Hassocks railway station

Infobox UK station
name = Hassocks
code = HSK

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manager = Southern
locale = Hassocks
borough = Mid Sussex, West Sussex
usage0405 = 0.843
usage0506 = 0.835
usage0607 = 0.876
platforms = 2
years = 21 September 1841
events = Opened (Hassocks Gate)
years1 = 1 October 1881
events1 = Renamed (Hassocks)
years2 = 1973 [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/southern_counties/4996744.stm BBC News] 19 May 2006]
events2 = Rebuilt

Hassocks railway station serves Hassocks in West Sussex. It is on the Brighton Main Line 12 km (7¼ miles) north of Brighton railway station, and train services are provided by Southern and First Capital Connect.

The station was named "Hassocks Gate" upon its opening on 21 September 1841 by the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway; for many years it was used by excursion trains for passengers visiting the nearby South Downs and suffered as a result as it became a meeting place for prostitutes. It stands almost at the summit of the line's climb from London before traversing "Clayton Tunnel", a short distance south of the station.

Between December 1880 and August 1881 a new station building was constructed by James Longley & Co of Crawley. It was built in the same style as stations on the Bluebell and Cuckoo lines with a half-timbered upper storey, decorative brick eaves, stained glass windows and charming porches. The booking office was covered by a lantern-shaped roof and the platforms by wooden canopies on iron columns. The station was demolished in 1973 by British Rail and replaced with a CLASP structure which has been described as "truly awful". [ [http://www.snowing.co.uk/sias/articles/main_7.htm Sussex Industrial Archaelogy Society] ] In 2006 the local community announced that it was hoping to raise £2.5m to rebuild the station to the previous design. These plans seem to have fallen through as in 2008 Network Rail announced that it would be carrying out an 18 month feasibility study to identify possible improvements to the existing building in order to facilitate access by the disabled and elderly. [ [http://www.midsussextimes.co.uk/hassocks-news/More-funding-for-Hassocks-station.3755994.jp Mid Sussex Times, "More funding for Hassocks station", 7 February 2008.] ]

Service

The typical service from the station is:

*3tph to Brighton
*2tph to Bedford via London Bridge and St Pancras International
*1tph to Watford Junction via East Croydon and Clapham Junction

References

External links