Quaint Train

It’s said to be the oldest continuously operating public pier train in the world. and this quaint three-carriage train trundling along the pier from the village centre to the pier head is a lifeline for commuters, shoppers and tourists.

The train runs the 700 yards of Hythe pier to the pierhead in the deep water channel in Southampton Water and is part of a ferry link across the Water to a terminal at Southampton’s Town Quay.

As such it is a vital alternative to a congested road route between the western side of Southampton Water and the city and is much used by commuters and shoppers and provides one of the best grandstand views of big ships and cruise liners in the port’s Eastern Docks.

The history books record that a narrow gauge railway was first constructed on the pier in the early part of the 20th century and was replaced by the present electrified railway, still narrow gauge, in 1922.

Every train connects at the pier head with an arrival and departure of the Hythe Ferry. The ferry, like the train operated by Blue Funnel Ferries who took it over saving it from possible closure a year ago, carries passengers and bicycles, and takes about 10 minutes for the crossing.