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Car Hire at Southampton Train Station - Visiting the South of England

Spacious and ultra-modern, Southampton's main railway station in the centre is also the one closest to the city's cruise terminals and port area. Officially known as Southampton Central Station, it first opened in the late 19th century and today operates as a major transport hub for trains, coaches, buses and other forms of public transport.

Serving the city of Southampton in Hampshire (southern England), Southampton Central Train Station is on the Wessex Main Line, South Western Main Line and the West Coastway Line. Operated by South West Trains, passengers can travel far and wide by train from Southampton, with frequent services available to London (Waterloo), Portsmouth, Bournemouth and other popular destinations.

Vibrant and forward-thinking, Southampton has emerged in recent years as one of the top tourist destinations on England's southern shoreline. A short walk from the station takes you to many of the city's main attractions, such as the interactive SeaCity Museum which traces the city's Titanic heritage whislt telling the story of the city's long maritime history.

One of the best ways of exploring southern England is to book a car hire at Southampton Train Station and take to road, both inland and along its golden, sandy coastline. There's much to discover in the country's beautiful south, most notably the enchanting New Forest (now a national park covering almost 30,000 hectares), Beaulieu (a lovely village famous for its motor museum) and the glorious Isle of Wight.

Established nearly seventy years ago, Auto Europe offers the cheapest car hire deals with more than 28,000 pick-up and drop-off points in over 190 countries worldwide. A major player in the international car rental industry, we have established the best possible relationships with all the most important car hire suppliers, including Europcar, Sixt, National, Dollar, Avis, Alamo, Hertz and Budget.

You can book online immediately through our state-of-the-art search engine or ask our highly-trained rental specialists for assistance and they will be happy to find you the lowest rate. For added peace of mind, please take a look at the user ratings and comments posted by some of Auto Europe's previous customers in the city on our Southampton car hire reviews page.

Station Information

Officially known as Southampton West when it was inaugurated in 1895, Southampton Central Train Station has four platforms and a wide range of on-site facilities. Providing good access to the Port of Southampton and the city's busy cruise terminals, it is a growing transport hub and plans are in the pipeline to establish it as a major international facility for the south of England in the years to come. One of the most popular routes from Southampton Train Station is the regular train to London's Waterloo Station which takes around one hour and twenty minutes. The station also has several departures to other key destinations across southern England, most notably to Weymouth, Poole, Portsmouth, Southsea and Salisbury (via Romsey).

Where to pick up my car hire at Southampton Train Station

Several high-profile vehicle suppliers offer car hire at Southampton Train Station and their offices are located off-site in the streets surrounding the station building, including Enterprise (Western Esplanade) and Europcar (West Quay Road). Please make sure you have all the necessary documents (ie your passport, driving licence, coverage details, etc.) ready to hand when you arrive to collect your vehicle.

	Enterprise at Southampton Station Western Esplanade Southampton, UK SO15 1QJ +44 23 8024 8190	Opening Hours: Mon-Fri 8am-5pm and Sat & Sun 9am-4pm
	Europcar at Southampton Station West Quay Road Southampton, UK SO15 1GZ +44 371 384 5983	Opening Hours: Mon-Fri 8am-6pm and Sat 8am-1pm (closed Sun)
	Sixt at Southampton Station West Quay Road Southampton, UK SO15 1GZ +44 843 309 3070	Opening Hours: Mon-Fri 8am-4pm (closed Sat & Sun)

Station facilities

Southampton Central Train Station has four platforms, each with access to a café. There are toilet facilities can be found on platforms 1 and 4 and a WHSmiths selling books, stationary, magazine/newspapers and confectionery on platform 1. Besides dedicated baby-changing areas, Luggage trolleys are available and there are heated waiting rooms on every platform. The station has Wi-Fi, cash machines, shops, cafés, pubs and restaurants, while personal assistance from station staff is available to passengers alighting and boarding trains. Passengers with reduced mobility are asked make themselves known to station staff for assistance, which can be booked up to two hours prior to departure or arrival. There is a manned ticket office open all day and a ticket machine where you can collect pre-paid tickets.

How to get to and from Southampton station

Southampton has excellent road links with access from both the M3 and M27 motorways, and due to its location in one of the most important parts of the city, visitors who rent a car at Southampton Train Station waste very little time picking up their vehicle, which means that they can maximise their stay on England's idyllic south coast. The station has a free shuttle service linking it with the city centre and port area where ferries leave for the Isle of Wight, for instance. This service is operated by Bluestar and departs from the Weymouth side of the station along with Uni-link's other routes which serve the station. The station also has a taxi rank right outside the exit to platform 4.

Parking tips

Southampton has more than forty excellent car parks in total, some covered and some open-air. After having collected your car rental at Southampton Train Station, please note that the best places to park are located within the city's main shopping districts like WestQuay where more than 4,000 parking spaces exist. Other large car parks can be found at Western Esplanade The Marlands shopping centre. Southampton City Council produces an interactive city parking map with detailed information on each of the city's car parks (including location and opening times), as well as all the available on-street parking spaces situated across the entire city. Furthermore, there are large multi-storey and surface car parks at Ocean Village Marina, which is operated by MDL. Like any city, avoid the stress of navigating complicated one-way systems while finding somewhere to park, and one of the best choices is at Southampton Central Train Station which is conveniently located near the city’s port, major retail districts and historic centre. Old Town – making our trains perfect for Southampton days out. The station has three car parks in all, one located near Western Esplanade and the other two near its main entrance.

Useful links

Southampton Tourist Info

Hampshire Tourist Info