Following the route of the disused Fareham-Gosport railway, the South West Hampshire Bus Rapid Transit, commonly known as the Eclipse Busway, is a BRT that runs between Fareham and Gosport, using the part of the disused alignment between Redlands Lane (Fareham) and Tichborne Way (Gosport). For the whole route, buses are operated by First Hampshire on Routes E1 and E2.
69538 passing underneath Tichborne Way on Route E1
CC Aubrey
The E1 and E2 replaced the main existing routes of 86 and 82 respectively, with the routes being rerouted to the new busway. At the time, some peak hour journeys were also rerouted on Route 88 via the busway. 88 has since been renumbered as 9/9A.
69545 starting a journey to Gosport on Route E2
CC Aubrey
These Volvo B7RLE/Wrightbus Eclipse 2s were ordered to a higher specification, with wood effect flooring and seat headrests.
69538 at Gregson Avenue on a journey to Gosport Bus Station
CC Aubrey
In 2016, the original set of buses were replaced by Alexander-Dennis Enviro 200 MMCs. The original buses were moved on westward, heading to Wessex. Some of the original buses however ended up as far north as Manchester at Bolton...until Diamond bought the First operation there.
Meanwhile, these Enviro 200 MMCs are now the mainstay of the BRT, although they are mostly bog standard Enviro 200 MMCs with a higher specification including USB charging ports, and wifi. They are also Euro 6, thus they have better emission standards
67176 at Wych Lane on Route E2
© Aubrey
However, the E1 and E2 are not the only bus routes that operate on the busway, as Routes 9/9A were more recently rerouted to the busway between Fareham and Wych Lane. The common allocation for the 9/9A are Optare SoloSRs.
53606 about to depart the BRT at Wych Lane on Route 9
© Aubrey
However, as per usual, there is the possibility of non-allocated buses being taken onto the busway. This includes the other main type of bus allocated to Hoeford Depot, Wrightbus Streetlite.
47411 on Route E1
CC Aubrey
More recently, other types of buses can be allocated onto the 9/9A, including double deckers. As the route used to be fully cleared for railway use, double decker buses should not pose a difficulty.
37162 as an un-allocated working on Route 9A at Wych Lane
© Aubrey
As the busway was on a disused rail corridor, there was a minimum of fuss in constructing the busway, and this allowed buses to bypass the fairly congested A32, which decreased journey times between Fareham and Gosport. At Gosport, there is an easy connection to Portsmouth via the Gosport Ferry. This would be as competitive as getting on Route X4 via Portchester into Southsea Island and Portsmouth.
The success of the busway has caused other bus routes to suffer. First used to offer a regular service via the A32, but as customers are good with walking to an every 6 minute service on the busway (every 10 minutes on Sunday), this has caused patronage to go down on other routes.
This has included Route 11, which was reduced to just 4 journeys a day Monday-Saturday.
65025 operates an 11 service back in 2014
CC Aubrey
Overall, this BRT has been a successful investment, and with the nature of the risk-share in building the busway, the BRT has been profitable for First Hampshire, as well as Hampshire County Council.
RIP Cameron Warwick
69538 passing underneath Tichborne Way on Route E1
CC Aubrey
The E1 and E2 replaced the main existing routes of 86 and 82 respectively, with the routes being rerouted to the new busway. At the time, some peak hour journeys were also rerouted on Route 88 via the busway. 88 has since been renumbered as 9/9A.
69545 starting a journey to Gosport on Route E2
CC Aubrey
These Volvo B7RLE/Wrightbus Eclipse 2s were ordered to a higher specification, with wood effect flooring and seat headrests.
69538 at Gregson Avenue on a journey to Gosport Bus Station
CC Aubrey
In 2016, the original set of buses were replaced by Alexander-Dennis Enviro 200 MMCs. The original buses were moved on westward, heading to Wessex. Some of the original buses however ended up as far north as Manchester at Bolton...until Diamond bought the First operation there.
Meanwhile, these Enviro 200 MMCs are now the mainstay of the BRT, although they are mostly bog standard Enviro 200 MMCs with a higher specification including USB charging ports, and wifi. They are also Euro 6, thus they have better emission standards
67176 at Wych Lane on Route E2
© Aubrey
However, the E1 and E2 are not the only bus routes that operate on the busway, as Routes 9/9A were more recently rerouted to the busway between Fareham and Wych Lane. The common allocation for the 9/9A are Optare SoloSRs.
53606 about to depart the BRT at Wych Lane on Route 9
© Aubrey
However, as per usual, there is the possibility of non-allocated buses being taken onto the busway. This includes the other main type of bus allocated to Hoeford Depot, Wrightbus Streetlite.
47411 on Route E1
CC Aubrey
More recently, other types of buses can be allocated onto the 9/9A, including double deckers. As the route used to be fully cleared for railway use, double decker buses should not pose a difficulty.
37162 as an un-allocated working on Route 9A at Wych Lane
© Aubrey
As the busway was on a disused rail corridor, there was a minimum of fuss in constructing the busway, and this allowed buses to bypass the fairly congested A32, which decreased journey times between Fareham and Gosport. At Gosport, there is an easy connection to Portsmouth via the Gosport Ferry. This would be as competitive as getting on Route X4 via Portchester into Southsea Island and Portsmouth.
The success of the busway has caused other bus routes to suffer. First used to offer a regular service via the A32, but as customers are good with walking to an every 6 minute service on the busway (every 10 minutes on Sunday), this has caused patronage to go down on other routes.
This has included Route 11, which was reduced to just 4 journeys a day Monday-Saturday.
65025 operates an 11 service back in 2014
CC Aubrey
Overall, this BRT has been a successful investment, and with the nature of the risk-share in building the busway, the BRT has been profitable for First Hampshire, as well as Hampshire County Council.
RIP Cameron Warwick
EDITOR NOTE: This post was meant to be released 17/11/2019, and is released as such in the state of the post back in 2019. Changes to the network are not reflected in the present day.
Post by Aubrey
All rights reserved © WLTMTB 2019
All rights reserved © WLTMTB 2019
Photos are licenced by copyright or Creative Commons.
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