In 1885, the present main line from Brockenhurst to Christchurch and on to Poole, via what is now Bournemouth station, was opened.

The line east of Ringwood was closed completely and the track was lifted in 1965; however, public goods services continued from the Poole direction until August 1967 and the track was shortly thereafter lifted back to the RAOC fuel depot at West Moors.

Cast iron canopy columns from the station were used to build a new shelter at Ropley Station on The Watercress Line[1] A report from the Association of Train Operating Companies (ATOC) published in June 2009 recommended the rebuilding of part of the Brockenhurst to Poole line from Brockenhurst to Ringwood.

The report (Connecting Communities: Expanding Access to the Rail Network) looked into the feasibility of reopening disused lines and stations, it concluded that there was a business case for investing £70m in the new link with an hourly service.

[2] In 2023, The Ringwood Society, a local amenity group, were awarded £43,880 by National Lottery Heritage Fund for a project to restore an area of land formerly part of the railway station and for a 'Memories of Ringwood Railway' exhibition and memory capture project.