What are my London to Southampton train options?

Two different companies run a London to Southampton train service. These are South Western Railway and Southern. Let’s look at each of them, how long they take and how much their flexible train fares cost.

South Western Railway

You’ll find two direct London to Southampton train services each hour. They run from London Waterloo and are the fastest option for this trip. During peak times, you’ll find extra trains on this route. Here’s where each of the Off-Peak trains stop:

• • Clapham Junction, Basingstoke, Winchester, Southampton Airport Parkway and Southampton Central (1h16m to 1h18m)
  • Woking, Basingstoke, Winchester, Southampton Airport Parkway and Southampton Central (1h15m).

Here are the typical on-the-day fares if you’re using South Western Railway for a London to Southampton train journey:

• • Anytime Open Return - £104.00
  • Off-Peak Return - £55.20 
  • Anytime Day Return - £54.80
  • Off-Peak Day Return - £53.10
  • Super Off-Peak Return - £42.00.

The Anytime Open Return's outward portion is valid for one day, and the return part is valid for one month. You can use the Off-Peak Return after 9am on weekdays (any time at weekends and Bank Holidays) on your outward trip, and you can arrive back in London after 10am on your return (any time at weekends and Bank Holidays). The same rules apply to the Off-Peak Day Return, but you’ll need to complete your entire return trip in one day.

Meanwhile, the Super Off-Peak Return is quite restrictive. You can only leave London between 12:00 and 15:59 and after 19:01 Monday to Saturday. On your return, you can't arrive back in London until after 2pm Monday to Saturday.

Southern

So, Southern offers the cheaper but slower London to Southampton train option. You’ll find one train per hour, and it takes a fairly long route from London Victoria. Here are the typical stops on each one:

• • Clapham Junction, East Croydon, Gatwick Airport, Three Bridges, Crawley, Horsham, Barnham, Chichester, Southbourne, Emsworth, Havant, Cosham, Portchester, Fareham, Swanwick and Southampton Central.

A London to Southampton train journey with Southern typically takes around 2h25m. It might be a little slower during some parts of the day, such as in the early morning and late evening. It’s also possible to take the London Victoria to Portsmouth train and change at Havant every hour.

The plus side is that the on-the-day fares are quite a bit cheaper:

• • Anytime Return - £75.20 
  • Off-Peak Return - £44.90 
  • Anytime Day Return - £40.00
  • Off-Peak Day Return - £36.40.

All of these tickets are routed via Three Bridges, so you aren’t tied to Southern trains, but you’ll need to take the route via Three Bridges.

The Anytime Return's outward portion is valid for five days, and the return part is valid for one month. You can use the Off-Peak Return after 09:30 in both directions on weekdays (and at any time at weekends and Bank Holidays). The Off-Peak Day Return is valid after 09:00 on weekdays (and at any time at weekends and Bank Holidays).

How do I get the best London to Southampton train fare?

This is easy! You can get the best London to Southampton train fare by booking with Railsmartr. It’s also possible to book train-specific Advance tickets for this route. Let’s see what we get when we try to book a one-way trip a week ahead. First, let’s look at the results for searching from Victoria:

  

As you can see, it’s possible to get a one-way London to Southampton train fare for just £9.50. It’s quite a slow journey, but that’s quite a saving! Let’s see how much it is from Waterloo at the same time of day: 

If you take a direct train, it’s £22.10 one-way. It’s possible to get cheaper fares (fares start at £9.20 on South Western Railway and £6.00 on Southern), but you’ll need to look further in advance for these.

What are the trains like?

Let's take a look at what the trains are like on the London to Southampton route and the sort of features that they have.

South Western Railway

Almost all of the trains on South Western Railway’s route to Southampton are Class 444 Desiro trains. They have five or 10 carriages. All of the seats are in a 2+2 layout, and there's a power socket at every window seat. You'll either have access to a fold-down table or a full-size table for four.

Southern

If you’re taking Southern, then every train is the same type. They’re known as Electrostar trains, but many of them have a different seating layout, depending on which carriage you're in. A Southern train will have either four, eight or 12 coaches.

The end carriages of each unit (for example, in an eight-coach train, that'd be coaches 1, 4, 5 and 8) usually have a 'low-density' layout, which is a 2+2 layout with lots of tables:

All of these trains are currently being refurbished and having power sockets added to the window seats. These sockets contain both USB ports and a three-pin socket.

It's not possible to guess which trains will have the sockets, but it's about a 50:50 chance as of September 2023.

Is there anything else I should know?

Feeling inspired? Explore more day trips across the country in our expert tips, if you're after a car-free getaway. Unsure about the Capital? Don't worry. We're here to help with getting across London. 

The final thing we’d recommend is using the Railsmartr website to book your London to Southampton train tickets. We’re completely independent, so we’re happy to ‘tell you like it is’ when it comes to rail fares. Not only that, but we’ll show you the slower, but cheaper options that some websites won’t.

Don’t forget that we don’t charge any fees, either. That includes if you change your mind and want to travel on a different day. If your ticket is refundable, we’ll refund it fee-free, too!

_{^{All fares stated on this page are for ONE adult with no Railcard discount and were correct at 13:00 25/09/2023. All information is issued in good faith. They’re subject to change at any time and Railsmartr is not responsible for any loss or disappointment incurred as a result of the information provided.}}