Hove railway station

Infobox UK station
name = Hove


caption =
code = HOV
manager = Southern
locale = Hove
borough = Brighton & Hove
usage0405 = 1.765
usage0506 = 1.918
usage0607 = 2.097
platforms = 3
years = 1 October 1865
events = Opened (Cliftonville)
years1 = 1 July 1879
events1 = Renamed (West Brighton)
years2 = 1 October 1894
events2 = Renamed (Hove and West Brighton)
years3 = 1 July 1895
events3 = Renamed (Hove) [Butt, R.V.J. (1995). "The Directory of Railway Stations", Patrick Stephens Ltd, Sparkford, ISBN 1-85260-508-1, p. 124.]

Hove railway station is in Hove in the county of East Sussex, England. The station and the majority of trains serving it are operated by Southern. The only other operator is First Great Western, who provide a limited number of services each day to Wales and the Westcountry. The station is 82 km (51 miles) south of London Victoria.

History

Hove railway station opened on 1 October 1865, the present station was originally named Cliftonville, then West Brighton, before being renamed Hove and West Brighton in 1894 and finally Hove in 1895.

A station named Hove had opened further to the east on 11 May 1840 by the London and Brighton Railway, on its line from Brighton to Shoreham-by-Sea. This closed on 1 March 1880, but a wooden halt named Holland Road Halt was opened a short distance to the west in 1905. Served by local trains towards Worthing and on the branch line to Devil's Dyke, it closed in 1956, with no trace now remaining of its platforms [Mitchell, Vic and Smith, Keith (1983). "South Coast Railways - Brighton to Worthing". Middleton Press. ISBN 0-906520-03-7] .

Station architecture

The original station building, dating from the station's opening in 1865, is on the south side of the line and to the east of the present ticket office and concourse, being separated from this by a long footbridge (a public right of way) linking the residential roads of Goldstone Villas and Hove Park Villas. The section of road on which the original building stands is called Station Approach. It is currently in commercial use. The design is very similar to that of the buildings still in use at West Worthing, Shoreham-by-Sea, Portslade and London Road stations, and the former Kemptown station in Brighton.

In 1893, coinciding with the first renaming, a new building was provided to the west. This contains the current ticket office and other station facilities. A large steel and glass porte-cochere stands outside at an angle, sheltering the taxi rank, forecourt and entrance area. This was moved from London Victoria following rebuilding works there which had rendered it redundant.

The island platform is reached by subway; access from the footbridge between the old and new buildings is no longer possible, as the stairs from it are locked out of use. This platform has a modest building incorporating a café, staff accommodation and waiting room, with a separate toilet block. A wide canopy runs for most of the length of the platform.

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 north wards 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" [cite web|title=Delivering a Sustainable Railway - White Paper CM 7176|publisher=Department for Transport|date=2007|url=http://www.dft.gov.uk/about/strategy/whitepapers/whitepapercm7176/|accessdate=2007-07-24] .

Layout

**Platform 1 - Services to Preston Park, Gatwick Airport and London
**Platform 2 - Services for The West Coastway to London, Services for Brighton from the West Coastway
**Platform 3 - Services for The West Coastway from Brighton

Services

The station is situated a short distance west of the junction between the West Coastway line from Brighton and the "Cliftonville Curve", which connects the West Coastway route with the Brighton Main Line. As a result, the station is often used for interchange between Brighton trains and those running to and from London Victoria via the Brighton Main Line. An island platform allows straightforward cross-platform interchange.A separate side platform, with direct access to the station concourse and exit, is used for westbound services.

References

External links

* [http://www.mybrightonandhove.org.uk/page_id__5974.aspx My Brighton and Hove - Holland Road Halt]
* [http://www.mybrightonandhove.org.uk/page_id__7439.aspx My Brighton and Hove - the original Hove station and surroundings]
* [http://www.snowing.co.uk/sias/articles/main_brighton_to_worthing.htm Route description]