Burgess Hill’s old brick barn reborn

• Southern Railway have converted an early-Victorian storage hut at Burgess Hill station into a comfortable new waiting room

• The 180-year-old brick hut was the station’s original main building
• The waiting room displays award-winning landscape photography

Passengers using Burgess Hill station can now shelter in comfort in a smart new waiting room, converted from a hut that once formed the original station building.

The hut on Platform 1, known by rail staff as “The Old Salt Barn”, was built in 1841 by the London and Brighton Railway when it completed its route between Capital and coast. It was the main station building until 1877, when it was replaced by the current building.

The transformation is part of a network-wide, multimillion-pound station improvement programme by Southern’s parent company Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR). With over 1,000 individual projects, GTR aims to make more than 250 stations better places for passengers to pass through.

In 2019, the company asked passengers and local communities across its network what improvements they wanted at their stations. At Burgess Hill, the most popular requests were for more shelter and seats. For much of its length, though, the platform is too narrow to add new shelters or benches. Station Manager Paddy Hawksworth and Project Manager Max Kenna came up with the idea of converting the under-used barn into a waiting room, to meet both needs.

The Old Salt Barn was so-called because Southern stored sacks of salt here, used to de-ice platforms at several stations along the Brighton Main Line. The company now orders salt each year as needed, so the five-year supply that had built up in the barn was removed and divided between the stations.

Station owners Network Rail have been helpful in allowing the conversion, which includes new windows and glazed doors. GTR have kept the original wooden barn doors as a display feature inside.

The heated interior has seats for 15 to 20 people (once social distancing restrictions are lifted). Décor includes tongue-and-groove panelling in Southern Railways 1920s-style heritage green. Permanent picture frames will display a series of ‘Art On The Line’ exhibitions by students at East Sussex College, starting with the UK’s Young Landscape Photographer of the Year, Josh Elphick.

‘Art On The Line’ is a partnership between the College and Southern, providing a rolling programme of student artwork displays at railway stations. The College’s Head of Creative Partnerships, Nigel Ryan, manages the installations.

Nigel said: “We are thrilled that Burgess Hill has joined Lewes, Eastbourne and Haywards Heath as part of the ‘Art on the Line’ programme. This is a much-needed opportunity for our talented, award-winning artists and photographers from the college to display their work while bringing pleasure to the community. With galleries closed, we need to make the most of every opportunity to showcase and use creativity to bring joy and a very welcome distraction. We also hope this will encourage more young people to consider creative courses, so many of which can lead to fulfilling careers.”

Chris Fowler, Southern’s Customer Services Director, said: “We’re making our stations more attractive, comfortable and efficient places to pass through, and more valuable assets for their local communities.

“Burgess Hill’s population is set to grow substantially in the coming years so we’re working with the local community and Network Rail to make sure the station offers current and future customers the pleasant travel experience they expect. This unique waiting room is a welcome boost.

“The station is an important and popular part of the town’s fabric, so I’m delighted we’ve been able to protect its historical appeal while adding facilities for customers. And it’s great to have created an opportunity to showcase talented local artists, with our partners at East Sussex College.”

Ends

Notes to editors

About the new waiting room’s art display and ‘Art On The Line’

The award-winning photographer is Josh Elphick - Josh Elphick, Youth Landscape Photographer of the Year - Landscape Photographer of the Year (lpoty.co.uk)

The Art On The Line programme was launched by East Sussex College and Southern in 2013 and currently has displays at Eastbourne, Lewes and Haywards Heath stations.

About other improvements at Burgess Hill

As part of our network-wide station improvement programme GTR have extended the station’s CCTV system into the new waiting room. Each platform will gain at least one new bench where space allows, and passengers buying tickets from the outdoor machines will be protected from the weather by new canopies.

Network Rail’s £1.2 million improvement package at Burgess Hill includes the renewal of two 50-metre-long platform canopies, and various features of the 1877 main station building including the cast iron columns, timber roof beams, gutters and roof sheeting.

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. Giving 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
• https://www.greatnorthernrail.com/about-us/our-commitments/improving-your-stations
• https://www.thameslinkrailway.com/about-us/our-commitments/improving-your-stations