A RAILWAY station will formally close next month, 14 years after it was last served by a passenger train.

The end of the line for Newhaven Marine was confirmed by the Office of Rail and Road, which ratified the Department for Transport’s decision to close the station following a public consultation.

The port town of Newhaven has two other stations, which are fully operational.

The Argus:

Passenger services at Newhaven Marine were suspended in 2006 due to safety concerns about the dangerous condition of its canopy.

Both the canopy and the station building were demolished in 2017, leaving the site derelict.

A single daily service heading to Brighton called at the station until early 2019, although no passengers were able to get on or off the train.

This so-called parliamentary train was a requirement for the station to continue to be officially open.

Several stations across Britain are kept open despite being rarely used because it is easier to arrange for a train to stop infrequently at them than obtain permission for closure.

The Argus:

The DfT said the closure of Newhaven Marine on October 22 will allow the track to be used as sidings and for freight trains.

Former transport minister and ex-Lewes MP Norman Baker described the consultation as a “joke”.

Speaking to The Argus newspaper earlier this year, he said: “The station was demolished years ago and now they’re holding a consultation to close it.

READ MORE>>>Former Lewes MP brands discussions over closure of Newhaven station 'a joke'

“I was thinking about replying to the consultation and asking Network Rail to open it up again as Newhaven Rubble.”

Newhaven Marine was first opened under a different name in 1886 for rail passengers accessing the Newhaven ferry terminal.

But in the 1980s the terminal was relocated to a section of the port closer to Newhaven Town station, causing demand for Newhaven Marine to decline.