The Bluebell Railway, a heritage railway that runs through Sussex has filed a pre-planning application as it seeks to extend the railway westwards along a partially disused railway alignment.
The Bluebell Railway opened in 1960 between Sheffield Park and Bluebell Halt, extending the final 100 yards to reach Horsted Keynes in 1962. Over the next few decades, they were able to inch northwards to Kingscote in 1994, and finally to East Grinstead in 2013. Now the railway is looking at taking a westwards path towards the large town of Haywards Heath, along a part-disused railway that used to link Haywards Heath with Horsted Keynes, via Ardingly Station.
Existing railway and expansion plans over Open Street Map
To start the process, they recently filed a pre-application with Mid-Sussex District Council looking at whether they would need a full environmental impact to be carried out before filing the formal planning request. The railway alignment they want to use still exists, although all the railway track on the eastern half was removed when the original railway was closed. The western half of the railway still remains, as it’s in use for freight traffic to the Hanson Aggregates depot at Ardingly.
(the disused railway is green on the map above, the blue is the freight and national rail track)
The plans are to restore the disused railway as far as Ardingly where there used to be a station and is today the aggregates depot, and then dig a new tunnel under the road so that the heritage railway can loop around the north side of the Hanson depot without affecting its operations. Eventually, the aim is to secure funding and regulatory clearance to run trains along the existing freight line down to Haywards Heath.
The existing aggregate depot is safeguarded as a railhead in the West Sussex Joint Minerals Local Plan 2018 (Partial Review March 2021), so the heritage railway says in its application that it worked with Hanson to come up with a plan that would keep the depot working while also allowing the heritage railway to run up to, and eventually beyond it.
In their review, the District Council has looked at the plans, and decided that although the length of the railway extension would normally require an environmental statement, as the other factors such as reusing existing railway lines mitigate this, they wouldn’t be calling for a full EIA from the railway.
That cost and delay avoided, the railway expects to file the formal application and request for a Transport and Works Act Order (TWAO) later this year, suggesting a likely decision from the council could be early next year.
Apart from creating a rail link once again between Haywards Heath and East Grinstead, from a visitor attraction point of view, Haywards Heath, which is on the London to Brighton railway has a much larger potential population within easy travelling distance of where the heritage railway will eventually be operating from.
More people will be able to visit a steam railway.
Believe it or not I was actually chatting with the former BRPS chairman over a cup of tea at Kingscote the day I did the 473 bus link back in the mists of time (Sir Archie was still in steam, that’s how long ago…ahem) and the subject of Ketches Halt csme up. I kind of off the cuff said it’d make a good Ardingly temporary station. Apparently doubling HK to KC has also been looked at. Who knows? Watch this space…
Although the goods line to Ardingly is sparsely used, the Platform 1 at Haywards Heath is occupied for a significant proportion of each hour, as well as being available for refuge in times of disruption. I can’t imagine how the steam railway, with long turnaround times, is going to get the necessary paths into the station from Network Rail. And there isn’t space to add an extra platform 0. I wish the Bluebell luck though.
There’s plenty of land to the northwest side of the station for a dedicated set of platforms.
Probably something similar to East Grinstead, with the station a short walk away. Although I thought the spare land was to the north east and not as Ian mentioned to the north west.
I looked at a map.
I’m struggling to decide which proposal is more ludicrous: this one or the K&ESR’s plan to put a level crossing on the A21.
Robertsbridge is the perfect terminal for KESR and bring life into the village.A level crossing on the A21 is no big deal given the frequency of trains,can’t be any worse than 40tonne lorry getting stuck or cars queuing on such a bad road.Progress for all must be the priority so give it a good chance.
I think “Dave” is very much in the minority. Let him struggle. Both are superb ideas. If the Welsh Highland can travel a significant distance down the highway in Porthmadog, I can see no real problems with either of the proposals mentioned by “Dave”. An incidence of Meldrew disease I feel!
