Littlehampton railway station

Littlehampton National Rail
Location
Place Littlehampton Town Centre
Local authority Arun
Grid reference TQ025021
Operations
Station code LIT
Managed by Southern
Number of platforms 4
DfT category D
Live arrivals/departures, station information and onward connections
from National Rail Enquiries
Annual rail passenger usage*
2009/10 Increase 0.934 million
2010/11 Increase 0.981 million
2011/12 Increase 1.020 million
2012/13 Increase 1.037 million
2013/14 Increase 1.044 million
History
17 August 1863 Opened
1887 Eastward spur
1937 Redeveloped
30 June 1938 electrified
1986 - 15 January 1988 NSE rebuild
National Rail – UK railway stations
* Annual estimated passenger usage based on sales of tickets in stated financial year(s) which end or originate at Littlehampton from Office of Rail and Road statistics. Methodology may vary year on year.
UK Railways portal
Plaque commemorating the opening of the new station building.

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

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 377 "Electrostars" and Class 313 trains

History

A station called Arundel and Littlehampton opened in 1850 on the main Brighton–Portsmouth Line. This closed when 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,[1] 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.[2]

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.[3] 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.[4][5] [6] The line was electrified in 1938, with an official unveiling ceremony being held on 30 June 1938.[7] The station handled goods traffic until 1970.[8]

There is a mechanical signal box to the north west of the station.

Carriage Shed and Stabling Sidings

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.

Platforms

Platform 1: Used for services to Portsmouth & Southsea

Platform 2: Used for services to London Victoria

Platform 3: Used for services to Bognor Regis

Platform 4: Used mainly in peak times for services to Brighton, Bognor Regis & Southampton Central

The above may change during service disruption and the Signalling Centre at Littlehampton may place trains in any available platforms.

Services

In a typical day between Monday and Saturday approximately 128 trains pass in and out of Litttlehampton.

The typical off-peak service is as follows:

Preceding station National Rail Following station
Angmering   Southern
West Coastway Line
Littlehampton branch		   Terminus or
Ford
Angmering   Southern
Littlehampton - London Bridge
Peak Times Only		   Terminus
Arundel   Southern
Arun Valley Line
Mondays-Fridays only		   Terminus

Facilities

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 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.[9]

In the summer of 2009 a train collided with the buffer stops on Platform 2. No one was injured in the collision.

References

  1. ↑ Mitchell, Vic and Smith, Keith. South Coast Railways - Brighton to Worthing (1986). Middleton Press, Midhurst. ISBN 0-906520-34-7
  2. ↑ Ball, M. G. European Railway Atlas: British Isles (second edition) (1996), page 4. Ian Allan Publishing, Shepperton. ISBN 0-7110-2407-3
  3. ↑ Mitchell and Smith, photograph 107.
  4. ↑ Mitchell and Smith, photographs 107 and 121.
  5. ↑ Brown, David and Jackson, Alan A. (1990): Network SouthEast Handbook, page 79. Capital Transport Publishing, Harrow Weald. ISBN 1-85414-129-5
  6. ↑ Mitchell and Smith, photograph 109.
  7. ↑ Mitchell and Smith, photograph 116.
  8. ↑ Mitchell and Smith, photograph 119.
  9. ↑ http://www.gravelroots.net/history/199_8v.html

External links

Coordinates: 50°48′37″N 0°32′47″W / 50.81028°N 0.54639°W / 50.81028; -0.54639

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Monday, January 25, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.