Arun Valley Line

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Arun Valley Line

Legend Brighton Main Line To London Three Bridges Brighton Main Line To Brighton Crawley Ifield Faygate Roffey Road Halt Closed 1937 Littlehaven Mole Valley Line to London Victoria via Dorking Horsham Jnc Horsham Stammerham Jnc (Closed) Christs Hospital Jnc Closed to Guildford via Cranleigh Line Closed 1965 Itchingfield Junction to Shoreham via Steyning Line Closed 1966 Billingshurst Pulborough Hardham Jnc for Midhurst Closed Amberley North Stoke Tunnel 83yds Arundel West Coastway Line Arundel Jnc

The Arun Valley Line is part of the Southern-operated railway services. For the initial part of the route trains follow the Brighton Main Line, and at a junction south of Three Bridges the route turns westwards. It then runs via Crawley, Horsham (where there is a junction with the Mole Valley Line) and Arundel, before meeting the West Coastway Line at Arundel Junction. Trains on the Arun Valley Line then proceed to Portsmouth.

Many stations on this line retain the short platforms which were originally built, not being extended by the Southern Railway when the line was modernized in the 1930s. This causes operational difficulties to this day, that require frequent platform & on-train announcements, telling passengers they must travel in the correct part of the train.

Contents 1 History 2 Services 3 Typical off-peak journey times from London Victoria (via Redhill and Gatwick Airport) 4 Typical off-peak journey times from London Bridge (via Redhill and Gatwick Airport) 5 Bibliography 6 External links

[edit] History

• Three Bridges - Horsham: this first part of the route was opened by the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway on 14 February 1848. The stations now at Ifield and Littlehaven were not opened with the line, both being opened on 1 June 1907: Ifield as Lyons Crossing Halt and Littlehaven as Rusper Road Halt; both serving the outskirts of their nearby towns.
• Horsham - Petworth (on the now-closed line to Midhurst): the section opened on 10 October 1859.
• Horsham - Shoreham by Sea (another line now closed): this was the first link to the coast route opened on 1 July 1861, by a line from Itchingfield Junction south of Horsham.
• The line now used by the Arun Valley Line services, from what was Hardham Junction south of Pulborough, to Arundel Junction on the coast line was finally opened on 3 August 1863, creating what was then known as Mid-Sussex route serving Portsmouth.
• Originally, the main route to London diverged at Horsham via Dorking and Sutton, however with the increase in demand at Gatwick Airport, the mainline services were re-routed to serve the airport in 1978.

• The line was electrified using the (750 V DC third rail) system by the Southern Railway during the inter-war years.

[edit] Services

There are currently two trains per hour on the route off-peak:

• one stopping train, with a portion for Bognor Regis and a connection to Littlehampton
• one semi-fast train terminating at Chichester, with a connection to Bognor Regis.

[edit] Typical off-peak journey times from London Victoria
(via Redhill and Gatwick Airport)

Based on December 2006 timetable.
Stations in italics are served by through trains but are not part of the Arun Valley Line.

Destination	Frequency	Stopping service	Semi-fast service	Change for
Clapham Junction	2 tph	6 minutes	6 minutes	Wimbledon, Woking, Guildford, Reading
East Croydon	2 tph	16 minutes	16 minutes	Croydon Tramlink, London Bridge, Caterham, Tattenham Corner
Redhill	2 tph	29 minutes	29 minutes	Reigate, Guildford, Edenbridge, Tonbridge
Gatwick Airport	2 tph	39 minutes	37 minutes
Three Bridges	2 tph	44 minutes	42 minutes	Haywards Heath, Brighton, Eastbourne, Worthing
Crawley	2 tph	47 minutes	45 minutes
Horsham	2 tph	56 minutes	54 minutes	Dorking, Leatherhead, Epsom, Sutton
Christs Hospital	1 tph	1 hour
Billingshurst	2 tph	1 hour 6 minutes	1 hour 2 minutes
Pulborough	2 tph	1 hour 13 minutes	1 hour 8 minutes
Amberley	1 tph	1 hour 20 minutes
Arundel	2 tph	1 hour 25 minutes	1 hour 17 minutes
Ford	1 tph	1 hour 30 minutes		Littlehampton, Worthing, Brighton
Barnham	2 tph	1 hour 34 minutes	1 hour 28 minutes	Bognor Regis, and also Littlehampton, Worthing, Brighton (Ford has reduced service)
Chichester	2 tph	1 hour 46 minutes	1 hour 36 minutes	Havant, Portsmouth Harbour, Southampton Central

