The Seaford branch line is a rural railway line in East Sussex constructed in 1864 primarily to serve the port of Newhaven and the town of Seaford. It now sees fairly regular trains across the line except for the branch to the closed Newhaven Marine station.

Seaford branch line
A Southern Class 377 on the level crossing by Newhaven Town station in 2007
Overview
StatusOperational
OwnerNetwork Rail
LocaleEast Sussex
South East England
Termini
Stations5
Service
TypeHeavy rail
SystemNational Rail
ServicesSoutherham Junction–Seaford
Operator(s)Southern
Rolling stockClass 377 "Electrostar"
History
Opened1864
Technical
Line lengthmiles 66 chains (12.59 km)
Number of tracks2 (Southerham Junction–Newhaven Harbour)
1 (Newhaven HarbourSeaford)
CharacterRural
Track gauge1,435 mm (4 ft 8+12 in) standard gauge
Electrification750 V DC third rail
Route map

(Click to expand)

History

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Engineered by the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway's Chief Engineer Frederick Banister,[1] the first section of the line was opened in 1847 to aid the transport of goods to and from Newhaven. The line was extended in 1864 to serve the holiday town of Seaford.[2] There used to be extensive sidings at Newhaven Docks and even a railway swing bridge over the River Ouse to connect to the other side. These have now been removed or have become overgrown, as has the defunct Newhaven Marine station, which has been fenced off from the public. Once a thriving station serving ferries to and from France, the walk of just under 1/4 mile to Newhaven Harbour station and the cessation of winter ferries forced its closure. The line was electrified (750 V DC third rail) by the Southern Railway in 1935. The line between Newhaven Harbour and Seaford was reduced to single track to save costs in 1975.

Route

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  • Services, generally originating from Brighton, stop at Lewes on the East Coastway Line, the last station before the branch line splits off.
  • The branch line starts at Southerham Junction on the East Coastway Line.
  • The first station on the line is Southease, which serves the village of Southease and also has links to the South Downs Way
  • The line then continues, running alongside the River Ouse to Newhaven Town, which is the station serving the town centre of Newhaven, across a swing bridge over the nearby river.
  • The following station Newhaven Harbour no longer serves ferries to France.
    • Immediately after Newhaven Harbour station, a small branch splits off to Newhaven Marine, which was closed to passengers in August 2006 but remained technically open until October 2020.[3][4] Originally built to link with cross-channel ferries, this short branch line is now closed to passengers, but occasional freight trains still use the sidings, as well as a small number of passenger trains terminating at Newhaven Harbour using the branch line to reverse.
  • The line then becomes a single-track and is one of a few single-track third-rail lines in the country.
  • It passes the closed station of Bishopstone Beach Halt, and over a foot crossing that offers access to the abandoned village of Tide Mills.
  • The line then straightens out and calls at two more stations.

Train services

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Train services are operated by Southern. Class 377 "Electrostars" are used on the line to transport passengers to Lewes and Brighton.

The normal off peak train service on the line is two trains per hour between Brighton and Seaford calling at London Road, Moulsecoomb, Falmer, Lewes, Southease (1tph only), Newhaven Town, Newhaven Harbour (1 tph only), Bishopstone and Seaford.[5] Services alternate between calling at Southease and Newhaven Harbour.

Currently, there are no regular direct services from the branch line towards London, with passengers needing to change at Lewes in order to travel towards Gatwick Airport and London Victoria.

Passenger volume

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Comparing the number of passengers in year beginning April 2002 to the year beginning April 2010, Southease has increased by 96%, Newhaven Town by 45%, Bishopstone by 58% and Seaford by 56%. Newhaven Harbour has declined by 51%.[6]

Station usage
Station name 2002–03 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23
Southease 6,225 7,093 7,245 8,527 8,855 8,442 9,994 12,228 13,816 11,634 18,042 20,662 17,966 13,184 18,162 22,008 22,052 10,302 23,564 23,206
Newhaven Town 216,136 232,450 234,952 261,348 302,576 302,526 308,682 313,082 318,812 318,664 306,102 320,388 326,310 236,416 280,712 307,638 342,606 123,406 283,664 319,038
Newhaven Harbour 92,947 103,572 91,875 59,780 52,730 48,214 40,446 45,644 44,794 44,212 46,178 50,878 55,070 52,342 57,982 53,266 49,450 14,020 18,298 23,176
Bishopstone 19,282 17,128 18,099 24,041 27,542 28,784 29,632 30,432 34,556 31,852 30,876 30,934 28,982 20,320 33,686 39,422 41,660 15,878 36,450 43,104
Seaford 493,247 596,021 630,624 697,956 769,510 797,008 765,776 769,870 777,108 761,888 790,062 797,914 767,482 539,322 627,538 676,442 673,764 205,142 474,382 552,902
The annual passenger usage is based on sales of tickets in stated financial years from Office of Rail and Road estimates of station usage. The statistics are for passengers arriving and departing from each station and cover twelve-month periods that start in April. Methodology may vary year on year. Usage from the periods 2019-20 and especially 2020-21 onwards have been affected by the Covid-19 pandemic

References

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  1. ^ "Federick Dale Banister". GracesGuide.co.uk. Retrieved 10 February 2013.
  2. ^ Turner, JT Howard (1978). The London, Brighton & South Coast Railway 2: Establishment & Growth. First: BT Batsford Ltd. p. 173. ISBN 0-7134-1198-8.
  3. ^ "Newhaven Marine Railway Station". Hansard. Retrieved 27 October 2010.
  4. ^ "Newhaven Marine 'ghost station' closure confirmed". The Argus. Archived from the original on 29 September 2020. Retrieved 24 September 2020.
  5. ^ "Loading..." timetables.southernrailway.com. Retrieved 15 November 2023.
  6. ^ "Station Usage". Rail Statistics. Office of Rail Regulation. Retrieved 7 January 2013.