Doleham railway station
Doleham railway station is a small, single-platform wayside halt in East Sussex, England. It is on the Marshlink line, and train services are provided by Southern. The station is very isolated and serves only a handful of houses in the immediate area.
Doleham  | |
|---|---|
 The platform at Doleham station, looking south | |
| Location | |
| Place | Doleham |
| Local authority | Rother |
| Coordinates | 50.919°N 0.611°E |
| Grid reference | TQ835164 |
| Operations | |
| Station code | DLH |
| Managed by | Southern |
| Number of platforms | 1 |
| DfT category | F2 |
| Live arrivals/departures, station information and onward connections from National Rail Enquiries | |
| Annual rail passenger usage* | |
| 2014/15 |  |
| 2015/16 | |
| 2016/17 | |
| 2017/18 | |
| 2018/19 | |
| History | |
| Original company | South Eastern Railway |
| Pre-grouping | South Eastern and Chatham Railway |
| Post-grouping | Southern Railway |
| 1 July 1907 | Opened as Guestling Halt |
| 1909 | Renamed Doleham Halt |
| 5 May 1969 | Renamed Doleham |
| National Rail – UK railway stations | |
| |
History
The station opened as Guestling Halt on 1 July 1907 after the South Eastern and Chatham Railway had introduced a steam railcar service on the line in order to improve traffic. It was one of the few places along the line between Hastings and Winchelsea that could access the railway by a public road.[2] The station was renamed Doleham Halt in 1909 as Guestling was more conveniently accessed from the previous station, Three Oaks.[3]
By 1913, the station was being served by ten rail cars a day. This dropped to about seven per day in the inter-war period.[2]
The "halt" suffix was dropped on 5 May 1969.[4] The station had two platforms until 1979 when the line through the station was singled; as a result, all trains now use the former "up" (Ashford-bound) platform.[5]
Services
Owing to low patronage, the station is only served by a handful of trains each way, with no services at all during the off-peak period.[6]
Most services call at the station on weekdays. In the morning, there are three southbound trains to Hastings, of which two continue through to Eastbourne, and one northbound train to Ashford International. There is one train to Ashford during the afternoon peak, and one train each way (to Hastings and Ashford) in the late evening. This gives a total of three daily services northbound and four services southbound on a weekday. At weekends, there is only one train each way in the morning and one each way in the evening.[6]
Prior to December 2005, the station used to be served by hourly services between Ashford and Hastings. The frequency of stops was reduced when these services were extended to run through to Brighton, due to low patronage, a desire to reduce journeys times on the route through to Brighton, and a need to maintain schedules on the single-track section between Appledore and Ore. There is an ongoing local campaign which seeks to restore regular services to this station, as well as neighbouring stations at Three Oaks and Winchelsea.
In 2011, a local newspaper observed that because of the inconvenient stops and lack of access, Doleham could be technically interpreted as the most crime-ridden station in Sussex as there was one reported crime for every 473 passengers. By comparison, the more likely candidate, Gatwick Airport, only recorded one crime per 43,873 passengers.[7]
| Preceding station | |
Following station | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Three Oaks | Southern Marshlink Line |
Winchelsea | ||
| Historical railways | ||||
| Three Oaks Line and station open |
South Eastern and Chatham Railway South Eastern Railway |
Snailham Halt Line open, station closed | ||
References
Citations
- "Estimates of station usage | ORR Data Portal". dataportal.orr.gov.uk.
- Course 1974, p. 67.
- Butt 1995, p. 80.
- Butt 1995, pp. 80,110.
- Mitchell & Smith 1987, 28.
- Train Times - Southern Railway
- "Doleham named as crime hotspot". Rye and Battle Observer. 5 August 2011. Retrieved 13 October 2019.
Sources
- Butt, R. V. J. (1995). The Directory of Railway Stations: details every public and private passenger station, halt, platform and stopping place, past and present (1st ed.). Sparkford: Patrick Stephens Ltd. ISBN 978-1-85260-508-7. OCLC 60251199.
- Course, Edwin (1974). The Railways of Southern England : Secondary and branch lines. Batsford. ISBN 0-7134-2835-X.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
- Mitchell, Vic; Smith, Keith (1987). South Coast Railways - Hastings to Ashford and the New Romney Branch. Middleton Press. ISBN 0-906520-37-1.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)