History
Horsham would have been an important midway point in two of the original proposals for a London to Brighton railway via the Adur valley but in the event Sir John Rennie's proposed direct line through Three Bridges and Haywards Heath was given Parliamentary approval. As a result, the original Horsham station was the terminus of a single track branch line from Three Bridges opened by the London Brighton and South Coast Railway (LBSCR) in February 1848.
Between 1859 and 1867 the station was enlarged on several occasions to coincide with the doubling of the branch line from Three Bridges; the extension of the railway from Horsham along the Arun Valley Line; the opening of new lines from Horsham to Shoreham via Steyning and from West Horsham to Guildford. Finally, in 1867 a new route to Dorking, Leatherhead and thence to London, was opened. The station was again partially rebuilt and resignalled, with three signal boxes, in 1875.
The present station was built by the Southern Railway in the International Modern Style in 1938 to coincide with the electrification of the line. The building is grade II listed, see external links below.
As of September 2011 the station is undergoing extensive refurbishment work to the main ticket hall. Work is expected to take up to 18 months to complete.
Read more about this topic: Horsham Railway Station
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