Reading–Basingstoke line Reading–Basingstoke line The Reading–Basingstoke line is a short railway link between the South Western Main Line and the Great Western Main Line, constructed by the Great Western Railway between 1846 and 1848. The line is served by Great Western Railway local services between Reading and Basingstoke, which stop at the intermediate stations Reading West, Mortimer and Bramley. The line is also an important through route for longer distance passenger and freight services: CrossCountry services from Bournemouth and Southampton to Birmingham and the North of England and freight trains between Southampton Docks and the Midlands use the line. The section of
Lehigh Line (Norfolk Southern) River Railroad in 1886 which had been held by the Reading Railroad since 1860 when it had blocked construction in order to maintain its monopoly in the Southern Coal Field which held the largest reserves of anthracite in Pennsylvania. Through neglect, the Reading allowed the charter to lapse and it was acquired by the LV which immediately constructed the Schuylkill and Lehigh Valley Railroad and connected it with the mainline. The line gave the LV a route into Pottsville, Pennsylvania and the Schuylkill Valley coal fields. The Vosburg Tunnel was completed and opened for service on July 25, 1886. The