Place Horsham Station code HRH DfT category C2 Number of platforms 4 | Grid reference TQ178309 Managed by Southern 2011/12 2.579 million | |
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Address Horsham RH12 1RB, United Kingdom Similar Three Bridges railway st, Redhill railway station, Gatwick Airport railway st, Littlehaven railway station, Balcombe railway station | ||
Trains at horsham railway station 30 12 15
Horsham railway station serves the town of Horsham in West Sussex, England. It is on the Arun Valley Line 38 miles (61 km) south of London Victoria and the Sutton & Mole Valley Lines, and train services are provided by Southern. Services on the Sutton & Mole Valley Line from London Victoria via Dorking terminate here, the others continue into the Arun Valley: a half-hourly service from London Victoria to Southampton Central or Portsmouth Harbour (alternating) and Bognor Regis. These trains usually divide here with the front (Southampton/Portsmouth) portion travelling fast (next stop Barnham) and the rear (Bognor Regis) half providing stopping services.
Contents
History
Horsham would have been an important midway point in two of the original proposals for a London to Brighton railway via the Adur valley but in the event Sir John Rennie's proposed direct line through Three Bridges (in east Crawley) and Haywards Heath was given parliamentary approval. As a result, the original Horsham station was the terminus of a single track branch line from Three Bridges opened by the London Brighton and South Coast Railway (LBSCR) in February 1848.
Between 1859 and 1867 the station was enlarged on several occasions to coincide with the doubling of the branch line from Three Bridges; the extension of the railway from Horsham along the Arun Valley Line; the opening of new lines from Horsham to Shoreham via Steyning and from Christ's Hospital to Guildford. Finally, in 1867 a new route to Dorking, Leatherhead and thence to London, was opened. The station was again partially rebuilt and resignalled, with three signal boxes, in 1875.
The present station was built by the Southern Railway in the International Modern Style in 1938 to coincide with the electrification of the line. The building was designed by James Robb Scott and is grade II listed, see external links below. The lines to Guildford and Shoreham both fell victim to the Beeching Axe in the mid 1960s, the former being closed to passengers on 14 June 1965 and the latter on 7 March 1966.
In September 2011 the station frontage was closed to undergo extensive refurbishment work to the main ticket hall. It reopened late in 2012 with a new side entrance, internal lift access, relocated barriers and stairway, a new ticket office, and new information screens. The platforms received a rebuild of the roofing and refurbished waiting rooms. Previously, the building was shared with Henfield Hire, who vacated in order to give the floor space needed to create the new features and new ceiling and lights and so completing a complete reconfiguration of the layout.
Accidents and incidents
Services
Off-peak frequencies on Mondays to Fridays: (as of December 2015)
There is no Saturday evening or Sunday service on the Dorking line, whilst the fast service via Crawley to and from Victoria drops to hourly in the late evening. Sundays see hourly services to both Victoria & London Bridge and to Bognor Regis.
From 10 December 2007, the service towards Portsmouth Harbour/Southampton Central and Bognor Regis now divides at this station and attaches here towards London Victoria via Gatwick Airport and East Croydon during off-peak hours, as part of the new West Coastway timetable.
Facilities
Motive power depot
A small wooden motive power depot was built at the station in 1876. This was replaced by a brick-built ten-road semi-roundhouse together with a 46 ft (14 metre) turntable in 1880. This in turn was extended with a further eight-roads in 1900. In 1927 the Southern Railway installed a 55 ft (16.8 metre) turntable. This depot was closed in 1964.
Signalbox
Nearby is the type 13 signal box dating from 1938, which is also Grade II listed. It closed in 2005 when its controls were transferred to Three Bridges Panel signal Box.
Future services
New services from Horsham have been proposed to be introduced to destinations north of central London from 2018. In May 2014, a proposed timetable was released; it is planned that services between Horsham and London Bridge be extended to Peterborough via London St Pancras, Stevenage and St. Neots.