[2] On 5 March 1888 the direct line from Brockenhurst via Sway to Bournemouth and Poole and bypassing the longer 'Corkscrew', opened to traffic.

This massively increased the number of trains passing through the station for both routes and enhancing its status as an interchange, especially after the downgrading of the 'corkscrew' in 1893 to that of a branch line.

[4] Services over the old Southampton and Dorchester line via Ringwood fell victim to the Beeching Axe, ceasing in May 1964.

[5][6] In 2014 the station received £4.6 million of government grants as part of the Access for All initiative to replace the footbridge at Brockenhurst with a new bridge complete with lift shafts.

The station is served primarily by South Western Railway services between Weymouth and London Waterloo.

There is a year-round Bluestar 6 service to Lymington in the south, Lyndhurst to the north and onward connections to Totton and Southampton.