THE future of the Brockenhurst to Lymington railway line is in the hands of a pair of refurbished 40-year-old electric trains.

The two Mark I three-car units were officially named Freshwater and Farringford at a crowded Platform Four at Brockenhurst on May 12 and then rattled off down the five-mile Heritage Line branch to Lymington Town and Lymington Pier stations.

Susan Sutton from Brockenhurst chose the names, taken from two ferries which used to provide the Lymington to Yarmouth route in the 1950s and 1960s.

And as a reward she was selected to unveil the Farringford nameplate on the unit repainted in British Railways Southern Region green.

Three children, Ben Davies from Brockenhurst Primary, Dan Cooper from Pennington and Gabby Broomfield from Lymington, earned the right to unveil the Freshwater nameplate by winning a competition.

Freshwater will operate in British Rail white and blue.

The Strategic Rail Authority recently identified the branch, first opened in 1858, as a Heritage Line using the old slam door stock, which will make it an additional tourist attraction in the New Forest National Park.

A year ago a major reballasting project was completed during which welded rail was laid to improve running on the branch.

Lymington's Mayor-elect Cllr Kevin Ault took part in the opening ceremony.

He said: "It must have been, in the face of all the available evidence, a considerable act of faith to commit large sums of money to maintenance and refurbishment.

"The community can repay that act of faith by using the Lymington Heritage Line as passengers whenever possible and by joining in with South West Trains in finding as many and as diverse ways of creating activity on the line as possible, and justify their bold decision.

"With the new hospital now being built, no doubt serious consideration will be given to re-opening Ampress Halt.

"Ladies and gentlemen, this is your Heritage Line. I urge you to use it."

Hampshire County Council leader Cllr Ken Thornber also called for Ampress Halt, just a few hundred yards from the new hospital site, to be opened to serve the new facility which is due to be completed late in 2006.

"This is a serious proposal that we will have to look at because the new hospital will come on line in a few months," he said.

First published: May 16