What a Joy!' Haywards Heath car park footbridge now open

“What a Joy!” – Passengers delighted as Haywards Heath car park footbridge opens

The new footbridge

No entry no more. First commuter to use the bridge, Michael Delve (centre) cuts the tape to open the bridge. Customer Service Assistant, Anthony Bowrah (left) and Station Manager, Graham Thrower (right) share the moment.

The much awaited completion of the footbridge which connects car park directly to platform at Haywards Heath station became a reality when it was opened to passengers this week.

The new multi-million pound footbridge is the last element in the construction of the new multi-storey car park and comes with the added bonus of the re-opening of the Boltro Road entrance at the station.

The first commuter to use the bridge at 6am when the footbridge opened was Michael Delve who said: “This is so convenient now. It’s good to have the option to get to any platform on the station and it’s well worth the money spent.” To mark the occasion, Michael was presented with a bottle of champagne by Haywards Heath Station Manager, Graham Thrower.

Passengers are clearly delighted as remarks of “What a joy”, and “Great job” were heard as they used the footbridge for the first time.

Southern’s Group Station Manager, Paul Wyborn said: “Although the car park itself has been completed for some months, the footbridge has taken a little longer meaning that users had to walk the long way round to get to the station. The opening of the footbridge spells the end of those long walks in the rain!

“The new footbridge has lifts to all platforms, ticket machines and automatic ticket gates. The opening of the bridge also means the re-opening of the Boltro Road entrance which also spells the end of a walk the long way round too. ”

Network Rail area director Steve Knight said: “This new bridge is a multi-million pound investment in one of our busiest railway stations and it will make a huge difference to commuters, who will enjoy a much smoother journey from car to train. The new car park and the forthcoming retail developments at Haywards Heath are also important – in fact the new bridge was paid for by commercial development and not by the taxpayer. They all show how Network Rail’s Railway Upgrade Plan is making a real difference to people across our network and how we are looking at every avenue for funding our improvements.”

No more long way around - delighted passengers use the footbridge for the first time

Convenience - passengers now have direct access to the platforms from the car park