Change at Southampton Central

Here's a special post aimed at visitors to our city stepping off the train at Southampton Central railway station.

Here's a map of the nearby bus stops, marked with their two-letter stop name:

Next, which bus routes do you need for major destinations around our city, direct from Central Station?

• University: 
• Unilink U1A/U1W/U1E from stop SF
• General Hospital: 
• First three or Bluestar 17 from stop SB
• St. Marys Stadium: 
• Bluestar 18 from stop SA
• Paulton's Park
• Salisbury Reds X7/X7R from stop SB

Here's a closer look at which routes serve each of the stops:

Stop SA:

This is the stop for cross-city services to East of the Itchen...
Live departure board

First three from stop SA
to Thornhill (Fairfax Court) via City Centre, Woolston, Sholing

• Turn up & go with a bus at least every 10 mins Mon-Sat daytimes, every 15 mins Sunday daytimes.
• Useful for Woolston & Sholing railway stations in case trains towards Fareham aren't running from Central.
• Last bus towards Thornhill at 2339 Mon-Sats and 2343 on Sundays.

Bluestar 18 from stop SA
to Thornhill (Hightown) via City Centre, Northam, Bitterne

• Turn up & go with a bus at least every 10 minutes Mon-Sat daytimes, every 15 mins Sunday daytimes.
• Useful for St. Mary's Stadium, Bitterne Station in case trains aren't running across the river and for Bitterne itself.
• Last bus towards Thornhill at 2354 Mon-Sats and 2254 on Sundays.
• Adult single fares: City Centre £1.50, Bitterne (Lances Hill) £1.90, Thornhill £2.

Stop SA is also served by some routes that terminate just up the hill in the City Centre.


Stop SB:

Several stops have been merged into one here, serving all westbound buses, including those heading to Shirley, Totton or the Waterside peninsula...
Live departure board

First three from stop SB
to Lordshill via Shirley, General Hospital

• Turn up & go with a bus at least every 10 minutes Mon-Sat daytimes, every 15 mins Sunday daytimes.
• Useful for Shirley High Street and the General Hospital.
• Last bus towards Lordshill at 2356 Mon-Sats and 2250 on Sundays.

Bluestar 4 from stop SB
to Romsey via Shirley, Lordshill, Rownhams, North Baddesley

• Half-hourly Mon-Sat daytimes, Hourly Sunday daytimes.
• Useful as an alternative route to Romsey in case the trains aren't running that way, but bear in mind that the bus terminates at the bus station in the centre of Romsey and doesn't serve the railway station.
• Last bus towards Romsey at 2324 Mon-Sats and 1825 on Sundays.
• Adult single fares: Shirley Precinct £1.50, Lordshill £2.30, North Baddesley £4.50, Romsey £5.30.

Bluestar 6 from stop SB
to Lymington via Totton, Ashurst, Lyndhurst, Brockenhurst

• Hourly Mon-Sat daytimes, every 2 hours Sunday daytimes.
• Useful for visiting the New Forest and connecting with the New Forest Tour open top buses.
• Also useful for getting to Brockenhurst or Lymington Town railway stations if the trains aren't running.
• Last bus towards Lymington at 1849 daily.
• Adult single fares: Ashurst £3, Lyndhurst £4.60, Lymington £6.20. 

Bluestar 9 from stop SB
to Langley or Fawley via Applemore, Dibden Purlieu, Hythe, Holbury

• Every 20 minutes Mon-Sat daytimes, hourly Sunday daytimes.
• Useful for visiting Hythe without having to take the ferry, plus for changing there for the New Forest Tour open top bus.
• Last bus at 2314 daily (earlier for Fawley, check the timetable before travelling)
• Adult single fares: Applemore £4.60, Langley £5.50.

Bluestar 17 from stop SB
to Lordshill via Shirley, General Hospital

• Turn up & go with a bus every 10 minutes Mon-Sat daytimes, every 20 mins Sunday daytimes.
• Useful for Shirley High Street and the General Hospital.
• Last bus towards Lordshill at 2340 daily.
• Adult single fares: Shirley Precinct £1.50, General Hospital £2, Lordshill Centre £2.30.

Salisbury Reds X7/X7R from stop SB
to Salisbury via Totton, Ower & occasionally Paulton's Park and/or Romsey

• Hourly Monday-Saturday daytimes. No evening or Sunday service.
• Direct buses to Paulton's Park entrance departing at 0919 and 1019 when the park is open.
• Useful as an alternative route to Salisbury if the trains aren't running that way.
• Last bus towards Salisbury at 1739 on weekdays, 1719 on Saturdays.
• Adult single fares: Totton £3.20, West Wellow £4.70, Salisbury £6. Bluestar tickets valid.

Other local services from stop SB:

• First 1 to Adanac Park via Shirley, Coxford, Lordshill
• First 2 to Millbrook via Shirley
• Bluestar 8 to Calshot via Totton, Marchwood, Hythe
• Bluestar 11/12 to West Totton or Calmore via Totton
• First 12 to Lordshill via Shirley, Millbrook, General Hospital
• Bluestar 18 to Millbrook via Shirley
• Xelabus X11 to Lordshill North via Upper Shirley, General Hospital

Stop SD:

Still under construction when the photo was taken, this stop is only used by buses that terminate up the hill in the City Centre, so if that's as far as you need to go, any bus from this stop will do.
Live departure board


Stop SF:

Use the platform 4 exit for the south side of Central Station and stop SF for buses to the university, airport and Woolston as well as buses to the Isle of Wight ferries.
Live departure board

Unilink U1 from stop SF
to Airport via Portswood, University, Swaythling
or to National Oceanography Centre

• Turn up & go with a bus at least every 10 minutes Monday-Saturday daytimes and every 15 mins Sunday daytimes.
• Useful for the University and the Airport, especially if the trains aren't running through to Southampton Airport Parkway.
• Some daytime buses terminate at Wessex Lane and some late night buses extend to Eastleigh.
• Last bus towards the Airport at 0005 daily.
• Adult single flat fare: £2 any distance. Bluestar tickets valid.

Also from stop SF:

• Bluestar 7 to Sholing via City Centre, Woolston
• Quay Connect to Town Quay for Isle of Wight ferries

Tickets

If you are arriving or leaving by train, then you can buy a Southampton Plusbus with your train ticket. It costs £2.30 for an adult and is valid all day on any bus (except Xelabus) within the city boundary:

If you're not travelling by train, then buy a ticket on the bus. Each bus company has its own range of tickets valid on their own services only - see their websites (links in the panel on the right) for details. Bluestar tickets are also valid on Unilink and Salisbury Reds.

If you need to use the buses of more than one operator, then use a Solent Go ticket at £5 for the Southampton City version or £8 for the regional version valid as far as Winchester, Havant, Ashurst and Calshot.

So we finish back at Southampton Central with a few useful links:

• Station departure board
• Live departures
• Timetable of direct links
• List of all arrivals and departures
• Look up any rail fare in the UK