Southern Line (brighton To Eastbourne) Route Extension.

Discussion in 'Suggestions' started by seemspoi#7015, Mar 30, 2022.

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  1. seemspoi#7015

    seemspoi#7015 New Member

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    This suggestion may have been posted here before, however I believe an Eastbourne to Dover extension for the existing Southern line route ( Brighton to Eastbourne ) would make this route even more engaging, especially due to major travel hubs through the area such as Hastings, Ashford International and Dover, each pertaining an extensive history of rail.

    Dover being a rail destination since its opening in 1861, with a major port in the area which sees international travel to France via ferry. Ashford International opened in 1842, originally known as Ashford at the time, being renamed to Ashford (Kent) in 1923 before the commencement of International services in 1996 with Eurostar services. Hastings station opened in 1851 thanks to the Brighton, Lewes and Hastings Railway (BLHR) which would connect the town to the London and Brighton Railway (LBR). The BLHR were awarded an act of parliament to build the railway, with an additional option to extend the line through Rye to Ashford. Bexhill station is another one worth mentioning, opened in 1847 in a seaside town and still in use today with an average of 1.5 million people travelling through on an annual basis; with a twenty minute train journey to Eastbourne / ten minutes to Hastings.

    Hastings_&_St_Leonards_RJD_100_-_excerpt.jpg (a 1914 map of the route, detailing routes and stations existing at the area at the time. The Bexhill West to Crowhurst line (closed 1964) and West Marina Station (closed 1967) no longer exists today, due to Dr Beeching's axe)

    In addition to this, the area is dubbed 1066 county; due to its rich history from the Norman Conquest of England with Pevensey Bay -- the landing side of William's forces -- having a station along the Eastbourne line, as well as Hastings, where the Battle of Hastings 'occurred'. A castle sits in Pevensey, one of the oldest in the area ( built in 290 AD by the Romans as a shore fort, later rebuilt into a castle after the invasion in 1066 ), Hastings and Dover both have castles too, situated atop a cliff overlooking each town, also built after the Norman Invasion.

    It would be nice to see this route extension idea introduced in Train Sim World 2 due to the history of the railway in the area, as well as the location being scenic and an important part of English history.
     
    Last edited: Mar 30, 2022
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  2. AirbourneAlex

    AirbourneAlex Well-Known Member

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    Not much point going to Dover from Brighton/Eastbourne as no services run directly (you'd have to change at least once). Instead may I recommend just concentrating on the line from Eastbourne to Ashford, which could be merged onto East Coastway, leaving Dover to feature in another separate route (e.g. the Kent Coast line or (part of) the South Eastern Main Line).
     
  3. seandouglas

    seandouglas Active Member

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    You could maybe do a double extension, extend from Lewes to Haywards Heath and then from Eastbourne to Ore.
     
  4. red1

    red1 Member

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    For southern, we really need to see that stretch between Eastbourne and at least Ore, which would complete the east coastway.

    There is also a great opportunity for the Ashford - Brighton, which could be shortened to Ashford to Brighton (via Eastbourne).
    This would link the missing part of the East coastway with the marshlink line (operated by class 171) and Hastings would be the point on the line where you would see the other services (already in game), such as the 375s and the 377s that go to London and Brighton.

    There are also lots of requests to see this part of the line in the Hastings diesel era, either way I think both a modern or older one would be a popular choice and players could always use the scenario editor to set the time to their choice, e.g the class 171 could be a dlc.

    [​IMG]
     
  5. seemspoi#7015

    seemspoi#7015 New Member

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    You're right, however this was more a general suggestion for a route extension. At the end of the day it is up to the developers should they implement this route as an extension onto the East Coastway scenarios. I would certainly like to see it added, given I'm from the area.
     
  6. ARuscoe

    ARuscoe Well-Known Member

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    I think what they mean is that suggestions are great, but people could also consider how the services on the route run, and therefore how much work the extension takes compares to the value of it, ie if people want to drive Eastbourne to Ashford, great, but there aren't services from Eastbourne to Dover, and people probably don't care for a "much shortened route" between Ashford and Dover rather than (for example) from somewhere further North, or even an extension from Faversham to include the Thanet loop and Ramsgate depot
     
  7. seemspoi#7015

    seemspoi#7015 New Member

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    Agreed, there's still lots to be desired for this route and this extension would certainly make the East Coastway complete. Not only that, but to incorporate it would make the title a little more proper, given it has Coastway as part of it; and what better to add than the stretch of line that literally goes along the seafront? To add to your mention of Hastings in the diesel era, I vividly remember the late 90's / early 2000's DMU in their grey and blue paint scheme's with the network rail logo on the carriages that ran before the 171 Turbostar's and the 375 / 377's, would be nice to see them added in with this extension idea.
     
  8. seemspoi#7015

    seemspoi#7015 New Member

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    Point made, this is my first suggestion post here so I wasn't keeping in mind which services go to what location. I'll keep that in mind for if and when I make another suggestion post.
     
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  9. ARuscoe

    ARuscoe Well-Known Member

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    Suggest away! Anything that lets DTG know what people wan can only be a good thing (if frustrating when they always seem to do other things)
     
  10. red1

    red1 Member

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    True, it's ironic that the stretch of coastway isn't actually in the game for east coastway. Also we have 'Diesel Legends of the Great Western', but this route is the opportunity to add 'Diesel Legends of the South East'.
     
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  11. driverwoods#1787

    driverwoods#1787 Well-Known Member

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    Excellent idea and Ore is where electric operation ends.
    If you are thinking in terms of a integrated Regional Network in the long term then do this East Coastway Eastbourne to Ashford International via Ore. Phase 2 is SEHS to Ashford International and Phase 3 is East Coastway Lewes to Wivelsfield. Network bundle is South East regional that will be sold at the same price as regular route.
     
  12. red1

    red1 Member

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    Yeah I just suggested Ashford To Brighton (Eastbourne) in a separate thread about an hour ago. Sometime I'll also suggest Hastings to Charing X with diesel locos in an old era. I just really hope these suggestions get looked at and included due to popular demand eventually...
     

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