TrackWatch
Member
What is going on at Brockenhurst and Southampton Central regarding toilets and lifts? Today I travelled between Brockenhurst and Southampton Central and noticed the following:
Brockenhurst - the toilets on platform 1 and 2 are closed indefinitely and passengers are directed to use those on platforms 3 and 4. However, whilst the closed ones on platforms 1/2 used to be open until 21:00, the ones on 3/4 still close earlier at 17:00. This is a busy station....given the toilets on 3/4 are now the only toilets in the entire station, why have these not adopted the later 21:00 close?
Southampton Central - the toilets on platform 1 seem to be closed indefinitely....they were only totally refurbished a couple of years ago (which seemed to take 4-6 months) so why have they now been closed?
However, this is the real issue. The lifts between all the platforms are closed for refurbishment (admittedly in stages) between April 13th 2026 to August 26th 2026. Why on earth did SWR choose the peak summer season to do this work...Southampton Central is a massive transport hub for all the cruise ships, often with 2-3 ships per day arriving and leaving and each with circa 2000-5000 passengers. The age range of cruisers leans more towards the 50+ age range and all passengers tend to have multiple heavy suitcases....why wasn't this this lift work scheduled for the November to March timescale? Why pick the peak summer months which is exactly when the lifts will most be needed?
Brockenhurst - the toilets on platform 1 and 2 are closed indefinitely and passengers are directed to use those on platforms 3 and 4. However, whilst the closed ones on platforms 1/2 used to be open until 21:00, the ones on 3/4 still close earlier at 17:00. This is a busy station....given the toilets on 3/4 are now the only toilets in the entire station, why have these not adopted the later 21:00 close?
Southampton Central - the toilets on platform 1 seem to be closed indefinitely....they were only totally refurbished a couple of years ago (which seemed to take 4-6 months) so why have they now been closed?
However, this is the real issue. The lifts between all the platforms are closed for refurbishment (admittedly in stages) between April 13th 2026 to August 26th 2026. Why on earth did SWR choose the peak summer season to do this work...Southampton Central is a massive transport hub for all the cruise ships, often with 2-3 ships per day arriving and leaving and each with circa 2000-5000 passengers. The age range of cruisers leans more towards the 50+ age range and all passengers tend to have multiple heavy suitcases....why wasn't this this lift work scheduled for the November to March timescale? Why pick the peak summer months which is exactly when the lifts will most be needed?