Plumpton railway station

Plumpton railway station serves the village of Plumpton in East Sussex, England. It is 44 miles 42 chains (71.7 km) from London Bridge via Redhill.

Plumpton
Location	Plumpton Green, Lewes (district) England
Coordinates	50.929°N 0.060°W
Grid reference	TQ364161
Managed by	Southern
Platforms	2
Other information
Station code	PMP
Classification	DfT category E
History
Original company	London, Brighton and South Coast Railway
Pre-grouping	London, Brighton and South Coast Railway
Post-grouping	Southern Railway
Key dates
June 1863	Station opened
Passengers
2015/16	0.146 million
2016/17	0.109 million
2017/18	0.109 million
2018/19	0.113 million
2019/20	0.116 million
Notes
Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road

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.[1]

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 being reduced to a crossing box under the supervision of Three Bridges PSB[2]) after the crossing was given obstacle detection systems. It still remains and is a Grade II Listed Building.[3]

Crossing Closure Controversy

Network Rail closed the level crossing in September 2015 so that the wooden, wheel worked gates (the last in East Sussex) 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".[4] 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.[5]

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.

References

1. Butt, R.V.J. (1995). The Directory of Railway Stations. Yeovil: Patrick Stephens Ltd. p. 186. ISBN 1-85260-508-1. R508.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
2. Rhodes, Michael (2015). Resignalling Britain. Horncastle: Mortons Media. p. 102. ISBN 978-1-909128-64-4.
3. Historic England. "Details from listed building database (1238580)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 5 October 2014.
4. "Network Rail apology over Plumpton level crossing closure". BBC News. Retrieved 13 October 2015.
5. "Level crossing dividing Plumpton village reopens". BBC News. 8 February 2016.

External links

• Train times and station information for Plumpton railway station from National Rail