Tinchester

Tinchester is a third-generation city in the western part of Shareham.

Tinchester was formally in its own county until 2001, when Shareham expanded into the city and its urban areas.

In 2018, another county reshuffle was performed, and Tinchester is now in its own county again, named "Greater Tinchester". This also includes southern Tinchester such as beckersbury and Great Harmer.

Tinchester is known for its spectacular pinnacles, which is often described as the best in the country.

Nearby Areas
Tinchester lies just one-kilometre north of the River Tonne, which is the widest river in the country - hence why the city has close relations with Tonmouth, which is some 14 kilometres south-west.

Tonmouth has three suburban areas;

Mollywell (estimated population about 3,300)

Littlewood (estimated population about 2,500)

Beckersbury (population about 15,435)

Quality of life
In 2005, Tinchester was named the poorest city in the country. While poverty rates were better than other areas, especially Ashton, the average income was 8.4% lower than the second worst, which at the time was Staggington. Average salaries for workers in Tinchester were just £8,103. Luckily, as house prices were and still are extremely cheap even in the heart of the city, many residents said this statistic was not as bad as it sounded.

In 2014, Tinchester's modern regeneration project was completed, and the iconic pinnacles were rebuilt.

Stations
Tinchester has had lots of development regarding railway stations.

Tinchester South
Tinchester South was first built in 1990, but this station was much closer to Hersheys station than it currently is now. It was a good one kilometre north of its present location. This was when the line ended at Old Tonmouth, which is about one mile north-east of Great Harmer. The station was, strangely, named "Tonmouth". This line closed in 1991, and little remains of the line, with the only evidence left being the white grounding used to counter issues with the ground being too soft for the railway.

A fast peak-hour exclusive service between Colby and Tonmouth also runs via Tinchester. From here, this service runs fast to Tonmouth. This means the quickest rail link between the two areas takes just 13 minutes.

The fastest regular service, however, is the fast Stoneham-Tonmouth via Shockstead service, which, from Tinchester, calls only at Upton. This journey takes 16 minutes.

Stopping services on the mainline usually take about 25 minutes.

Services via Great Harmer typically take 25-30 minutes for semi-fast services, and as much as 50 minutes for stopping services.

The station was re-sited in 1991 to its present location, with two platforms.

In 2000, just after the completion of the Shockstead line from Stoneham to Bares, two more platforms were built at Tinchester South, as there were extra services planned via Shockstead.

A further two platforms were then built in 2017 to cope with more planned services via Great Harmer.

Tinchester South is used mostly for trains from Little Regis or trains from Tonmouth via Great Harmer. It's also used for the Tonmouth-Stoneham via Shockstead services and also the rush-hour (& summer weekends) exclusive Tonmouth-Colby via Shoresome.

The 2018 timetable change introduced a half-hourly Tinchester-Colby service, one of which fast, and one semi fast. Until now, there was no regular service to Drum or Colby from Tinchester South for some 15 years.

Tinchester West
Tinchester West station was built in 1993 to serve trains from Stoneham via Osborough, as well as trains from Westhampton via Eight Houses. The station had two platforms.

Not much happened to the station until recently. In 2010, due to falling passenger numbers, the line from Stoneham to Tinchester via Osborough closed to the public, and there has been no regular service since. Only special services remain operational, but it's also now used for freight. This means the stations of Mollywell, Tinchester North and Stellbrute now have no regular service.

Tinchester West was part of the 2014 regeneration project. It meant the station was completely rebuilt with four platforms in a double-island form, similar to Beckersbury station, and also involved the rebuilding of the West Tinchester & Harlington line, giving it a double track for the whole route, and building two new stations, Smallborough, and Tinchester City Centre. The latter is often used as a terminus for shuttle services or in rush hour.

Nowadays, Tinchester West is used mostly as a terminus for services from Tonmouth via Wessingham. As the line has become much busier recently, helped by Tonmouth's rapid growth, there are many services which start at Tonmouth and finish only at Tinchester West, only calling at one or two stops.