Three Bridges railway station

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Locomotive depot and goods yard

Three Bridges Locomotive Depot, 11 December 1948, before the roof was repaired Three Bridges Locomotive Depot geograph-2654145-by-Ben-Brooksbank.jpg
Three Bridges Locomotive Depot, 11 December 1948, before the roof was repaired

An engine shed was opened in July 1848 on a site to the west of the station. This was closed in 1909 to make way for the enlargement of the station and a new depot was established in the fork between the Brighton and Horsham lines in 1911, which remained open until June 1964.

The original small goods yard to the south of the station was greatly extended during the First World War and was used as a marshalling yard for munitions trains heading for the Continent. Trains from the Great Western Railway and the London and North Western Railway were brought here for onward transmission to Newhaven Harbour. [13]

In the early 2000s, Virgin CrossCountry built a depot at Three Bridges operated by English Welsh and Scottish Railway to service its Class 220 Voyagers. [14] It closed following CrossCountry withdrawing its Gatwick and Brighton services in December 2008 and was subsequently demolished and replaced with EMU stabling sidings. [15]

Three Bridges rail operating centre

In 2010 Network Rail selected Three Bridges as its preferred site for a signalling centre for trains operating in the southeast of England, being central to the London, Brighton, and future Thameslink services, and with no major negative planning issues. [16] A 1.7 ha (4.2-acre) site 0.5 mi (0.80 km) south of Three Bridges station was selected, located in the "fork" between the Arun Valley Line and Brighton Main Line ( 51°06′44″N0°09′47″W / 51.1123°N 0.1631°W / 51.1123; -0.1631 (Three Bridges railway operating centre) ); the centre was located east of a DB Schenker rail depot, and east of depot facilities for the Thameslink rolling stock programme trains, which was under planning development at the same time. [17] [18] The operating centre build was designed as a 71.45 by 34.8 m (234.4 by 114.2 ft) three-storey building with 6,980 m2 (75,100 sq ft) of floorspace, providing railway operational, administrative and training facilities. Equipment was primarily on the ground floor, with the operation rooms on first and second floors. [19]

In December 2011, Network Rail began construction of a rail operating centre at Three Bridges, one of 14 countrywide intended to replace several hundred signalboxes; the Three Bridges centre was built to control rail operations in the Sussex area. The facility was constructed by C. Spencer Ltd, and was expected to employ around 600 people, with a 900-person net job benefit once complete. [20] [21] The facility was officially opened in January 2014, with the last section of London Bridge Area Signalling Centre moving to the Three Bridges site in 2020. [22]

Three Bridges rolling stock depot

In 2009 Network Rail submitted a planning application for a rolling stock depot including a three road shed for trains to be procured under the Thameslink rolling stock programme; rejection of the plans for a sister depot at Hornsey resulted in modified plans being submitted in 2011, with the Three Bridges depot expanded to a five-road shed with additional stabling and facilities. The depot was opened in October 2015. [23]

Current services

The station remains an important junction on the Brighton Main Line throughout Southern Railway and British Railways ownership. Train services are now provided by Southern and Thameslink train operating companies, with Southern managing the station, but with the majority of trains calling being operated by Thameslink.

Facilities

Besides a booking hall, the station has a coffee shop and a branch of Greggs, as well as toilets and accessibility lifts to platforms.

Platform layout

  • Platform 1: - From Crawley to London via Redhill - Some fast services in the peaks
  • Platform 2: - To London via Redhill / Down to Chichester (off-peak) (Up Slow) Some Terminus from Victoria and Bedford (Down Slow)
  • Platform 3: - To Horsham/Bognor/Crawley - Occasionally Brighton (Down Slow)
  • Platform 4: - To Bedford - Most Thameslink and Fast Victoria services (Up Fast)
  • Platform 5: - To Brighton and/or Eastbourne and/or Littlehampton (Down Fast)

Services

Services at Three Bridges are operated by Southern and Thameslink using Class 377 and 700 EMUs.

The typical off-peak service in trains per hour is: [24]

On Sundays, the services to London Victoria and Cambridge reduce to hourly. The service from Horsham to Peterborough does not run, but instead one of the Bedford trains ordinarily terminating at Three Bridges is extended to Horsham.

During the night, the station is served by a half-hourly Thameslink service to Bedford (not calling at London Bridge). This service runs on Sunday-Friday nights with an hourly Southern service to London Victoria on Saturday nights.