[edit] Typical off-peak journey times from London Bridge
(via Redhill and Gatwick Airport)

Based on December 2006 timetable. Stations in italics are served by through trains but are not part of the Arun Valley Line. There are two trains per hour on this route. Some stations between London Bridge and Gatwick Airport have been omitted. Faygate is served during peak hours only.

Destination	Off-peak journey time	Change for
East Croydon	16 minutes	Croydon Tramlink, London Victoria, Caterham, Tattenham Corner
Redhill	36 minutes	Reigate, Guildford, Edenbridge, Tonbridge
Gatwick Airport	50 minutes
Three Bridges	56 minutes	Haywards Heath, Brighton, Eastbourne, Worthing
Crawley	1 hour
Ifield	1 hour 3 minutes
Littlehaven	1 hour 9 minutes
Horsham	1 hour 14 minutes	Dorking, Leatherhead, Epsom, Sutton

[edit] Bibliography

• R.V.J.Butt, (1986). The Caterham Railway. Patrick Stephens Ltd. ISBN 1-85260-508-1. 

[edit] External links

• Map showing Arun Valley Line route
• Interactive map of Arun Valley Line stations, bus links and things to do
• Ordnance Survey [1]

v • d • e Railway lines in South-East England: Eastern  (Kent) Primary Routes: High Speed 1 · Chatham Main Line · South Eastern Main Line Secondary Lines: Ashford-Ramsgate via Canterbury Line · East Coastway · Hastings Line · Kent Coast Line · Maidstone East Line Minor/Branch Lines: Bexleyheath Line · Bromley North Line · Catford Loop · Dartford Loop · Greenwich Line · Hayes Line · Marshlink Line · Medway Valley Line · Mid-Kent Line · North Kent Line · Nunhead to Lewisham link · Sheerness Line Central  (Sussex) Primary Routes: Arun Valley Line · Brighton Main Line · Thameslink Secondary Lines: East Coastway · New Guildford Line · North Downs Line · Redhill-Tonbridge Line · Sutton & Mole Valley Line · West Coastway Minor/Branch Lines: Caterham Line · Epsom Downs Branch · Oxted Line · Seaford Branch Line · South London Line · Tattenham Corner Line Western  (Wessex) Primary Routes: North Downs Line · Portsmouth Direct Line · South Western Main Line · West Coastway · West of England Main Line Secondary Lines: Alton Line · Ascot-Guildford Line · Chertsey Branch · Eastleigh-Fareham Line · Eastleigh-Romsey Line · Hounslow Loop · Kingston Loop Line · Waterloo-Reading Line · West London Line Minor/Branch Lines: Chessington Branch · Greenford Branch · Hampton Court Branch · Henley Branch Line · Island Line · Lymington Branch Line · Marlow Branch Line · Shepperton Branch Line · Slough-Windsor & Eton Line · Staines-Windsor & Eton Line Northern  (Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire) Primary Routes: West Coast Main Line · Chiltern Main Line Secondary Lines: London to Aylesbury Line · Cherwell Valley Line · Cotswold Line Minor/Branch Lines: Marston Vale Line · Oxford to Bicester Line · Princes Risborough to Aylesbury Line · Varsity Line (currently partially disused)