Crawley Railway Station

Services

• Direct train services connect Crawley with London (mainly London Victoria, but also London Bridge), Horsham, Bognor, Chichester and Portsmouth. Services to Haywards Heath and Brighton pass through Three Bridges station, about one mile to the east.
• The ticket office is theoretically open from 06.10 to 20.20 on Mondays to Saturdays and from 08.40 to 18.15 on Sundays. There are two ticket windows, but it is rare to find both of them staffed, so allow plenty of time for queuing.
• There is an automatic ticket machine, which probably won’t be set up to sell the type of ticket you are after.
• There will often be an inspector by the ticket barriers to stop anyone who hasn’t been able to buy a ticket.
• There are toilets on platform one, but they are grim, and are not always open. The next nearest public toilets are at County Mall shopping centre, directly opposite the station, but you may not be allowed out to use them without having to buy a new ticket. The toilets at Three Bridges station are usually open, if you are heading in that direction and can hold on.
• A car park with 75 spaces is available next to the station at £4.00 per day, Mondays to Saturdays, and £1.00 per day on Sundays (prices correct as of January 2010).
• A covered bike rack accommodates 22 bikes. It replaces an old shed that doubled as a urinal (because the toilets at the station are often locked).
• The station contains a taxi office. Parking immediately in front of the station is reserved for taxis.
• Crawley Bus Station is directly opposite the train station.

Up-To-Date Train Information

• Phone 0871 200 49 50.
• Text dep CRW to 84950.
• See the National Rail website, which also contains information about fares and timetables.

Location

Crawley train station is very close to the town centre, and is just over the road from the shops at County Mall.

History

Crawley’s original train station was built in 1848 close to the southern end of the High Street, serving the newly-created line between Three Bridges and Horsham. In 1862 this single-track line was replaced by two tracks.

The expansion of Crawley during the 1950s and 1960s prompted the building of a new, larger station just to the east of the original. The old signal box and platforms have been preserved, and can be seen at either end of the level crossing on the High Street.