Brighton Station

be nice to get a seat on the train and have a table to put stuff on while working instead of ones lap…………

Brighton station is one of the earliest and largest railway termini outside London. It’s also, in my view, one of the most attractive, as much of the original station survives, albeit under the additions of later years.

A scheme for the London and Brighton railway was developed to link London with the then burgeoning resort of Brighton in the mid-1830s, not long after the successful establishment of the Liverpool and Manchester Railway. Work began in 1838 and the line was opened in September 1841. A year earlier in 1840 the line to Shoreham had also opened, and in 1846 the company changed its name to the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway (LBSCR).

The new terminus at Brighton was designed in a handsome Palladian style by the architect David Mocatta, who also designed the decoration on the Ouse viaduct at Balcome, the largest bridge on the line. One of the most distinctive features is the station clock, which is still functioning to-day.

As traffic expanded, the station itself was enlarged. In 1882-1883 a large iron-and-glass porte-cochere was built over the station forecourt to provide better shelter for passengers arriving and departing, and at the same time the superb cast iron and glass train shed, with two large and one smaller arches, was also erected over the platforms. Although the porte-cochere has rather ruined the appearance of Mocatta’s building behind, the train shed, with curving arches and decorative columns, is magnificent. The whole station underwent a major refurbishment in 2001 with an attractive blue, white and gold decorative scheme. As well as Mocatta’s clock, there is a splendid four-faced LBSCR clock from 1883 suspended over platform 7.

As well as frequent (4-6 an hour) services via Gatwick Airport to London (Victoria, London Bridge and Thameslink), trains leave regularly for all south coast destinations and Bedford, Luton Airport, Watford Junction, Bristol and Cardiff. There are also occasional services to Manchester via Birmingham. It is used by an average of over 36,000 people a day.

The station has a number of take-away food outlets, a bar, a Marks & Spencer Food store, a W H Smiths newsagent and several cash dispensers. There are covered racks for 260 bicycles in front of the station and near platform 9, and the new eastern approach now provides the main public access for cars, an additional taxi rank and a parking area with 600 spaces. The whole station has level access.

The main downsides are the lack of a heated waiting room and that the ticket office often has long queues, although there are automatic ticket machines. I often use the station Travel Centre (Mon-Fri 9-18h, Sats 9-17h), operated by Brighton Bus, which has very friendly and helpful staff, sells rail tickets and can make reservations. A useful new feature is the bus times indicator above the exit, giving the times of the next bus departures from the station around the Brighton area.

its very busy and a lot of trains in+out all the time,very good stantion,best outside ov london

Always busy but never over crowded, and easy to manoeuvre unlike many other big stations. Brighton station is plonked conveniently at the top of Queens Road, providing an easy route into the centre for many daytripping shoppers.

Before we moved here last year I used to visit regularly and spend the day in the lanes. It was a good few trips before I realised that the underpass underneath the entrance of the station actually leads straight to the lanes, rather than walking down Queens Road and then down North Street.

There are hordes of taxis waiting conveniently outside the front of the station, and there’s masses of bike racks for cycling commuters, although perhaps not enough as there always seems to be three or four bikes to one rack.

The bus stops outside are handy with buses coming every few minutes, and inside the station you’ll find massive timetable boards with train times and platforms. If you’ve got a few minutes to spare you can grab a coffee or something to eat as there’s a WH Smiths and M & S, and also a pub.

One word of advice though, if you haven’t already got your ticket, give it a good 15 minutes before your train leaves to get one as the machines and counters are always packed with long queues.