Brighton railway station

Infobox UK station
name = Brighton
code = BTN


caption = Brighton station concourse
manager = Southern
locale = Brighton
borough = Brighton and Hove, East Sussex
usage0405 = 11.295
usage0506 = 11.855
usage0607 = 12.853
platforms = 8
start = 11 May 1840
latitude = 50.8288
longitude = -0.1411

Brighton railway station is the principal railway station in the city of Brighton and Hove, on the south coast of England. It was built by the London & Brighton Railway in 1840, initially connecting Brighton to Shoreham-by-Sea, westwards along the coast, and shortly afterwards connecting it to London 82 km (51 miles) to the north, and to the county town of Lewes to the east.

Immediately to the north of the station is Network Rail's ECR and infrastructure maintenance depot, and Southern's, Lovers Walk Depot, used for servicing most of Southern's single voltage Class 377 Electrostar fleet and their newly acquired Class 442s. The depot is partially on the site of Brighton railway works.

Trains are operated by franchises trading under the names Southern, First Great Western, First Capital Connect, and CrossCountry.

The station has a large double-spanned curved glass and iron roof covering the platforms, which was substantially renovated in 1999 and 2000 [ [http://www.kier.co.uk/Sectors/details.asp?id=115&Sector_id=0 Project information from Kier Construction Ltd] ] .

Services

The station provides fast and frequent connections to Gatwick Airport and London Victoria, as well via the Thameslink line through the City of London to Bedford. During normal service, most trains to (and through) London use the Brighton main line to get there. Some trains also run via Kensington (Olympia) station en route to Manchester or—via Salisbury and Bristol—to Cardiff, in both cases avoiding the need to change trains in central London. Trains to Lewes and beyond leave Brighton station over the spectacular London Road viaduct.

South West Trains also used to operate regular services from this station, to Reading and Paignton, via Worthing and Chichester. These services were withdrawn from 10 December 2007, due to new franchise obligations and South West Trains no longer operate any services from Brighton. This has caused some disruption to commuters as there are now no direct services from Brighton to Basingstoke and Winchester.

A Brighton newspaper article detailed a presentation to a commuter who had been travelling to London for over forty years. The train provider, possibly Connex at the time, presented the commuter with a bottle of champagne. The story had a twist in the tail - the same rolling stock was being used when the traveller started her commute forty years ago. She was travelling in the same rattley coaches and the journey time and average speed had both worsened during that 40-year period

Typical hourly off-peak service pattern
*Brighton Main Line
**2tph to London Victoria (express) - Southern
**1tph to Watford Junction (stopping) - Southern
**2tph to Bedford (semi-fast) - First Capital Connect
**2tph to Bedford (stopping) - First Capital Connect
**2tpd to Manchester Piccadilly (via Reading, and Birmingham) - CrossCountry
*West Coastway Line
**2tpd to Great Malvern (semi - fast) - First Great Western
**2tph to West Worthing (stopping) - Southern
**2tph to Hove (to connect with semi-fast services from London Victoria to Littlehampton) Southern
**1tph to Southampton Central (semi-fast to Chichester) - Southern
**1tph to Portsmouth Harbour (semi-fast) - Southern
*East Coastway Line
**2tph to Seaford (stopping) - Southern
**1tph to Lewes (stopping) - Southern
**1tph to Ore (stopping) - Southern
**1tph to Ashford International (semi-fast) - Southern

"(tph = trains per hour)"

Accidents

On 4 August 1909, a motor-train hauled by Terrier No.83 "Earlswood" collided with the buffers at Brighton, due to the driver's error. Nineteen people were injured.cite book | first = Tom| last = Middlemass| authorlink = | coauthors = | year =1995 | month = | title = Stroudley and his Terriers| chapter = | editor = | others = | edition = | pages = p51| publisher = Pendragon| location = York| id = ISBN 1 899816 00 3| url = ]

History and development

The original station site was rapidly extended in the nineteenth century to allow for a goods yard — on a site somewhat lower than the station, and initially accessed by a tunnel under it. The tunnel entrance was filled in after new tracks were laid into the goods yard, but a portion of it was converted into offices during World War II, and these were in use until the early twenty-first century. A portion of the tunnel is still used by a local rifle club.

A second tunnel runs under the station which once provided an open-air cab run at shallower gradient than Trafalgar Street outside, which had been the main approach to the station before the construction of Queen's Road (which was financially supported by the railway, and intended to improve access). The cab run was covered (forming a tunnel) when the station above was extended over it on cast iron columns. The cab run remains in situ but has been sealed at the station end.

Subsequent extensions included extra platforms and considerable trackwork for the goods yard (including a new bridge over New England Road), and Brighton railway works.

In the twentieth century the railway-related manufacturing work ceased, after which Isetta cars were briefly built in a part of the works.

The site of the goods yard has been redeveloped, and much of it forms the New England Quarter.

Future plans for the concourse

Marks and Spencers will extend its store taking over BonaParts Bar (work started on 05/08/2008). Whsmiths will move into the ticket office leaving the concourse empty. The ticket office will move into a new ticket office formed out of the old mens toilet block (work has currently started) and will form a new entrance from Trafalgar street.

The second floor of station will be open to the shops and the public and a new bar will open at the east side of the concourse, which will eventually have a concourse present. The completion date is expected to be the end of 2010.

References

See also

* Transport in Brighton and Hove

External links

* [http://www.mybrightonandhove.org.uk/brighton_station_personal.htm My Brighton and Hove : Brighton Railway station]
* [http://www.mybrightonandhove.org.uk/brighton_station_old_cobbled_road_personal.htm My Brighton and Hove : old cobbled road under the station]
* [http://www.kentrail.co.uk/Brighton.htm Kent Rail's page on Brighton station]
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5dGt4DD0H4Q YouTube video] of trains arriving/departing in 1995