Goring-by-Sea station celebrates 175 years

There’s cause for celebration in Goring today as residents mark 175 years of their local train station, which was first opened on 16^th March 1846. The coastal West Sussex station provides rail passengers with links to nearby Littlehampton and Hove, as well as further afield Brighton and London Victoria.

Southern operates all services running through the station, which prior to Covid-19, served half a million passengers every year. Today, the company commemorated the anniversary with the local community.

Recently, Goring-by-Sea has seen significant investment from Network Rail with improvements such as a platform extension, better fencing and lighting, new platform surfaces and a new road crossing. A refurbished footbridge is also due to be unveiled later this month, which was last restored in 1987.

Further enhancements from Southern are taking place at the station from next week as part of GTR’s network-wide station improvements programme. Additional projects include new information screens, new benches, a platform shelter and ticket machine canopy to provide a better experience for customers.

Robert Walker, Area Manager for West Coastway at Southern, says: “With so much investment happening at Goring-by-Sea, it’s fantastic to be celebrating such a significant anniversary today. These improvements directly benefit Goring and its surrounding areas, providing customers with a better, safer station that’s ready for the next 175 years!”

Rowena Tyler, Southeast Communities Rail Partnership Community Development Officer, adds: “The Sussex Coast Line has a number of stations which have recently, or are soon-to-be, celebrating 175 years. Commemorating the important milestones help to inform the local community, especially at stations which have been adopted by local schools or community groups.”

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Notes to editors

About GTR’s wider station improvements programme

• GTR’s network-wide, multimillion-pound improvement programme involves over 1,000 projects, many of which were suggested by local passenger and community groups, at more than 250 stations. While we’re working hard to achieve the punctuality and reliability our passengers rightly expect, we want them to know we are with them all the way and making their stations better places to pass through.
• We’re making a vast number and range of improvements that can be described under three themes:

1. Giving many stations a better ambience by redecorating, planting and installing artwork, often with substantial input from the local community

2. Making stations provide a better experience for passengers, improving comfort and safety with waiting rooms and shelters, seating, lighting, information screens, defibrillators for public use, and accessibility schemes

3. Making stations more sustainable, with schemes such as electric vehicle charging points, facilities for cyclists, rainwater retention systems, and even bee gardens.

• We’ve created dedicated web pages where passengers and local communities can get updates on what’s happening at their station. They can be found at:

https://www.southernrailway.com/about-us/our-commitments/improving-your-stations