Winchelsearailway station is a railway station in East Sussex, England. It is about from Winchelsea and is actually in the neighbouring parish of Udimore. It is on the Marshlink linenorth east of Hastings, and train services are provided by Southern. The station originally had two platforms, but in 1979, the line was singled and only the up platform is now in use. The former down platform and station building are now converted to a private house.
Location
The station is in an isolated location. It is not a convenient way of getting to or from Winchelsea, especially outside daylight hours. The route involves walking down an unlit and winding country lane and then climbing a steep hill, walking along the A259 trunk road, which does not have a pavement. The journey takes about 15 minutes. As an alternative, Stagecoach bus route 100 runs from and stops in the town. Being isolated and given the limited stopping service, it is little used other than by walkers visiting the Brede Valley. Local people may book a free lift to and from the station via a voluntary scheme run through Winchelsea Farm Kitchen.
Facilities
The buildings have been sold into private ownership and so this station is unstaffed. There is a ticket machine at the station. Free parking facilities are available at the station.
History
The station was opened by the South Eastern Railway on 13 February 1851 as one of the first stations on the line from Ashford to Hastings, along with, and. The station, like several others on the line, was built with staggered platforms on the belief that it would be safer for passengers to cross the railway behind a departing train. Traffic was very sparse and the station closed on 1 September, in part because it was impossible to access the town without crossing private land. The Mayor of Winchelsea campaigned for reopening and negotiating access with the respective landowner, and the SER agreed to open the station on 4 December. A resignalling programme took place in the early 1890s. The station gradually reduced its facilities. In 1961, the station building was sold off, and has since been in private hands. By 1969, the signal box and goods siding had been removed, and by the early 1970s the shelter canopy was removed and the post of crossing keeper was discontinued. On 1 October 1979, the line was reduced to single track to reduce operational costs. The down platform was removed; since then all trains have stopped at the one remaining platform. A speed limit was imposed on the line approaching Winchelsea. The wooden shelter on the remaining platform was replaced by a conventional modern shelter in 1984. Local campaign groupsThree Oaks and Winchelsea Action for Rail Transport and the Marshlink Action Group campaigned for services to be increased, and from December 2010 a two-hourly service in each direction was restored. In 2015, trains began stopping at the station on Sundays, after a ten-year campaign.
Services
There is a two-hourly service to Winchelsea with trains to Eastbourne and Ashford International. Station stops are usually shared in each alternate hour with Three Oaks making it difficult to travel directly between these two stations. Until May 2018, southbound services ran as express services to Brighton, but this service was discontinued and a stopping service to Eastbourne was introduced, due to long journey times and lack of rolling stock, which caused overcrowding, especially between Brighton and Eastbourne.
