PASSENGER trains may soon be seen at a new railway station in Hampshire for the first time since 1969.

The new hourly rail link at Chandler's Ford will open next weekend without the new £2m station currently being built on site, which is not due to open until later this year.

It is hoped that the first phase of station building will be complete in time for trains to begin stopping there from the launch of South West Trains' new summer timetable on Sunday.

A South West Trains spokesman told the Daily Echo: "We are hoping that they will start from May 18 providing all the necessary works and approvals have been completed."

A new hourly service is to be introduced from Romsey to Totton calling at Chandler's Ford, Eastleigh, Southampton Airport (Parkway), Swaythling, St Denys, Southampton Central, Millbrook and Redbridge.

The new Chandler's Ford station is the result of a partnership between Hampshire County Council, the Strategic Rail Authority (SRA) and South West Trains.

Hampshire County Council is providing the £2m needed to build the new station while the SRA is providing £3.34m of rail passenger partnership funding over three years to cover the costs of running the station and the new train service.

When fully open later in the year, the station will include a new station building, a 50-space car park, parking for 40 bicycles and a footbridge.

In launching its new summer timetable, South West Trains says it has listened to calls from passengers for improvements to the train service in Hampshire and Dorset.

It will now be easier to have a night out in London because extra late-evening trains to Bournemouth, Southampton, Poole and Ports-mouth are being introduced in the timetable.

Additional services running from Monday to Saturday include a 2230 from London Waterloo to Bournemouth and a 2330 from Waterloo to Southampton.

On Saturdays a new 1943 Poole to London Waterloo service enables the 1858 Weymouth to Waterloo service to omit some intermediate stops and arrive in London around 30 minutes earlier.

There is also good news for commuters as a new weekday service to Portsmouth via Eastleigh will depart from London Waterloo at 1700.

The Rail-Link bus service from Southampton Central station to Hythe, on the Waterside, has been withdrawn due to low usage - although ticketing between Southampton and Hythe on local bus and ferry services will continue.