New railway station buildings at Uckfield

The new station buildings are a big improvement on the previous premises which were condemned when the booking clerk arrived one morning to be greeted by a rat. It is not recorded where the rat wished to travel to.

Neither of the two buildings is a patch on the old station which was situated on the other side of the level crossing. The line from London ends at Uckfield. It is only a few miles to Lewes. When this stretch of line was in use more passengers travelled from Uckfield towards Lewes than towards London. The line towards London has enjoyed a renaissance - trains will soon have to be twelve carriages long at peak times.

For people living in Edenbridge, Crowborough and Uckfield there is no reasonable alternative to the car for travel to Brighton. Most of the blame for this state of affairs can be laid at the door of the transport barnpots of East Sussex County Council. In many parts of the country local authorities are pressing very hard, indeed committing finance, to re - open stations and railways. A recent example is the support Warwickshire County Council is providing to see Kenilworth station re-open.

For details of the campaign to re-open the Uckfield-Lewes line go to the Wealden Line Campaign website.