There is a taxi rank at the front of the building and regular local buses within five minutes' walking distance.
The present station was built in 1866[2] and was further extended via additional high level platforms to Portsmouth Harbour in 1876.
The line opened in 1857 and branched off from the west end of today's platform 1 and passed through the east side of Victoria Park, close to the rear of Stanhope Road, before crossing Bishop Crispian Way via a level crossing (the gates still exist) and entering the naval base at the Unicorn Gate.
Part of the station, specifically the 1980s canopy over high level platforms 1 and 2, is still in its original red Network SouthEast livery.
The Low terminal is located next to Ryde Esplanade, with a single price ticket for journeys via rail/hover/rail, similar to that provided by Wightlink from Portsmouth Harbour.