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Littlehampton railway station is in Littlehampton in the county of West Sussex, England. The station and the trains serving it are operated by Southern, and at peak times also by Thameslink.

Littlehampton
General information
Location	Littlehampton Town Centre, Arun England
Grid reference	TQ025021
Managed by	Southern
Platforms	4
Other information
Station code	LIT
Classification	DfT category D
Key dates
17 August 1863	Opened
1887	Eastward spur
1937	Redeveloped
30 June 1938	electrified
1986 - 15 January 1988	NSE rebuild
Passengers
2016/17	0.854 million
Interchange	2,695
2017/18	0.913 million
Interchange	3,238
2018/19	0.992 million
Interchange	4,839
2019/20	0.963 million
Interchange	4,722
2020/21	0.400 million
Interchange	1,526
Notes
Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road

The station is a terminus at the end of a short branch off the West Coastway line. It currently has 4 platforms, two of which are of twelve carriage length, one of eight carriage length and one of seven carriage length. It is served by Class 313 and Class 377 "Electrostar" trains, and at peak times also by Class 700.

History

A station called Arundel & Littlehampton opened in 1846 on the main Brighton–Portsmouth Line.[1] This closed shortly after the branch line to the town itself opened in August 1863, when a west-facing connection was made at Ford Junction. In 1887, the third side of the triangle was constructed,[2] allowing through running from the lines from Horsham and Brighton. The south junction was named Littlehampton Junction, while the eastern connection was named Arundel Junction.[3]

A station building similar to that at Arundel was provided; this lasted until 1937, after which redevelopment was severely delayed by the Second World War and planning disputes.[4] One original structure remained until 1986, when Network SouthEast started building a new concourse and ticket office. This was finished late in 1987, and was officially unveiled on 15 January 1988.[5][6][7] The line was electrified in 1938, with an official unveiling ceremony being held on 30 June 1938.[8] The station handled goods traffic until 1970.[9]

In 2021, the station received a Silent Soldier flat sculpture as a gift from East Preston Parish Council.[10] The sculpture is placed by the trackside floral beds.

Carriage Shed and Stabling Sidings

This section does not cite any sources. (April 2012)

A locomotive shed was also provided. Built with the station, it also went out of use in 1937 when the line was electrified. Currently in use at Littlehampton is a carriage shed used to store, maintain and clean Class 377 'Electrostars' and Class 313s; more recently next to the shed, two more sidings have been fitted with waste disposal facilities to empty train toilets and are used to store trains over night. Two more sidings were constructed for train storage. Also present is a train washer and siding for trains to dry in. Light maintenance jobs can also be carried out on trains at Littlehampton.

Services

Off-peak, all services at Littlehampton are operated by Southern using Class 313 and 377 EMUs.

The typical off-peak service in trains per hour is:[11]

• 2 tph to London Victoria via Worthing
• 1 tph to Bognor Regis
• 1 tph to Portsmouth & Southsea

During the peak hours, the station is served by a limited number of services to Brighton, as well as Thameslink services to Bedford via London Bridge. [12]

On Sundays, the service to Portsmouth & Southsea does not run and the service to London Victoria is reduced to 1 tph.

Preceding station	National Rail			Following station
Angmering		Southern West Coastway Line Littlehampton Branch		Terminus
Terminus				Ford
Angmering		Thameslink Bedford to Littlehampton Peak Hours Only		Terminus

Facilities

This section does not cite any sources. (April 2012)

• Booking Hall
• Ticket Office (1 Window)
• Quick Ticket (x2)
• Post Box
• Photo Booth
• Automatic Ticket Gates
• Snack Bar/Cafe
• Waiting Room
• Toilets
• Telephones
• Information points
• Departure Boards: 1 on all 4 platforms and four in booking hall just before ticket gate.
• Waiting Area
• 4 platforms
• Sheltered seating around the whole station
• Southern staff depot
• Taxi Rank (10 taxis max)
• Car Park (Approx 50 spaces)
• Bicycle storage (In the car park with CCTV monitoring 24 hours a day)
• Bus stops (Buses towards Brighton, Bus stop just outside the station. Buses towards Bognor Regis & Chichester, bus stop opposite the station) Served by Stagecoach South, Metrobus & National Express Coaches

Bus Services

Typical off peak service:

4 buses per hour to Brighton via Town Centre & Worthing (Stagecoach)

2 buses per hour to Portsmouth via Bognor Regis & Chichester (Stagecoach)

2 buses per hour to Chichester via Bognor Regis (Stagecoach)

2 buses per day to Gatwick Airport via Worthing (MetroBus)

2 Coaches per day to London (National Express)

2 Coaches per day to Chichester (National Express)

Accidents

• On 4 August 1920, the 13.10 train from Ford had a brake failure. The train hauled by D1 Class locomotive No.360, hit the buffer stops, demolishing them, going through the station and Albert Road, eventually coming to rest in Franciscan Way. There were about thirty passengers in the train, of whom thirteen suffered from minor injuries, or from the effects of shock. The driver and fireman escaped injury by jumping from the foot-plate just before the collision occurred.[13][14]
• On 30 November 1949, two passenger trains formed of electric multiple units collided at Littlehampton due to errors by a driver and guard on one of the trains and the Littlehampton signalman. Eleven people were injured.[15]

References

• Butt, R. V. J. (October 1995). The Directory of Railway Stations: details every public and private passenger station, halt, platform and stopping place, past and present (1st ed.). Sparkford: Patrick Stephens Ltd. ISBN 978-1-85260-508-7. OCLC 60251199. OL 11956311M.

External links

• Train times and station information for Littlehampton railway station from National Rail

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