Three Bridges
National Rail logo.svg
Chichester Train at Three Bridges.png
Southbound Southern Class 377 departing Platform 3 in November 2006
General information
Location Three Bridges, Borough of Crawley
England
Grid reference TQ288369
Managed by Southern
Platforms5
Other information
Station codeTBD
Classification DfT category C1
History
Opened12 July 1841
Original company London & Brighton Railway
Pre-grouping London, Brighton & South Coast Railway
Post-grouping Southern Railway
Passengers
2019/20Decrease2.svg 3.190 million
 Interchange Increase2.svg 0.959 million
Preceding station National Rail logo.svg National Rail Following station
Southern
Thameslink
  Thameslink
  Balcombe
or
Haywards Heath
Disused railways
Terminus  British Rail Southern Region
  Rowfant

References

  1. ↑ Turner, John Howard (1977). The London Brighton and South Coast Railway 1 Origins and Formation. Batsford. ISBN   978-0-7134-0275-9. p.128.
  2. ↑ Chi Trevor (5 May 1985). "Chi Trevor's Photostream" . Retrieved 30 July 2010.
  3. ↑ Cole, David (1958). "Mocatta's stations for the Brighton Railway". Journal of Transport History. 5 (3). Manchester: Manchester University Press: 149–157. doi:10.1177/002252665800300304. ISSN   0022-5266. S2CID   115346320.
  4. ↑ Times, Railway (1841). "The London and Brighton railway guide, containing a correct description of the railway, historical and topographical notices of the places contiguous to the various stations, 1841". Lse Selected Pamphlets. JSTOR   60240078..
  5. ↑ Moody, G.T. (1968). Southern Electric 1909-1968. Ian Allan. p. 53.
  6. ↑ Moody (1968), pp.52-4.
  7. ↑ Kidner, R.W. (1984). Southern Suburban Steam. Oakwood Press. p. 11. ISBN   978-0-85361-298-8.
  8. ↑ Moody (1968), pp.68.
  9. ↑ Board of Trade Accidents: inspecting officers' reports for 1866-1871. pp.109-112.
  10. ↑ Esbester, Mike (9 January 2023). "'Never even blew me cap off!': Railway Grouping & accidents pt 1". Railway Work, Life & Death. Retrieved 7 May 2024.
  11. ↑ "Report on the Accident at Three Bridges on 28th January 1933". The Railways Archive.
  12. ↑ Holden, Alan (19 May 2021). "Railway stations in Hertfordshire and Sussex mapped for blind and partially sighted passengers". Rail Advent. Retrieved 19 May 2021.
  13. ↑ Bradley, D.L. (1974). The Locomotives of the London Brighton and South Coast Railway. Part 3. Railway Correspondence and Travel Society. p.133.
  14. ↑ 2001-2002 Bon Voyage(r) 1S76
  15. ↑ 2008 The end is nigh 1S76
  16. ↑ Network Rail & ARUP 2011, Planning Statement. 2.2, p.6; B1, pp.81-83.
  17. ↑ Network Rail & ARUP 2011, Planning Statement. 2.3.1, p.8; 3.1.1, p.9; Fig.1, p.10.
  18. ↑ Network Rail & ARUP 2011, (3BR-GX-205 04) Site Plan with TBOC.
  19. ↑ Network Rail & ARUP 2011, Design and Access Statement. 4. pp.20-21.
  20. ↑ "Bringing 900 jobs to Three Bridges". Network Rail. 12 December 2011.
  21. ↑ Work Starts on Three Bridges Rail Operating Centre: 900 Jobs to Follow, Network Rail, 12 December 2011, archived from the original on 22 February 2014
  22. ↑ Rail operating centre officially opened in Three Bridges, Network Rail, 7 January 2014, archived from the original on 22 February 2014
  23. ↑ "Predictive maintenance at the heart of Thameslink EMU depot", railwaygazette.com, 15 October 2015, archived from the original on 16 October 2015, retrieved 20 February 2021
  24. ↑ Table 183, 184, 185, 186 National Rail timetable, May 2022

Sources

Commons-logo.svg Media related to Three Bridges railway station at Wikimedia Commons

51°07′01″N0°09′40″W / 51.117°N 0.161°W / 51.117; -0.161

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