Community celebrates shelter success at Aldrington railway station

Commuters using Aldrington station in Hove formed the Aldrington Passenger Action Group in order to demonstrate to Southern Rail that money needed to be spent on station improvements.

Hove MP Peter Kyle joined councillor Chris Henry and the group to celebrate as a new shelter was installed.

Peter Kyle MP said: “The importance of this success is not only about providing train users with shelter but that it might inspire other people to try and make improvements to their own street and local area.

“I’ve been a harsh critic of the rail operator in the past, so credit where credit is due, in this case they’ve really listened to passengers and acted.”

Angie Doll, Southern & Gatwick Express passenger services director, said: “I’m really pleased to be meeting up with Peter and the station group today to mark the installation of a new waiting shelter at Aldrington. This came about through good collaboration between local users and our station teams. Using the passenger benefit fund we’ve put in place, I’m happy to say we’ll be able to continue to work together on more improvements.”

Edward Crask, chair of the Aldrington Passenger Action Group, said: “This is a great success, and thanks to Southern for their support, but I hope it is just the beginning - there is so much more we want to achieve.”

Ideas are already beginning to form about further improvements that can be made including better signage, flower beds, a herb garden and even another ticket machine.

Cllr Chris Henry said: “The next step is a consultation with the station users to see what their priorities are. But I’m hoping this little, local station will receive a lot more love soon.”