Littlehampton railway station
Littlehampton  | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
.JPG) | |||||
| 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 | |||||
| 2015/16 |  1.030 million | ||||
| Interchange | 3,277 | ||||
| 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 | ||||
| |||||
.JPG)
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.
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]
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.
Services
Off-peak, all services at Littlehampton are operated by Southern. The typical off-peak service in trains per hour is:
- 2 tph to London Victoria via Worthing [10]
- 1 tph to Bognor Regis [11]
- 1 tph to Portsmouth & Southsea [12]
Additional services operate during the peak hours including services to Brighton. During the peak hours, there are also a small number of trains to Bedford, operated by Thameslink.
On Sundays, the service to Portsmouth & Southsea does not run and the service to London Victoria is reduced to 1 tph.
There are also limited services on the Arun Valley line during times of engineering work or service disruption.
| Preceding station |  National Rail
|
Following station | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Southern | Terminus | |||
| Southern | Terminus | |||
| Thameslink Bedford to Littlehampton Peak Hours Only | Terminus | |||
| Southern Arun Valley line Limited Service | Terminus | |||
Facilities
|
- 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 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]
In the summer of 2009 a train collided with the buffer stops on Platform 2. No one was injured in the collision.
References
- ^ Clark, Ronald H. (1964). Southern Region Record Chronology and Record, 1803-1965 (cover title: A Southern Region Record). X Series, X13. Lingfield, Surrey, England: Oakwood Press. pp. 64, 79. ISBN 978-0-85361-033-5.
- ^ Mitchell, Vic and Smith, Keith. South Coast Railways - Brighton to Worthing (1986). Middleton Press, Midhurst. ISBN 0-906520-34-7
- ^ Ball, M. G. European Railway Atlas: British Isles (second edition) (1996), page 4. Ian Allan Publishing, Shepperton. ISBN 0-7110-2407-3
- ^ Mitchell and Smith, photograph 107.
- ^ Mitchell and Smith, photographs 107 and 121.
- ^ Brown, David and Jackson, Alan A. (1990): Network SouthEast Handbook, page 79. Capital Transport Publishing, Harrow Weald. ISBN 1-85414-129-5
- ^ Mitchell and Smith, photograph 109.
- ^ Mitchell and Smith, photograph 116.
- ^ Mitchell and Smith, photograph 119.
- ^ "Timetable 24: Littlehampton and Worthing to Brighton and London" (PDF). Southern, December 2019.
- ^ "Timetable 26: Littlehampton to Bognor Regis" (PDF). Southern, December 2019.
- ^ "Timetable 27: Southampton and Portsmouth to Brighton" (PDF). Southern, December 2019.
- ^ http://www.gravelroots.net/history/199_8v.html[permanent dead link]
- 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