View source for Doleham railway station

{{Short description|Railway station in East Sussex, England}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2018}}
{{Use British English|date=January 2018}}
{{Infobox station
| name                = Doleham
| symbol_location     = gb
| symbol              = rail
| image               = Doleham-railway-station.jpg
| caption             = The platform at Doleham station, looking south
| borough             = [[Doleham]]
| country             = England
| coordinates         = {{coord|50.919|0.611|type:railwaystation_region:GB_scale:10000|display=inline,title}}
| grid_name           = [[Ordnance Survey National Grid|Grid reference]]
| grid_position       = {{gbmapscaled|TQ835164|25|TQ835164}}
| manager             = [[Southern (train operating company)|Southern]]
| platforms           = 1
| code                = DLH
| classification      = [[United Kingdom railway station categories|DfT category]] F2
| original            = [[South Eastern Railway, UK|South Eastern Railway]]
| pregroup            = [[South Eastern and Chatham Railway]]
| postgroup           = [[Southern Railway (UK)|Southern Railway]]
| years               = {{start date|1907|07|01|df=y}}
| events              = Opened as ''Guestling Halt''
| years1              = 1909
| events1             = Renamed ''Doleham Halt''
| years2              = 5 May 1969
| events2             = Renamed ''Doleham''
| mpassengers =
<!--{{Rail pass box |pass_year=2015/16 |passengers={{decrease}} 6,496<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://dataportal.orr.gov.uk/statistics/usage/estimates-of-station-usage/|title=Estimates of station usage &#124; ORR Data Portal|website=dataportal.orr.gov.uk}}</ref>}}
{{Rail pass box |pass_year=2016/17 |passengers={{decrease}} 4,768}}
{{Rail pass box |pass_year=2017/18 |passengers={{decrease}} 3,422}}
{{Rail pass box |pass_year=2018/19 |passengers={{decrease}} 2,842}}-->
{{Rail pass box |pass_year=2019/20 |passengers={{increase}} 3,074}}
{{Rail pass box |pass_year=2020/21|passengers={{decrease}} 120}}
{{Rail pass box |pass_year=2021/22|passengers={{increase}} 848}}
{{Rail pass box |pass_year=2022/23|passengers={{decrease}} 550}}
{{Rail pass box |pass_year=2023/24|passengers={{increase}} 1,038}}
| footnotes           = Passenger statistics from the [[Office of Rail and Road]]
}}
'''Doleham railway station''' is a small, single-platform wayside [[halt (railway)|halt]] in [[Doleham]], [[East Sussex]], England. It is on the [[Marshlink line]], and train services are provided by [[Southern (Govia Thameslink Railway)|Southern]]. The station is very isolated and serves only a handful of houses in the immediate area. There is an approximate daily figure of 8 passengers a day pre-covid.

==History==
The station opened as '''Guestling Halt''' on 1 July 1907 after the [[South Eastern and Chatham Railway]] had introduced a [[British steam railcars|steam railcar]] service on the line in order to improve traffic. It was one of the few places along the line between Hastings and {{rws|Winchelsea}} that could access the railway by a public road.{{sfn|Course|1974|p=67}} The station was renamed '''Doleham Halt''' in 1909 as Guestling was more conveniently accessed from the previous station, {{rws|Three Oaks}}.{{sfn|Butt|1995|p=80}}

By 1913, the station was being served by ten rail cars a day. This dropped to about seven per day in the inter-war period.{{sfn|Course|1974|p=67}}

The "halt" suffix was dropped on 5 May 1969.{{sfn|Butt|1995|pp=80,110}} The station had two platforms until 1979 when the line through the station was singled; as a result, all trains now use the former "up" (Ashford-bound) platform.{{sfn|Mitchell|Smith|1987|loc=28}}

In 2011, a local newspaper observed that because of the inconvenient stops and lack of access, Doleham could be technically interpreted as the most crime-ridden station in Sussex as there was one reported crime for every 473 passengers. By comparison, the more likely candidate, {{rws|Gatwick Airport}}, only recorded one crime per 43,873 passengers.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.ryeandbattleobserver.co.uk/news/people/doleham-named-as-crime-hotspot-1-2937646|title=Doleham named as crime hotspot|work=Rye and Battle Observer|date=5 August 2011|access-date=13 October 2019}}</ref>

