Long awaited Lewes to Uckfield Rail line reopening moves step closer following government support for congestion busting upgrade.

Campaigners behind long standing plans to reopen the Lewes-Uckfield line as part of the proposed Brighton Mainline 2 project into London have been given £100,000 to progress studies into the scheme. 

Chancellor George Osborne announced funding for the new study in his final Budget of the parliamentary term last month. 

“Investing in infrastructure is a key part of our long-term economic plan, and this new study into this rail line is great news. This local route could open up rail capacity between the south coast and London.” George Osborne

Buried deep in the budget statement it stated: “People in the South East will benefit from the Government providing £100k for a further study into reopening the Lewes–Uckfield railway line”. 

According to campaigners, reopening this short stretch of line will enable a vital second main line to the capital to be completed. 

This so-called Brighton Mainline 2 (BML2) scheme would, they say, enable faster and more direct trains to and from commuter towns on the south coast including Seaford, Lewes, Newhaven and Falmer. 

Announcing the funding, George Osborne said: “Investing in infrastructure is a key part of our long-term economic plan, and this new study into this rail line is great news. This local route could open up rail capacity between the south coast and London.”

The news of the funding was welcomed by Norman Baker, Liberal Democrat MP for Lewis who has lobbied to reopen the line for the last 25 years.  

He said: “A reopened Lewes-Uckfield line would provide exactly that, enabling through trains to run from Seaford and Newhaven via Uckfield, and also freeing up space on the Brighton main line for more Brighton trains.”

Baker added: “It would also strengthen the resilience of the railway which at the moment is very vulnerable to problems with either the Balcombe Tunnel or Balcombe Viaduct.

Osborne’s funding announcement was also celebrated by Maria Caulfield, the Conservative parliamentary candidate for Lewes in next month’s General Election, who has also campaigned to win funding for the study. 

“A reopened Lewes-Uckfield line would provide exactly that, enabling through trains to run from Seaford and Newhaven via Uckfield, and also freeing up space on the Brighton main line for more Brighton trains.” Norman Baker MP

She described the decision as a huge step forward towards providing this vital second rail mainline from the Sussex Coast to London.

In particular the study will look at the proposed Ashcombe tunnel beneath the South Downs which would enable fast trains to again run directly between Brighton and London via Uckfield and, according to BML2 campaigners, would “answer the industry’s forty-year project-killer that has caused all previous reopening studies to founder as ‘trains would face the wrong way at Lewes’”.

The BML2 scheme sits alongside the proposed Thameslink 2 scheme to upgrade commuter services into London from the south. This scheme still requires considerable technical challenge to overcome the bottleneck at Croydon.

A proposed ‘X-shaped’ crossover near South Croydon would, say campaigners, allow all Sussex trains to reach Victoria, London Bridge or Canary Wharf. Alternatively a newer, larger ‘Croydon Gateway’ interchange would provide access to more London destinations.