Pines Express

This practice probably arose because the arrival time coincided with the evening rush hour when the London Road platforms were fully occupied.

[6] Subsequent services ran via Oxford, Reading, Basingstoke and Southampton, on the line originally built by the GWR.

In 1964 a Pines Express was the last passenger service that used the Didcot, Newbury and Southampton Railway before the line closed to all traffic by 1967.

InterCity (British Rail) revived many of the named trains running on what would now be called CrossCountry, although these were rerouted and timed to fit into the standard hourly service pattern through Birmingham New Street.

Specifically, the 1990s Pines Express consisted of a pair of services from Bournemouth to Manchester and return, via Reading and Coventry.