Littlehampton railway station

Littlehampton railway station is in Littlehampton in the county of West Sussex, England. The station and the trains serving it are operated by Southern.

Littlehampton
General information
Location	Littlehampton Town Centre, Arun England
Grid reference	TQ025021
Managed by	Southern
Platforms	4
Other information
Station code	LIT
Classification	DfT category D
Key dates
17 August 1863	Opened
1887	Eastward spur
1937	Redeveloped
30 June 1938	electrified
1986 - 15 January 1988	NSE rebuild
Passengers
2018/19	0.992 million
Interchange	4,839
2019/20	0.963 million
Interchange	4,722
2020/21	0.400 million
Interchange	1,526
2021/22	0.780 million
Interchange	3,368
2022/23	0.811 million
Interchange	4,149
Notes Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road

Plaque commemorating the opening of the new station building.

The station is a terminus at the end of a short branch off the West Coastway line. It currently has four platforms, two of which are of twelve carriage length, one of eight carriage length and one of seven carriage length. It is served by Class 377 "Electrostar" trains.

History

A station called Arundel & Littlehampton opened in 1846 on the main Brighton–Portsmouth Line.^[1] This closed shortly after the branch line to the town itself opened in August 1863, when a west-facing connection was made at Ford Junction. In 1887, the third side of the triangle was constructed,^[2] allowing through running from the lines from Horsham on the Mid-Sussex railways and Brighton. The south junction was named Littlehampton Junction, while the eastern connection was named Arundel Junction.^[3]

A station building similar to that at Arundel was provided; this lasted until 1937, after which redevelopment was severely delayed by the Second World War and planning disputes.^[4] One original structure remained until 1986, when Network SouthEast started building a new concourse and ticket office. This was finished late in 1987, and was officially unveiled on 15 January 1988.^[5][6][7] The line was electrified in 1938, with an official unveiling ceremony being held on 30 June 1938.^[8] The station handled goods traffic until 1970.^[9]

In 2021, the station received a Silent Soldier flat sculpture as a gift from East Preston Parish Council.^[10] The sculpture is placed by the trackside floral beds.

Carriage Shed and Stabling Sidings

A locomotive shed was also provided. Built with the station, it also went out of use in 1937 when the line was electrified. Currently in use at Littlehampton is a carriage shed used to store, maintain and clean Class 377 'Electrostars', more recently next to the shed, two more sidings have been fitted with waste disposal facilities to empty train toilets and are used to store trains over night. Two more sidings were constructed for train storage. Also present is a train washer and siding for trains to dry in. Light maintenance jobs can also be carried out on trains at Littlehampton.

Services

All services at Littlehampton are operated by Southern using Class 377 EMUs.

The typical off-peak service in trains per hour is:^[11]

• 2 tph to London Victoria via Worthing
• 1 tph to Brighton via Worthing
• 1 tph to Chichester

During the peak hours, the station is served by one train per day to and from London Bridge via Worthing.^[12]

On Sundays, the service to Brighton does not run, the service to London Victoria is reduced to hourly, and the hourly service to Chichester instead runs to Bognor Regis.

From December 2024, there will be an additional peak hour service between Bognor Regis and London Bridge via Horsham.^[13]

Preceding station	National Rail			Following station
Angmering		Southern West Coastway Line Littlehampton Branch		Terminus
Terminus				Ford

Facilities

Littlehampton Railway Station has the following facilities:^[14][15]

• Ticket Office
• Ticket Machines
• Station Buffet
• Waiting Room
• Toilets
• Telephones
• Information points
• Waiting Area
• 4 platforms
• Sheltered seating around the whole station
• Taxi Rank
• Car Park (38 spaces)
• Bicycle storage
• Bus stops

Accidents

• On 4 August 1920, the 13.10 train from Ford had a brake failure. The train hauled by D1 Class locomotive No.360, hit the buffer stops, demolishing them, going through the station and Albert Road, eventually coming to rest in Franciscan Way. There were about thirty passengers in the train, of whom thirteen suffered from minor injuries, or from the effects of shock. The driver and fireman escaped injury by jumping from the foot-plate just before the collision occurred.^[16][17]
• On 30 November 1949, two passenger trains formed of electric multiple units collided at Littlehampton due to errors by a driver and guard on one of the trains and the Littlehampton signalman. Eleven people were injured.^[18]

References

1. Clark, Ronald H. (1964). Southern Region Record Chronology and Record, 1803-1965 (cover title: A Southern Region Record). X Series, X13. Lingfield, Surrey, England: Oakwood Press. pp. 64, 79. ISBN 978-0-85361-033-5.
2. Mitchell, Vic and Smith, Keith. South Coast Railways - Brighton to Worthing (1986). Middleton Press, Midhurst. ISBN 0-906520-34-7
3. Ball, M. G. European Railway Atlas: British Isles (second edition) (1996), page 4. Ian Allan Publishing, Shepperton. ISBN 0-7110-2407-3
4. Mitchell and Smith, photograph 107.
5. Mitchell and Smith, photographs 107 and 121.
6. Brown, David and Jackson, Alan A. (1990): Network SouthEast Handbook, page 79. Capital Transport Publishing, Harrow Weald. ISBN 1-85414-129-5
7. Mitchell and Smith, photograph 109.
8. Mitchell and Smith, photograph 116.
9. Mitchell and Smith, photograph 119.
10. Hammond, Elaine (2 September 2021). "Silent Soldier stands watching over passengers at Littlehampton Railway Station following request from staff". Littlehampton Gazette. Retrieved 3 September 2021.
11. "Southern West Coastway changes". 28 May 2024.
12. "Train Timetables". Govia Thameslink Railway. Retrieved 12 December 2022.
13. "Southern timetables". 8 October 2024.
14. "Littlehampton Station Information". Southern Railway.
15. "Littlehampton Station Information". National Rail Enquiries.
16. Cook, Ted (2011). Anthony P. Vent (ed.). Sussex Signalman The Ted Cook Story. Buggleskelly Books. p. 14.
17. "London, Brighton and South Coast Railway" (PDF). Ministry of Transport. 31 August 1920. Retrieved 26 July 2021.
18. "Report on the Collision which occurred on 30th November 1949 at Littlehampton in the Southern Region of British Railways" (PDF). Ministry of Transport. 28 February 1950. Retrieved 26 July 2021.

• Butt, R. V. J. (October 1995). The Directory of Railway Stations: details every public and private passenger station, halt, platform and stopping place, past and present (1st ed.). Sparkford: Patrick Stephens Ltd. ISBN 978-1-85260-508-7. OCLC 60251199. OL 11956311M.

External links

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

50°48′37″N 0°32′47″W