Eastbourne railway station serves the seaside town of Eastbourne in East Sussex, England. It is on the East Coastway Line. The station is managed by Southern, who operate all trains serving it. It is one of two railway stations in the town, the other being Hampden Park Station. There are also two other stations in the Eastbourne area, one being Pevensey & Westham, in nearby Westham (near Pevensey), the other being Polegate.
Eastbourne | |
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General information | |
Location | Eastbourne, Borough of Eastbourne England |
Grid reference | TV609991 |
Managed by | Southern |
Platforms | 3 |
Other information | |
Station code | EBN |
Classification | DfT category C1 |
Key dates | |
1849 | Opened |
1866 | Rebuilt |
1872 | Resited |
1886 | Rebuilt |
Passengers | |
2016/17 | 3.194 million |
Interchange | 6,987 |
2017/18 | 3.355 million |
Interchange | 8,185 |
2018/19 | 3.581 million |
Interchange | 61,373 |
2019/20 | 3.605 million |
Interchange | 60,883 |
2020/21 | 1.188 million |
Interchange | 12,344 |
Listed Building – Grade II | |
Feature | Eastbourne Railway Station |
Designated | 3 July 1981 |
Reference no. | 1262160[1] |
Notes | |
Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road |
Most passenger services along the coast served the station, as they do today. Trains reverse at the station to continue their journey along the East Coastway by using a junction north of Hampden Park railway station; services run either east (to Bexhill, Hastings and Ashford International) or west via Lewes (to Brighton or London Victoria) from the station.
The single track branch line to Eastbourne from Polegate on the Brighton to Hastings line was opened by the London Brighton and South Coast Railway (LB&SCR) on 14 May 1849.[2] As the town became an ever more popular seaside resort two further stations followed: the first in 1866 and the present station, designed by F.D. Brick, in 1886.[3] There was a rarely used triangular junction between Polegate and the now-closed Stone Cross which allowed trains to bypass the Branch; the track for this has now been lifted.
Very little is known about the first station, except it was a timber structure and was used between 1849 and 1866 when the station building was moved to Wharf Road and became a dwelling for railway families. A new station was rebuilt. The location of the first station was said to be in Upperton Road, between the site of the current station and the Royal Mail sorting office.[4] There is no record known on how many platforms the first station had.
With the increase in services serving Eastbourne, now a popular resort, under LB&SCR Chief Engineer Frederick Banister a station was resited a little to the east in 1872 and rebuilt in 1886 and designed by F.D. Brick, in 1886.[3] which a vaulted canopy and lantern roof, similar to Lewes. The station had 4 platforms which increased in length over the years. There were also two run around loops between platforms 2 and 3. Over the years one of the runaround loops was lost as platforms 1 and 2 was built wider. On 12 April 1977 platform 4 was shortened from a 12 coach to an 8 coach length to make way for the ring road construction.[5] It was then taken out of use and the track lifted during the Eastbourne re-signalling in 1991
A goods station and yard was built north of the present station, on the site of the first station and was accessed from the mainline north of the station. Also to the north of the station was an extensive coal depot and industrial sidings including the Crumbles siding. The goods shed still survives today as the Enterprise Shopping Centre and the goods yard surrounding it is now the station car park. The site of the former coal sidings to the northeast of the station is now occupied by a car dealership.
The LB&SCR opened a small engine shed in 1849 which was demolished in 1876. It was replaced by a semi-roundhouse in 1876, which was demolished in 1912.[6] A larger, seven-road (seven track) shed was opened in 1911, but this was badly damaged by bombing in the Second World War and was never repaired. The shed was closed in 1952, but the site continued to be used as a store for locomotives awaiting scrapping[7] until 1965, when diesel locomotives were stored there until 1968; the shed was demolished in 1969.[8] The site of the first engine shed is now occupied by the current carriage sidings, whilst the site of the later shed is now wasteland.
The current signal box was built in 1882 and had an impressive 108 Lever frame controlling the station, goods yard and carriage sidings, this was later replaced on 14 November 1934 with a 72 lever frame. In 1991 the signal box was changed into a power signal box when the semaphore signals were replaced by colour light signals and an "entrance-exit" control system installed. The signal box closed in 2015 with the re-signalling of the line between Lewes and Bexhill controlled from a new signalling centre at Three Bridges
Eastbourne station was listed at Grade II on 3 July 1981.[9]
There has been only one railway accident in Eastbourne. On 25 August 1958, a Glasgow to Eastbourne sleeper train collided with an Ore to London Bridge service killing 5, leaving 22 with serious injuries and 18 with minor.
Since 2001, all train services have been operated by Southern, formerly South Central.
Until the late 1960s, long-distance through trains ran from Eastbourne via Brighton to:
An overnight train also ran from Glasgow Central.
Long-distance services again ran between 1988 and 1996, branded InterCity Holidaymaker. Between 1996 and 1997, Virgin CrossCountry ran a Saturday-only service to Glasgow Central in the morning and Manchester Piccadilly in the afternoon.[10]
Until 14 June 1965, a local service from Eastbourne ran via the Cuckoo Line to Tunbridge Wells West and later to Tonbridge. Between 15 June 1965 and 9 September 1968 a shuttle service ran to Hailsham.
The typical off-peak service from the station is:
There are additional peak services to London Bridge.
On Sunday the typical service is:
Preceding station | National Rail | Following station | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
Hampden Park | Southern Mainline East (Victoria-Eastbourne) |
Terminus | ||
Polegate | Southern Mainline East (Victoria-Ore) |
Hampden Park | ||
Polegate | Southern East Coastway Line (Brighton-Ore) |
Hampden Park | ||
Terminus | Southern East Coastway Line (Eastbourne-Ashford) |
Hampden Park |
Since 2014, there have been calls for reinstatement of the Willingdon Chord, some 3 miles (5 km) north of the station. This would allow trains on the East Coastway line to bypass Eastbourne, saving time on journeys to Hastings and Ashford International.[11]
Railway stations in East Sussex | |||
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Bedford and London to Brighton | |||
London to Eastbourne | |||
London to Hastings | |||
Brighton to Hastings: East Coastway |
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Hastings to Ashford: Marshlink | |||
Brighton to Seaford | |||
Southampton to Brighton: West Coastway | |||
London to Uckfield | |||
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Bluebell Railway | |||
Kent and East Sussex Railway |
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Lavender Line |
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Spa Valley Railway |