Eridge railway station

Infobox UK station
name = Eridge


manager = Southern
locale = Eridge
borough = Wealden
code = ERI
lowusage0405 = 35,428
lowusage0506 = 60,839
lowusage0607 = 72,766
platforms = 1 (soon to be 3)
start = 3 August 1868

Eridge railway station serves a rural district around Eridge in East Sussex. Train services from the station are provided by Southern, and the station is on the Uckfield branch of the Oxted Line. There are good opportunities for walks from the station into the High Weald.

The station has a small car park (charges Monday - Friday), and there is a pub outside the station entrance.

Services

The typical off-peak service is one train per hour to London Bridge, and one train per hour to Uckfield.

History

At the time the station was opened, there was no village of Eridge, the station being named after nearby Eridge Park, seat of the Earls of Abergavenny.

The station used to be a junction for services running towards Tonbridge via Tunbridge Wells West (closed 1985). The line remains in situ and is connected to the Spa Valley Railway, a preserved railway company currently operating passenger services from Tunbridge Wells West to Birchden. The Spa Valley Railway plan to run services in late 2008, or early 2009.

There is also a campaign, by the Wealden Line to attempt to re-open the railway between Uckfield and Lewes as a part of the National Rail network.

Eridge was also the station where Cuckoo Line services towards Eastbourne diverged from the Uckfield and Lewes line. The lines diverged a short distance south of the station, at Redgate Mill Junction, but the Eastbourne line was closed in the 1960s.

Future

August Bank Holiday 2008 is the delivery date for the Eridge Project, however it is not expected for the Grand Opening to be until the beginning of the 2009 timetable.

It is believed that the Spa Valley Railway will allow connections to London and Uckfield by basing times on the arrivals of trains. The passenger usage of Eridge is thought by some to rise sharply also with the new link with the Spa Valley Railway.

External links

* [http://www.spavalleyrailway.co.uk/ Spa Valley Railway]
* [http://home.clara.net/wealdenline/ Wealden Line Campaign]