Pringle of the Board of Trade inspected the line on 7 May 1901, and apart from some minor matters, found it satisfactory for passenger operation. Opening of the line The line opened on 1 June 1901. About 50 tickets were sold on the first day. The planned burrowing junction at Basingstoke was never built. A local newspaper observed "The man in the street expects to find the village somewhere near the station. But such little details do not trouble the promoters of railways... The three intermediate stations are named Cliddesden, Herriard, and Bentworth & Lasham respectively. But the villages bearing those names are a long way from the stations and not a glimpse of them can be seen from the train." The train service was three mixed trains each way daily except Sundays, shortly increased to four. The line climbed at 1 in 50 for much of the way from Basingstoke nearly seven miles to Herriard, where there was a passing loop. From there it fell at a similar gradient for nearly a mile and a half, afterwards descending at more moderate gradients. There were numerous sharp curves on the line. The general speed limit was set at 20 mph, reduced to 10 mph on certain curves and approaching several level crossings. Poor traffic volumes The income from the line was disappointingly low, and on 1 July 1904 railmotors were introduced on the line, the two examples having been constructed specially. Braking was by hand only and lighting by oil. They were not operationally successful, being incapable of surmounting the steep gradients on the line, and of handling goods wagons in a mixed train formation. They were redeployed elsewhere on 12 August 1904. On reinstatement of conventional train operation, the train service was increased to five passenger trains and a separate goods train. The change incurred additional operating costs, but saved considerable journey time, as the passenger trains were not required to shunt at goods sidings. In April 1905 permission was given from the Board of Trade to increase the line speed to 25 mph, and the journey time Basingstoke to Alton was reduced from 54 minutes to 44 minutes. In 1908 a former Boer War army hospital near Alton was reopened as a children's tuberculosis hospital, and a siding connection was installed, for coal and other supplies needed by the building. Wagons were winched over the steeply graded siding.