They would do well to run a service for commuting between east grinstead and Haywards heath taking national rail ticket holders, as they own the track they would take 100% of the revenue. Maybe a half-hourly old slam door, that way they could keep that service environmentally friendly tons of space for another platform at Haywards heath. They wouldn’t even need to merge with the BML
Space to the North-West is all well and good but not on the correct side, unless you path to cross both lines of the busy Brighton Main Line. The East side is constrained by a road bridge and Waitrose. And this is before you account for the many millions that any new track or platform work would cost on NR territory!
I certainly hope that the extension all the way to Haywards Heath can be achieved. Would this make the Bluebell Railway unique in operating a working Junction Signal Box? This too would encourage more visitors and help recoup the costs involved.
As I understand it the plan is for a new platform to be built between the siding on the eastern side of HH station and Waitrose.
Quote from a 2014 article in Sussex World:
“What we have negotiated with the developers of the station site where there is a new Waitrose going is an agreement with them, Network Rail and the local authority, that at the point at which we can run trains to Haywards Heath there is a plot of land allocated for us to build a station which sits between the Network Rail station and the new Waitrose.”
Looks like it would be a bit of a squeeze at the southern end, unless the agreement is for Waitrose to relinquish some of their car park.
There seems to be a little used fifth track most of the way between HH and Copyhold Junction which could be used by the Bluebell Railway. The bridge at Old Wickham Lane looks like a potential problem. I am not sure there is room to get a fifth track here so it might need to be rebuilt, or have an agreement to share Network rail tracks for a few hundred metres.
This would be fantastic boost to the Bluebell railway.
Forget the Bluebell Railway, this is what should be being done to provide an alternative route from Brighton to London, rather than the never likely and more impractical reopening of Lewes to Uckfield. Any future problems with either Balcome Tunnel or the Ouse Valley Viaduct – inevitable if fracking is ever allowed to go ahead – would allow a vital link from the south coast using a Haywards Heath – East Grinstead – Oxted route. Totally appreciate the work already done by the Bluebell Railway but National Rail needs to take over the rout entirely and maybe allow Bluebell ‘specials’ on high days and holidays.
That’s like watching someone restore a vintage car and then stealing it.
Totally agree. I’ve been advocating for years for the following:
* Implementing NR’s proposals for a flyover at Keymer and rebuilding Wivelsfield with four platforms,
* Reopening East Grinstead to Haywards Heath and building a similar flyover to give cross-platform interchange at Haywards Heath,
* …and finally, four tracking between Wivelsfield and Haywards Heath (with all that entails, i.e. a new tunnel bore south of HH and widening the Vale viaduct).
That, when complete, gives a segregated route (with all the capacity that provides) from Eastbourne all the way to South Croydon with the benefit of cross-platform interchange to the existing BML at Hayward Heath for those that need stations between there and Croydon.
May be feasible if network rail pays for a southern extension to lewes ,or at least the outskirts in exchange for the loss of the 6mile northern section. The area around Newick and Chailey maybe problematical but the Bluebell will still have a network rail connection at Horsted Keynes instead of East Grinstead, a bonus will be a line a few miles longer.
Voda I used to share that concern, but with NR’s cancellation of nearly all major rail projects across the country, along with the “restoring your railway”(lol)idea, that will never happen. Billions would have to be spent restoring the double tracks, electrifying, re-signaling, buying more land to accommodate double line operation and for removing the 25 MPH speed limit, re-enforcing HP viaduct and returning Imbahorne cutting to its original depth for two tracks to run under the road bridges. Bluebells all the way!
It’s Bluebell all the way, and good luck to them.
Yes, the single track nature of the route restricts services to ‘shuttles’ effectively between HH and HK where there are multiple platforms.
Maybe one day they will link back to Lewes, but may hit similar issues as Wey and Arun Canal, with land ownership and housing developments.
It’s such a shame so many lines out of EG have been lost, Beeching Way (Mmmmm ironic) sits on one route, I believe another ran east.
when will it be done