Poole - Transport

Transport

The A350 road is Poole town centre's main artery, running north from Poole Bridge along Holes Bay and on to the A35, and as a single carriageway to Bath and Bristol. To the east, the A337 road leads to Lymington and the New Forest. The A35 trunk road runs from Devon to Southampton and connects to the A31 on the outskirts of the town. The A31, the major trunk road in central southern England, connects to the M27 motorway at Southampton. From here the M3 motorway leads to London, and fast access may also be gained via the A34 to the M4 north of Newbury. A second bridge is being built to connect Poole and Hamworthy as the existing bridge is unsuitable for the traffic flow. The £34 million Twin Sails bridge project was given approval by the Department for Transport in 2006 but construction was initially held up due to a stalemate between the council and the land owners and delays by the Department for Transport in approving a £14 million grant. After negotiations between the council and the land owners were settled in August 2009 and the government grant was provided in March 2010, construction began in May 2010 with completion due by early 2012. A road link to Studland and the Isle of Purbeck across the narrow entrance of Poole Harbour is provided by the Sandbanks Ferry.

Most local bus services are run by Wilts & Dorset who are based at the town’s bus station and have served Poole since 1983. Wilts & Dorset operate networks across Poole, Bournemouth, Christchurch and Salisbury, in addition to operations on the Isle of Purbeck and the New Forest. Other services are run by Bournemouth-based Yellow Buses and Damory Coaches. Poole is connected to towns and villages along the Jurassic Coast by the First X53 service, which runs along a route of 142 kilometres (88 mi) to Weymouth, Bridport, Lyme Regis, Seaton and Exeter. Poole is also a calling point for National Express Coaches, which have frequent departures to London Victoria Coach Station. There are also direct services to the Midlands, the North of England and to Heathrow and Gatwick airports.

Poole has four railway stations on the South Western Main Line from London Waterloo to Weymouth. From east to west these are Branksome near the border with Bournemouth, Parkstone, Poole railway station in the town centre and Hamworthy. Services are operated by South West Trains and consist of up to three trains an hour (fast, semi-fast and stopping services) to and from London, and twice an hour to and from Weymouth. Plans for a £50 million redevelopment of Poole railway station have stalled since 2006 due to contractual issues between land owners Network Rail and developers the Kier Group.

Poole is a cross-Channel port for passengers and freight with up to seven sailings a day in the summer season. Ferry services from Poole Harbour to Cherbourg are provided by Brittany Ferries who operate two ferries from Poole: the Normandie Vitesse and the Cotentin. The Normandie Vitesse provides a high-speed daily passenger service to Cherbourg between May and September; the Cotentin freight ship covers the Poole-Cherbourg route year-round and runs a weekend service between Poole and Santander, Spain. The Condor Ferries catamarans Condor Express and Condor Vitesse run seasonal services to Guernsey, Jersey and St. Malo, Brittany. Bournemouth International Airport in Hurn, on the periphery of Bournemouth, is the nearest airport to Poole – 16 kilometres (9.9 mi) from Poole town centre. Ryanair, easyJet, Thomson Airways and Palmair operate from the airport and provide scheduled services to destinations in the UK and Europe.