£10 million Cooksbridge station extension to open to public

Maria Caulfield MP has thanked Network Rail and the Cooksbridge Rail Action Group following a government-funded extension to the platform at Cooksbridge Railway Station that will mean trains will no longer block the level crossing.

The work has been completed thanks to a £10 million investment from the Department for Transport.

Construction work on the platforms was completed earlier this summer and, following testing and signalling upgrades, they are now ready to open and allow passengers to access the full length of the trains.

Southern introduced longer eight-carriage trains earlier this year, through Cooksbridge and along the south coast as a way to accommodate a timetable change required to make space for the Gatwick Airport Station upgrade work.

By lengthening one of the two platforms at Cooksbridge the longer trains can stop further forward meaning they no longer block the level crossing.

Trains travelling in the other direction do not block the level crossings so this platform has not been lengthened; doors here open only in the section of train in the platform.

Mrs Caulfield said: “The new eight carriage train service to London Victoria and Eastbourne is proving popular across the constituency for providing twice as much space on board, and the new platform extension is helping to get the level crossing open faster, tackling road congestion in the area.

“It’s also a major improvement for Cooksbridge, which in less than a year has gone from peak-time-only to a true seven-days per week service, something that is transformational for the local community.

“The success of the Cooksbridge Area Rail Action Group in securing these improvements is testament to the importance of local campaigners in working with the local rail company.”