Bexhill railway station

Bexhill railway station serves Bexhill-on-Sea in East Sussex, England. It is on the East Coastway Line, and train services are provided by Southern.

Contents

• Facilities
• Services
• References

From December 2005, transport links to and from Bexhill by rail were strengthened with an hourly express service between Brighton and Ashford International which stops at Bexhill station.

The station is a Grade II listed building, and a lavish restoration project to the platform canopies and to the booking hall was finally completed in the summer of 2008. The station is also accredited as part of the Department for Transport's Secure Stations scheme, with a digital CCTV system in place. The station is staffed during the daytime but not late in the evenings.

Historically, Bexhill was the original name of Bexhill West, on a branch from the Hastings Line at Crowhurst, providing direct services north to London. The station and line closed in 1964. The station known today as Bexhill was previously known as Bexhill Central. The station had a moment of glory in December 1911, when the platform was especially lengthened to accommodate the funeral train of Nripendra Narayan the Maharaja of Cooch Behar, as a result of which for many years it had the longest platform in England outside London.

An active local campaign group Bexhill Rail Action Group (BRAG)*[1] was formed in 2005 in response to proposals to end through services to London Victoria. The campaign was successful, and BRAG continues to campaign for local rail improvements.

Campaigners are seeking to upgrade and electrify the Marshlink Line to extend Southeastern high speed train services (which operate from London St Pancras via High Speed 1 to Ashford International) onwards via Rye to Hastings, Bexhill and Eastbourne, and which, if realised could slash journey times between Bexhill and the capital to around 1 hour and 15 minutes, instead of the average 1 hour 52 minutes currently.