated by South West Trains. I remember driving this route countless times on Train Simulator and it's so popular! I'm glad he narrated this one in the end because he narrated the Reading to London Waterloo, Berks & Hants and North Downs Line which are 3 of my other favourite ones since he did the London Underground Drivers Eye View videos in the past.

[@video125com]

Rob is always keen and word perfect. He has moved to Cornwall now so we were lucky that he was staying in London while working on the Olympics and able to pop down to our studio to record Portsmouth Direct.

[@TicTacTrolleyServiceTico]

One for the collection! Great to see you back with another video!

[@LucasTubeMapperGuy]

Finally a New SWR Preview since 2013

[@HenrysAdventures]

Looks great! I'll look forward to getting this one!

[@jsma9999]

this is about the 30th program Rob Curling Narrated or Present , I'm in Australia and can't wait for DVD and Blu-ray to come out. 2010 would buy my 1st one.

[@anthonyholroyd5359]

Will be buying this one soon! I'm on holiday just now and I've found a route I think would be perfect to film. The 'Soller' railway in Mallorca. Vintage Electric train from Palma over the mountains to Soller. Then you could also do a Drivers eye view of the heritage tramway from Soller to Port de Soller. I reckon the two combined would be about the right length of time for a full DVD video. :) One to consider for the future :)

[@anthonyholroyd5359]

Cant wait to buy this, along with the Glasgow South Western & Shrewsbury - Aberystwyth (+ vale of Rheidol) & Sheffield to Hull when they are done. As a video suggestion? Might I venture another video that continues your Sheffield - Hull proposal? Call it 'Yorkshire Coast' and document the Hull - Scarborough line? Also Crianlarich - Oban is crying out for a video (perhaps with segments about the closed Callander & Oban and Ballachulish branch as well).

[@Electrostarboi207]

Its nice that you are still around but i have one question. Why didn't you go through the Balsildon, Laindon and West Horndon part of the mainline in the c2c Drivers eye view video?

[@video125com]

We never set out to film EVERY inch of every route. The sections chosen perfectly represent the running and diversity of C2C.

[@Electrostarboi207]

@@video125com oh okay Since the video has been made, c2c rail had changed a lot. c2c changed all their trains to white, the class 387s have been ordered to c2c, national express almost gave c2c to First F but instead c2c got in Trenitalia's hands. c2c orders 6 10 car 720s but ended up being 12 5 car 720s and came into service in late 2023, replacing the class 387s and gave it to great northern. The class 357s reached the distance to mars. Now this year in May, c2c announced that their contract to repair the class 357s to have the same livery as the class 720, and will take place in a 2 year period. And fun fact: I had discovered c2c back in 2015 when I was 4 years old and became in love with it in 2022.

[@KirillShore]

3:18 What happened to that 90s style video ending thing? The new one looks like it was taken straight out of CapCut.

[@The_Newmarket_Trainspotter]

😮

[@leeroberts1192]

What's the approximate date for the release?

[@video125com]

literally the middle of September. it’s in the hands of the factory now, nothing more we can do.

[@SiVlog1989]

Speaking of Portsmouth, it's strange to me that despite being the birth place of Isombard Kingdom Brunel, there doesn't seem (at least from the number of times I've been to Portsmouth over the years) to be a marker showing where the great engineer was born to Mark Brunel and Sophia Kingdom