Pokesdown station lifts: work starts, step-free by 2028

Pokesdown, the railway station closest to AFC Bournemouth's Vitality Stadium, will finally get working lifts, but not until early 2028. Work on the £7.2m project starts at the beginning of October 2026 and should take just over a year, South Western Railway told BBC News on 23 September.

The station, which serves Boscombe and Southbourne on the line between Bournemouth and Christchurch, has had no lifts since its old goods lifts were mothballed in 1979. Anyone using it today faces 42 steep steps between the street and the platforms.

What is being built at Pokesdown?

Two new passenger lifts will go into the existing lift shafts that once carried goods between the entrance and the platforms. Jenny Cook, station portfolio director at South Western Railway, explained that scaffolding will go up to strip the old cladding, then the same scaffold will be used to add new steel, new cladding and the lift equipment itself.

Industry coverage of the scheme, including Rail Business Daily's report, says the station stays open during the works, with some jobs done overnight, at weekends or during planned line closures. Passengers should expect hoardings, delivery vehicles and construction workers around the station over the next year or so.

Who is paying for it?

The scheme is funded by South Western Railway, the government and Network Rail. According to the BBC, SWR is putting in £3.8m, the government £2.6m and Network Rail £800,000. BCP Council had pledged more than £2m earlier on but withdrew that money this year.

Campaigners have pushed for step-free access for about 16 years. Ben Smith, a Cherries supporter and wheelchair user who has campaigned since 2010, told the BBC the lack of lifts had become an embarrassment for a club now playing in the Premier League and the Europa League. Tom Hayes, Labour MP for Bournemouth East, who lobbied for the work after the council's funding went, called it good news for disabled passengers in particular.

Why does it matter on match days?

Pokesdown is about half a mile from the Vitality Stadium, which is being expanded this season, and thousands of fans use it on match days. Without lifts, it is off limits to many disabled supporters, parents with pushchairs and anyone with heavy luggage or limited mobility.

That will not change for this season's Europa League nights at the Vitality or the Premier League fixtures. Our update on the Vitality Stadium redevelopment covers what is changing at the ground itself.

What it means for visitors and long-stay guests

If you or someone travelling with you needs step-free access, do not plan around Pokesdown until the lifts open. Check the station details on National Rail before you travel, and read the Bournemouth Guide's travel information and its guide to getting around Bournemouth without a car for buses and the seafront route instead.

For the wider picture on trains, see our guide to getting to Bournemouth from London and the changes in the SWR autumn timetable. Flexiestays' eight hotels are mostly on and around the West Cliff, a walk from the town centre; guests coming for a match or a longer project can look at short-term stays, and the Help Centre explains how self check-in works for a late arrival after the final whistle.