dorking to horsham on sundays

[airmail18]

hi all im new on here,i always catch a train at weekends from the coast to london via horsham.can you tell me why the line to dorking is shut on sundays?i thought it would be more quicker to get to london via dorking then go all the way via east croydon seems a long way round the houses thanks paul...

 

[pendolino]

Lack of demand I guess.

Horsham back road (as it is is known) is used for test trains on Sundays on occasions though.

 

[tsr]

Lack of demand I guess.

Yep. Dorking and Horsham are quite well served, but whilst a few users might be found in the villages in between, I can well see why a Sunday service wouldn't be justified in some people's eyes. That said, there might be a valid point in saying that a two-car DMU could be employed on an hourly or two-hourly service. Of course, if the connection between this line and the North Downs Line could be reinstated (somehow! And perhaps in a different direction), a branch-line-style service serving settlements south of Dorking could operate on Sundays or indeed all week round.

Going from Horsham to London via East Croydon (or "via Gatwick Airport and Redhill", as Southern often phrase it) does not feel especially "round the houses", with broadly similar journey times and some very useful connections on the way. It would definitely be the route to keep open if one had to make an informed choice between the two.

 

[Southern]

Pre - 1978, the line was used by services between London and Coastal Towns such as Bognor. The coming of the airport at Gatwick soon put paid to this though and they were diverted away, replaced by semi - fast's and stoppers.

You do still get the odd weekend diversion down the Mole Valley. The next one is scheduled for Sunday 16th September, with the hourly VIC - BOG running non - stop Clapham - Dorking - Horsham. It looks to be a bit of a slow run, stuck behind stoppers most of the way, although the returns look to be making use of the rare Reversible Loop at Streatham Junction. The Sunday just gone, an hourly service ran from Dorking - Horsham as the Cycle Race came to Boxhill.

 

[wellhouse]

To add to Southern's remarks, Fast Services from Horsham to Victoria pre-1978 ran hourly, called just at Dorking North and Sutton. As I recall, they usually ran non-stop through Clapham Junction.

With all the congestion around East Croydon, and the pressure for BML2, I wonder if there might be capacity to run some Fast Arun Valley Services this way again?

 

[ushawk]

With all the congestion around East Croydon, and the pressure for BML2, I wonder if there might be capacity to run some Fast Arun Valley Services this way again?

Possibility it could be used more if a curve at Arundel is built, connecting the line from Worthing to Horsham, could have a new London - Brighton service via the Mole Valley line and it could make diversions a bit easier.