Transport by any means

Each year the Port of Southampton handles over 900,000 vehicles, £40 billion of UK exports and welcomes around 2 million cruise passengers.

It is less than two miles from the M27 and has direct rail links to the national railway network for both freight and passengers and is served directly by Southampton International Airport as well as benefiting from Gatwick and Heathrow being within easy reach.

In a normal year, Southampton International Airport flies around 2 million passengers to more than 30 destinations with great onward connections to the world.

The Airport is located just off the M27 and M3 and is just 99 steps from the rail network at Southampton Airport Parkway, with frequent connections to the city centre and to London.

Red Funnel carries nearly 1 million vehicles and over 3 million passengers to and from the Isle of Wight each year, operating 365 days a year and making 30,000 crossings between Southampton and Cowes.

Only 25 minutes away by car, Portsmouth offers ferry services to France, Spain and the Channel Islands.

Southampton is well connected by road to the rest of the UK and benefits from the M27 running east/west from the New Forest to Portsmouth and from the M3 travelling northeast directly to London.

Southampton Central Station is the main line station serving the city of Southampton and connects passengers with London in just 1hr 15mins, as well as with Bristol and Cardiff in the west, Brighton in the east and Manchester in the north.

The Port of Southampton also benefits from direct rail access, carrying freight to and from the rest of the UK.

By 2040, Southampton will be transformed through bold and ambitious plans to change how the city looks and feels. Our vision is to make Southampton a modern, liveable and sustainable place to live, work and visit by investing in better and more innovative transport.

Over the next 20 years, we want to secure a successful future for the city and improve the quality of life of all its residents. It’s an exciting time to be living and working in Southampton. To make sure the city thrives, we must think differently about transport. We are planning for clean, green and sustainable growth that puts people first.

To meet the main challenges transport in Southampton will have to address, we have identified three strategic goals:

• A Successful Southampton – improving transport to support the sustainable economic growth of Southampton. Investing in transport will enable people and goods to get around more easily
• A System for Everyone – making Southampton a safe and attractive place to live to improve quality of life. Ensuring everyone is included with access to transport
• A Better Way to Travel – supporting people to change how they move around the city by widening their healthy and clean travel choices by encouraging them to get around actively and healthily, and helping Southampton become a zero emission city

As part of our plan to transform the public transport system in Southampton, we are trialling e-scooter hire across the city and conducting feasibility studies into water taxis, connecting waterfront communities and venues, and a mass transit system, allow people to travel easily around and across Southampton on reliable, high quality vehicles.

More information about our vision for transport and plans, visit our Connected Southampton 2040 – Our Local Transport Plan.