A RAILWAY firm has taken over three stations in the Test Valley.

South Western Railway (SWR) will take over the management of Romsey, Dean and Mottisfont and Dunbridge from sister operator Great Western Railway (GWR).

This means that SWR will now be responsible for the operation and facilities at these stations, and GWR station staff at Romsey will transfer to South Western Railway.

The change will also see SWR manage customer enquiries in relation to these stations - customer Help Points at the three stations will now be answered by SWR colleagues at the Control Centre in Basingstoke.

Romsey station car park will now also be managed by SWR through third party supplier APCOA, this means that GWR parking tickets will no longer be valid at this station.

We are contacting any remaining GWR customers with a permit for Romsey to help them make arrangements for a SWR parking ticket.

The train firm has confirmed this change will have no affect on service.

For a short time period, GWR will manage the Customer Information System which they have promised will not affect day to day running of the service.

A SWR spokesperson said: "We at SWR are delighted to welcome these three stations into our operation.

"This addition means we now manage a total of 187 stations across our region.

"We look forward to working with local stakeholders as we start a new chapter for these three stations."

The change was implemented on April 1, 2020.