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Burgess Hill railway station

Burgess Hill railway station is on the Brighton Main Line, serving the town of Burgess Hill, West Sussex. It is 41 miles 39 chains (66.8 km) down the line from London Bridge via Redhill and is situated between Wivelsfield and Hassocks on the main line.[1] Train services are provided by Southern and Thameslink.

Burgess Hill
National Rail
General information
LocationBurgess Hill, District of Mid Sussex
England
Grid referenceTQ316187
Managed bySouthern
Platforms2
Other information
Station codeBUG
ClassificationDfT category C2
History
Opened21 September 1841
Passengers
2019/20Increase 1.946 million
2020/21Decrease 0.528 million
2021/22Increase 1.197 million
2022/23Increase 1.467 million
2023/24Increase 1.538 million
Notes
Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road
Northward view of the platforms in 1961
Northward view of the platforms in 2007
The side entrance to the station which leads directly onto northbound platform 1

History

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The first station at Burgess Hill was opened on 21 September 1841 by the London and Brighton Railway (L&BR), at the time of the completion of the route to Brighton. The original facilities were all in the small wooden hut (which still stands as a refurbished waiting room on platform 1) and wooden platforms set beside the main line. The L&BR became the London Brighton and South Coast Railway (LB&SCR) in 1846 and a track plan of the station dating from 1874 shows that by then several sidings and a signal box had been constructed at the station.[2]

The present station building dates from 1877 and is typical of LB&SCR stations of the period.[3]

Layout and facilities

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The station has a typical double-track layout, with two side platforms each long enough to hold a 12-car train.[4] Both platforms are signalled bidirectionally, but in normal service platform 1 is used by northbound services towards London (and beyond to Bedford and Cambridge), while platform 2 is for southbound trains to Brighton and Littlehampton.[4] Both platforms are covered by shelters approximately four carriages long at the north end, and there are also smaller shelters further down the platforms.[4] There is a small café and an accessible toilet located and large waiting room on platform 1 and a small waiting room on platform 2.[4]

The station has two car parks: the main one next to platform 1 and a smaller one adjacent to platform 2. Both car parks include disabled parking spaces.[4] The smaller car park near platform 2 also has an Amazon Locker.

There are three entrances/exits to and from the station, all featuring ticket barriers. The main entrance/exit is through the station building on Station Road, which includes the ticket office and also houses a small newsagent and a cash machine. Access to the platforms from the station building is via two sheltered sets of stairs, which also act as a footbridge between the two platforms.[4] The other two entrances/exits link the platforms directly with the station's car parks. These entrances/exits are both fully wheelchair-accessible, but each one only connects directly to one of the platforms - access to the other platform is only via the aforementioned footbridge. This means that step-free access is available to both platforms, but step-free access between the two platforms is only possible by venturing outside the station.[4] Ticket machines are located by each of the three entrances.[4]

Refurbishments

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In November 2020, a £1.2 million refurbishment was carried out at Burgess Hill station. This introduced a new waiting room on the northbound platform 1, inside of the original 1841 building which was originally a parcels store. Another smaller waiting room was refurbished with new furniture on the southbound platform 2. Refurbishments were also carried out to the two 50 metre long platform canopies, replacing the original cast iron and timber structure with a more modern steel structure.[5]

In May 2021, both platforms were repaved and yellow tactile paving was installed near the platform edge.

Services

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Off-peak, services at Burgess Hill are operated by Southern and Thameslink using Class 377 and 700 EMUs.

The typical off-peak service in trains per hour is:[6]

In addition, the station is served by a number of peak hour Gatwick Express services which usually pass through Burgess Hill. These services run non-stop from Gatwick Airport to London Victoria and are operated using Class 387 EMUs.

Preceding station   National Rail Following station
Wivelsfield or Haywards Heath   Thameslink
   Hassocks or Brighton
Southern
Gatwick Express
Peak Hours Only
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  •  
    Main street-level building on Station Road, housing the ticket office and newsagent
  •  
    An original 1841 building (formerly a parcels store) on Platform 1
  •  
    View from platform 2 (southbound) looking towards Hassocks.
  •  
    Thameslink Class 700155 with a rainbow livery to celebrate gay pride.[7]
  •  
    Southward view from Platform 1, with a Thameslink Class 700 approaching from Hassocks.
  •  
    An outdoor vinyl sticker promoting social distancing on platform 1.
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    Public noticeboard documenting the station renovations.

References

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  1. ^ Yonge, John (November 2008) [1994]. Jacobs, Gerald (ed.). Railway Track Diagrams 5: Southern & TfL (3rd ed.). Bradford on Avon: Trackmaps. map 15C. ISBN 978-0-9549866-4-3.
  2. ^ Turner, John Howard (1979). The London Brighton and South Coast Railway 3 Completion and Maturity. Batsford. p. 131. ISBN 0-7134-1389-1.
  3. ^ Body, Geoffrey (1989). Railway of the Southern Region. Patrick Stephens. p. 58. ISBN 1-85260-297-X.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h Station facilities for Burgess Hill - National Rail Enquiries
  5. ^ "Burgess Hill station in West Sussex receives £1.2m facelift". Network Rail Media Centre. Retrieved 15 May 2021.
  6. ^ Table 184 National Rail timetable, May 2022
  7. ^ ""Trainbow" departs for Brighton & Hove Pride". Mynewsdesk. 18 July 2019. Retrieved 16 May 2021.
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