Newhaven Marine railway station

Newhaven Marine railway station was a station in Newhaven, East Sussex, England near Newhaven Harbour. It remained legally open until 22 October 2020, but was closed to passengers in August 2006 due to safety concerns.[3] The station has been a site of fascination due to the operation of "Parliamentary train" services to the station that appeared in timetables but were inaccessible to the public, and which nonetheless called at the station once a day in order to fulfil the legal obligations of an 'open' station. Any passengers wishing to avail themselves of the timetabled service were able to receive a free taxi service from Newhaven Marine to Newhaven Town on request, although the walking distance between the two stations is about 2 minutes.[4][5]

Newhaven Marine
The entrance to the platform at Newhaven Marine before demolition of the station in 2017.
LocationNewhaven, Lewes
England
Coordinates50.7875°N 0.0566°E / 50.7875; 0.0566
Grid referenceTQ450006
Platforms1
Other information
StatusDisused
Station codeNVM
ClassificationDfT category F1
History
Original companyLB&SCR
Pre-groupingLB&SCR
Post-groupingSouthern Railway
Key dates
17 May 1886Opened as Newhaven Harbour (Boat Station)
14 May 1984Renamed Newhaven Marine
August 2006Services suspended on safety grounds
May 2017Demolished
22 October 2020Officially closed[1][2]

History

The first station adjacent to the site was named Newhaven Wharf which opened with the line from Lewes on 8 December 1847 and closed when Newhaven Harbour station opened.[6][7] The London, Brighton and South Coast Railway (LB&SCR) opened the station on 17 May 1886, as Newhaven Harbour (Boat Station).

On 14 May 1984, British Rail renamed the station to Newhaven Marine.[8]

The line to Newhaven Marine branches off the Seaford line at Newhaven Harbour Junction. The single platform of Newhaven Marine is numbered 3; it is long enough for 12 coaches, and is 16 chains (320 m) to the south of Newhaven Harbour station (56 miles 67 chains (91.5 km) measured from London Bridge via Redhill[9]). There is a run-round loop.[10]

While Newhaven Marine was once a busy station, offering connections for ferry passengers travelling to Dieppe in France, gradual reductions in ferry passenger numbers led to a fall in demand for the station.[11]

By 2006, it was served by a daily Parliamentary train, the name given to services in the UK which are operated in order to meet the legal obligations of train companies to keep a station or line open.

In August 2006, the station was closed to the public due to safety concerns over the condition of the roof canopy,[3] which was later removed.[12]

A daily service continued to operate, stopping at the station platforms but with passengers unable to access it.[12] Attention was brought to the situation in a BBC Radio 4 programme, The Ghost Trains of Old England, in October 2010,[4] and the station became well known among railway enthusiasts for its unusual status.[5][13] At this time, much of the station building remained standing, with fences preventing access to the platforms.[4][5] A poster at the station offered ticket-holders a taxi to Newhaven Harbour station at the scheduled time of the Parliamentary train, although the journey between the two stations is less than a 2 minute walk.[4][5]

Services and the station today

In 2017, the station buildings were demolished and access to the site remained impossible.[14][15]

In May 2018, it was revealed that the station was being considered for a legal closure as part of plans to improve freight connectivity in the area.[16]

Since August 2006, one daily parliamentary service called at the station, which was formed with empty stock movements barred from passenger use. However, this service was suspended in early 2019 due to resignalling works.[17][14]

On 15 January 2020, the Department for Transport (DfT) opened a formal public consultation to close the station. The consultation closed at 11:45 on 19 April 2020.[17] The consultation attracted 27 responses with only 4 opposing the decision to close the station. Two of these opposed the closure on the basis that it may negatively impact local rail services; the other two raised concerns over the closure of any railway station. With very little opposition to closure, the DfT announced their proposal to close the station on 24 June 2020. The DfT’s decision was submitted to the Office of Rail & Road for ratification, and after the Office of Rail & Road approved the DfT’s decision, the station was closed on 22 October 2020.[1][2]

Preceding station Historical railways Following station
Terminus   Southern
Seaford Branch Line		   Newhaven Harbour

Today, Newhaven Marine consists of a run-around loop adjacent to the old station platform. Further south, the track extends into Newhaven East Quay, to a marine-dredged aggregates handling plant.[18] Aggregates and sand imported from ships are carried by conveyor and loaded onto freight trains towards London. The first aggregates train was operated by DB Cargo UK and ran on 18 June 2020.[19]

See also

References
  1. "Newhaven Marine 'ghost station' closure confirmed". The Argus. Archived from the original on 29 September 2020. Retrieved 24 September 2020.
  2. "Newhaven freight revival as Marine station to close". Railway Gazette. Retrieved 1 July 2020.
  3. "Newhaven Marine Railway Station". Hansard. Retrieved 27 October 2010.
  4. "The Ghost Trains of Old England". BBC. Retrieved 27 October 2010.
  5. Pipe, Vicki; Marshall, Geoff (1 June 2011). "Newhaven Marine Ghost Train". Geoff Marshall (YouTube). Retrieved 19 November 2016.
  6. https://www.westsussex.gov.uk/media/1737/newhaven_eus_report_maps.pdf
  7. Southern Region Record by R.H.Clark
  8. Butt, R.V.J. (1995). The Directory of Railway Stations. Yeovil: Patrick Stephens Ltd. p. 169. ISBN 1-85260-508-1. R508.
  9. Yonge, John (November 2008) [1994]. Jacobs, Gerald (ed.). Railway Track Diagrams 5: Southern & TfL (3rd ed.). Bradford on Avon: Trackmaps. map 17A. ISBN 978-0-9549866-4-3.
  10. Yonge, John (November 2008) [1994]. Jacobs, Gerald (ed.). Railway Track Diagrams 5: Southern & TfL (3rd ed.). Bradford on Avon: Trackmaps. map 17A. ISBN 978-0-9549866-4-3.
  11. Gilbert, Gerard. "Travel: Channel ferry gets that sinking feeling". The Independent. Retrieved 23 July 2018.
  12. Department of Transport. "Freedom of Information Request 105003 response" (PDF). What do they know. Retrieved 23 July 2018.
  13. "Seaside postcard: Newhaven". Diamond Geezer. Retrieved 23 July 2018.
  14. David, Gareth (25 May 2017). "Ghost train to Newhaven Marine". RailwayWorld. Retrieved 23 July 2018.
  15. "Switch! Reverse that! - Episode 6, Day 9 - Bognor Regis to Gatwick Airport". All the Stations. Retrieved 23 July 2018.
  16. Womble Bond Dickinson (UK) LLP. "Improving Port Connectivity". Lexology. Retrieved 23 July 2018.
  17. Newhaven Marine station closure 15 January 2020
  18. "Newhaven Marine & Port Development Documentation". Rail Record. 11 February 2020. Retrieved 17 June 2020.
  19. "First Train Enters Newhaven Marine Aggregates Terminal". Rail Record. 18 June 2020. Retrieved 18 June 2020.
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