We went to Brighton on Saturday by train, as it was almost certainly quicker and possibly cheaper than driving. Possibly cheaper? Certainly if we went via Hastings, at only £9.90 return on my Gold Card, which must be a bargain. Via London it was £42 return and the difference seems hard to justify. So, via Hastings it was.
The only problem is that the train from Chilham does not connect - there's a 40 minute wait at Ashford - so we drove to Wye to get only a 7 minute wait. I was surprised at just how full the Brighton train was. There were people standing from Ashford and only between Rye and Bexhill were there any spare seats. Admittedly it was Pride in Brighton, but that doesn't really account for the standees from Ashford.
Coming back there was a crush load from Brighton and standing as far as Eastbourne. Again, Pride made a difference, but not that much of a difference (we were too early for that). It's only a 2 car train so maybe Southern should think of increasing the length or increasing the frequency to half hourly.
I still don't know why that line is not being electrified. It would cut out an island of diesel and would allow for more interesting through journeys. What about some peak hour trains from London having a portion from Ashford to Rye? Or, more imaginatively, a regular service from Brighton to Lille?
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