Worthing railway station

Worthing railway station is the main station serving the town of Worthing in West Sussex. The station and the majority of trains serving it are operated by Southern. The other operator is First Great Western. It is one of the main stations on the West Coastway Line; all timetabled trains stop here.

The main station entrance is on the south side in Station Approach. The passenger car park is on the north side of the station in Southcourt Road and has a separate entrance to the station. Parking is free only on Sundays and Bank Holidays.

Some trains travelling from London to destinations west of Worthing (such as Southampton Central and Littlehampton) divide at Worthing. Passengers must ensure they are travelling in the correct portion of the train; platform and on-train announcements provide details. Similarly, some trains travelling from west to east towards London join at Worthing to form a single train. All three platforms are long enough to accommodate 12-coach trains.

At times in its history the station has been named Worthing Central. This name is sometimes incorrectly still used, either out of habit or intentionally to distinguish it from West Worthing and East Worthing stations.

The concourse and ticket office leads directly to the side platform (Platform 3), which is used mostly for westbound services. The island platform (Platforms 1 and 2) is connected to this platform by a subway, which also leads out to the car park.

In August 2007, ticket barriers were introduced separating the platforms from the ticket office. However, their effectiveness is compromised by the layout of the station insofar as the rear car park entrance leads directly to the subway connecting the platforms. A small ticket booth, frequently unmanned, has been installed in the subway in an attempt to address this issue.

Between November 2007 and February 2008, a refurbishment of the station took place, with it being re-painted it in the new Southern Trains colours. Replacement of the roof glass on the station canopies also took place.

In April 2009, the station was made fully accessible to disabled passengers, which new ticket windows which can be adjusted to height and a ramp was also provided. The station was also fitted with new folding doors.

Platform 1 Sometimes used in peak service only.

Platform 2 Used for services to Brighton, London Victoria and London Bridge.

Platform 3 Used for westbound services to Littlehampton, Southampton Central and Bristol Temple Meads, Portsmouth, Chichester, Bognor Regis and Eastleigh.

Facilities

• Booking hall
• Ticket Office (3 windows)
• Automatic Ticket Gates
• Lifts
• Espresso Coffee shop (also sells newspapers)
• Snack bar(in booking hall)
• Cash machine (not free)
• Waiting rooms
• Toilets (refurbished February 2007)
• Subway between platforms 1,2 & 3
• Departure boards: 2 on each platform and 4 in ticket hall(1 which only show direct services)
• Car Park
• 3 platforms
• Telephones
• Bicycle Storage

Services

• Taxi rank
• Bus stop, served by Stagecoach Buses and Compass

Future developments

The Thameslink 2000 project (now known as the Thameslink Programme) contains proposals to extend the Thameslink network to various additional routes in southern England; one of these would be the section of the West Coastway line between Hove and Littlehampton, with services running via the Cliftonville Curve from the Brighton Main Line. This will see services that currently terminate at London Bridge continuing through Central London and northwards via the Midland Main Line or East Coast Main Line to destinations such as Luton or Cambridge. This however is not imminent, a Department for Transport whitepaper states only that "the Thameslink Programme will be completed by the end of 2015" and that "interim outputs will be delivered by the end of 2011".^[1]

Gallery

References

Worthing is a major station where most people get off from the Brighton to West Worthing service to go to Littlehampton, Southampton, Portsmouth, Chichester and Bognor Regis.

External links

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