Winchelsea railway station

Winchelsea
Location
Place	Winchelsea
Local authority	Rother
Coordinates	50°56′02″N 0°42′07″W / 50.934°N 0.702°W / 50.934; -0.702Coordinates: 50°56′02″N 0°42′07″W / 50.934°N 0.702°W / 50.934; -0.702
Grid reference	TQ899183
Operations
Station code	WSE
Managed by	Southern
Number of platforms	1
DfT category	F2
Live arrivals/departures, station information and onward connections from National Rail Enquiries
Annual rail passenger usage*
2004/05	7,728
2005/06	6,657
2006/07	1,624
2007/08	1,325
2008/09	1,090
2009/10	974
2010/11	474
2011/12	4,884
2012/13	6,798
2013/14	6,640
History
Key dates	Opened 13 February 1851 (13 February 1851)
National Rail – UK railway stations
* Annual estimated passenger usage based on sales of tickets in stated financial year(s) which end or originate at Winchelsea from Office of Rail and Road statistics. Methodology may vary year on year.
UK Railways portal

Winchelsea railway station is about 0.62 miles (1 km) from Winchelsea and is actually in the neighbouring parish of Udimore. It is on the Marshlink Line 9.3 miles (15 km) north east of Hastings, and train services are provided by Southern. The station originally had two platforms, but in 1979, the line was singled and only the up platform is now in use. The former down platform and station building are now converted to a private house.

Location

Winchelsea station, August 1982

The station is in an isolated location. It is not a convenient way of getting to or from Winchelsea, especially outside daylight hours. One has to walk down an unlit and winding county lane and then climb a steep hill, walking along the A259 trunk road, which does not have a pavement. Being so isolated and given the limited stopping service, it little used other than by walkers visiting the Brede Valley. Local people may book a free lift to and from the station through a voluntary scheme run through the village post office.

Facilities

The station buildings have been sold into private ownership and so this station is unstaffed. There are no ticket issuing facilities available at the station although these can generally be purchased from the train conductor.

Limited parking facilities are available at the station.^[1]

History

The station opened on 13 February 1851, just six weeks before the 1851 census; this tells us that the very first station master was Malcolm McGregor, a former member of the Royal Artillery. The station masters in each subsequent census were: Samuel Saxby (1861); Edward Willis (1871); Edward Adams (1881); Matthew Reynolds (1891) and 62-year-old Edward Hayter (1911).

Between December 2005 and 2010, there was a very limited service to Winchelsea, of just three or four trains a day in each direction at inconvenient times. Prior to this, there had been an hourly service. Local campaign groups THWART and the Marshlink Action Group have campaigned for services to be increased, and from December 2010 a two-hourly service in each direction has been restored, resulting in an increase in passenger numbers.

Services

There is a two-hourly service to Winchelsea with trains to Brighton and Ashford International. Station stops are usually shared in each alternate hour with Three Oaks making it difficult to travel directly between these two stations.

Preceding station	National Rail			Following station
Doleham		Southern Marshlink Line		Rye
	Historical railways
Snailham Halt Line open, station closed		South Eastern and Chatham Railway South Eastern Railway		Rye Line and station open

References