Newhaven Marine 'ghost station' set to close this year

For three years Newhaven Marine Station has been a pile of rubble, its buildings demolished in 2017.

But to Network Rail it is still legally a fully functioning station, running a daily “ghost train” to Brighton which no one is allowed on or off.

The “parliamentary service” has run from Newhaven Marine at 8.15pm on weekdays since the station was closed to passengers in 2006.

Now the Department for Transport has announced it plans to close the station for good as early as September 26.

The proposal had been put to the public in January.

Station buildings were demolished three years ago

Responding to the consultation’s results, a department spokesman said it was ploughing ahead with the closure plans.

All the Government needs now is a final sign-off from the Office of Rail and Road, the agency responsible for regulating Britain’s railways.

“The department has decided that the closure of the station should proceed,” a Department for Transport spokesman said.

“If the closure is ratified, the station will close on a date to be confirmed, which will not be before September 26.”

Of the 27 responses to the consultation, 15 supported the idea of closing Newhaven Marine.

Two respondents questioned why the closure plans had taken so long considering the station had not been in public use for 14 years.

Four people opposed the closure plans, suggesting a restored Newhaven Marine Station would improve

The Department for Transport hopes to convert the derelict station into a freight facility for Newhaven Port

rail services and boost the town’s environmental credentials.

But a department spokesman said the station “has no current or future value” as it is only two minutes’ walk from Newhaven Harbour station.

And it claimed restoring the station so it could be used by passengers would cost more than closing it.

Instead the Government plans to convert the station into a freight facility for Newhaven Port.

Newhaven Marine was first opened in 1886 as Newhaven Harbour Boat Station, transporting passengers to the Dieppe ferry.

But as the town port moved and ferries became less frequent, the station fell out of use and was eventually closed to the public in 2006.

When plans to finally close the station were revealed, former Lewes MP Norman Baker branded the move a “joke”.

“I was thinking about replying to the consultation asking Network Rail to open it up again as ‘Newhaven Rubble’,” he told The Argus.