Major works at Southampton Central are set to be completed this week.

The £5.5 million works at Hampshire's busiest station has been funded by South Western Railway, Network Rail and Southampton City Council, and is designed to improve onward travel for passengers, particularly sustainable travel.

It remodelled the station's design and fits with its Art Deco style.

The new interchange will be opened on Thursday.

Alistair Wright, head of infrastructure and property at South Western Railway, said: “Every year, we make significant investments to improve and modernise our network to make every journey easy and reliable.

“Some changes may seem small, but they make a real difference.”

“A fresh lick of paint to brighten surroundings, and features that make navigating a station or using the toilet that much easier, can make travelling by train a much more pleasant and comfortable experience.”

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He added: “Our stations are the heart of the communities we serve, and the teams can be really proud of the fantastic job that they have done to refresh and improve our spaces, particularly for customers with additional accessibility requirements.”

The improvements to Southampton Central Station come after SWR announced the completion of over 100 station improvement projects, investing a total of £6.5m in stations across its network throughout 2023-2024. 

This includes upgrades at 32 stations of varying sizes in Hampshire, which have been revamped and restored thanks to SWR’s infrastructure and property teams, with Southampton Central benefitting from the most investment from the project.   

The massive investment has delivered more modern facilities, greater accessibility and sustainability, and ensured a more comfortable and pleasant journey for customers. 

The completed projects are part of SWR’s programme of continuous station improvements, to enhance the customer experience, and attract people to the railway as a greener and easier way to travel.

Southampton Central has also been fitted with RoomMate, an automated audible guide for accessible toilets to assist passengers with sight loss.

Swanwick station has had a refurbished waiting room and new inside benches, new benches have been installed on platforms at Sway, and a waiting shelter has been improved at Hedge End.

Chandler's Ford, Redbridge, Romsey, Shawford, Sholing, Southampton Airport Parkway, Swaythling and Woolston stations have all been repainted.