==Services==
Owing to low patronage, the station is only served by a handful of trains each way, with no services at all during the off-peak period.<ref name="tt"/> It is the least used station in [[East Sussex]] and all of [[Sussex]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.sussexlive.co.uk/news/sussex-news/sussex-quietest-railway-station-doleham-7895390|title=Sussex's quietest train station that's used by just 2 people per day|work=Sussex Live|date=6 December 2022|accessdate=20 January 2024}}</ref>

In the morning, there are three southbound trains to {{rws|Eastbourne}}, and one northbound train to {{rws|Ashford International}}. There is one train to Ashford International and one train to Eastbourne during the afternoon peak, and one train to Ashford International and one train to Hastings in the late evening. This gives a total of three daily services northbound and five services southbound on a weekday.<ref name="tt" />

At weekends, the service pattern is reduced to just two trains per day in each direction: only the first and the last train on the line call at the station.<ref name="tt" />

===Service history===
Until 2005 the station was served by hourly services each way between {{rws|Ashford International}} and {{rws|Hastings}}. However, in the 2005 timetable change, trains on the line were extended to run to/from {{rws|Brighton}} (via {{rws|Eastbourne}} and {{rws|Lewes}}) and operated as express services; as a result, service frequency at Doleham (as well as neighbouring {{rws|Three Oaks}} and {{rws|Winchelsea}}) was greatly reduced, to just 3 trains per day each way.

This led to the creation of a campaign the by Three Oaks and Winchelsea Action for Rail Transport (THWART) and the Marshlink Line Action Group (MLAG), which aimed to restore regular services from these stations. In the end, only Winchelsea and Three Oaks have benefited from this campaign (with two-hourly services at those stations commencing in December 2010,<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.pressreader.com/uk/kentish-express-ashford-district/20091021/282041913195888|title=All Change on the Old Diesel Marshlink line|work=Kentish Express|date=21 October 2009|access-date=11 October 2019}}</ref> and hourly services restored in May 2023); Doleham's limited service frequency has remained almost unchanged.<ref name=tt>{{cite web|url=https://timetables.southernrailway.com/SN/#/timetables/2398/Table%20U|title=Table U|publisher=[[Southern (Govia Thameslink Railway)|Southern]]|date=11 December 2023|accessdate=19 January 2024}}</ref>

{{rail start}}
{{s-rail-national|previous=Three Oaks|next=Winchelsea|toc=Southern|route={{smalldiv|[[Marshlink Line]]}}|notemid={{smalldiv|Limited Service}}}}
{{Historical Rail Insert}}
{{s-rail-national|status=Historical|previous=Three Oaks|next=Snailham Halt|toc=SECR|route={{smalldiv|[[Marshlink Line]]}}|note={{smalldiv|Line and station open}}|note2={{smalldiv|Line open, station closed}}}}
{{end}}

==References==
'''Citations'''
{{reflist}}

'''Sources'''
{{refbegin}}
* {{butt-stations}}
* {{cite book|title=The Railways of Southern England : Secondary and branch lines|first=Edwin|last=Course|year=1974|publisher=Batsford|isbn=0-7134-2835-X}}
* {{cite book|title=South Coast Railways - Hastings to Ashford and the New Romney Branch|first1=Vic|last1=Mitchell|first2=Keith|last2=Smith|publisher=Middleton Press|year=1987|isbn=0-906520-37-1}}
{{refend}}

==External links==
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uGb9P-1J9Rk Doleham - Least Used Station in East Sussex]

{{East Sussex railway stations}}
{{TSGN and SE Stations|Coastway East=y|FCC None=y|SE None=y}}

[[Category:Railway stations in East Sussex]]
[[Category:DfT Category F2 stations]]
[[Category:Former South Eastern Railway (UK) stations]]
[[Category:Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1907]]
[[Category:Railway stations served by Govia Thameslink Railway]]
[[Category:Rother District]]