Plumpton railway station


Plumpton railway station serves the village of Plumpton in East Sussex, England. It is from via.
Train services are provided by Southern. The station neighbours Plumpton Racecourse, which had its own platform at the end of the village station.

History

Plumpton lies on the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway "cut-off" line between Keymer Junction, near Wivelsfield on the Brighton Main Line, and Lewes. The erstwhile Brighton, Lewes and Hastings Railway were authorised to build the line in 1845; the LBSCR purchased it and opened the link on 1 October 1847. However, there was no immediate demand for services and the station did not open until June 1863.
The road crossing was established in 1849 and was hand operated until the establishment of the signal box in 1891. That signal box, now defunct after the crossing was given obstacle detection systems. It still remains and is a Grade II Listed Building.

Crossing Closure Controversy

closed the level crossing in September 2015 so that the wooden, wheel worked gates on the crossing could be replaced. However, Lewes District Council rejected the plans to replace the gates as it would have caused "substantial harm to the significance of the signal box". Network Rail said that they could not open the crossing as the work was not completed. This effectively split the village in two, with some motorists having to take a six or seven mile detour. However the upgrade took place and the level crossing was reopened in February 2016.

Services

Services are supplied by Southern and are mainly hourly in each direction with the strengthening to half-hourly in the peak. During the day time there is 1 tph to Ore and London Victoria.