Update: We have been informed by a representative from Network Rail that rail engineers preparing to replace the footbridge in September have been inspecting the existing bridge and have found structural problems with the current bridge. Unfortunately, due to staff and passenger safety, the bridge will close on Saturday 12 July and will not reopen until the new bridge is in place, currently expected at the end of September. In the meantime please use the road bridge to cross between platforms.
If you are traveling towards Bournemouth, please allow extra time to buy your ticket from the machine on platform 1 and then cross to platform 2 by the road bridge.
The footbridge at Sway station is about 100 years old and as you can see from the photo above, it’s showing its age.
SWR have informed us that the bridge is going to be replaced. with a completely new structure. The likely timing of the replacement is September this year.
There may be some disruption to weekend travel in September to allow for the bridge replacement. As soon as we know the dates and the likely disruption to travel then we’ll advise on the website and on Facebook.
I had a brief look at the history of the bridge. I couldn’t find any date stamps on the bridge but did find several parts with the name of the foundry / the company that built the Bridge, “Dorman Long & Co LTD”. This was a company founded in 1875 as a steel producer and later diversifyng into bridge building in the 1920s. If you have any further information about the history of the bridge then please send us a message using the contact form at the bottom of the page.
