Celebrations have been held to mark the anniversary of the opening of the railway line between Hastings and Ashford International.
Marshlink Community Rail line officer Paul Bromley organised the special event at Rye station on Thursday 13 February – 174 years to the day since the station opened. The first Marshlink services ran between Ashford and Hastings on 13 February 1851.
A group of 25 people attended the celebration including Southern Railway staff, Rye’s Mayor Cllr Andy Stuart and Rye town crier Paul Goring, community representatives, station volunteers from along the line and rail enthusiasts from across Sussex.
Old photographs of stations on the line were on display along with railway memorabilia.
Refreshments acknowledged the milestone in 2025 of 200 years of the modern railways since the Stockton & Darlington Railway opened in 1825. Café des Fleurs café and florist based at Rye station provided flowers for the ticket office window.
Marshlink Community Rail Partnership Line Chair Kevin Boorman said: “The railway line is a key feature of the area and has been since Victorian times. The coming of the railways opened up many of the communities and provided the opportunity for people to travel further afield, and for goods to be moved much more easily.
“We were pleased to host the celebrations and know this railway is still a vital transport link for many people for work, study and leisure.”
Rye Mayor Cllr Andy Stuart told the gathering: “It is an enormous part of the community. You only have to go at various times of the day to see how many schoolchildren and college students go both ways: in to Rye, out of Rye, from here to Ashford. Day-trippers, holidaymakers, business people, workers: it is used and long may it continue to be used.”
Mike Lamport from Railway 200 added: “I’m absolutely delighted to be here for the 174th birthday party for this wonderful station of Rye. This year everywhere is having a celebration for 200 years of railways and we want everybody to have a party. Rye is doing it, we want the whole country to have a party and feel better about its railway at the end of it.”
The Marshlink line was earmarked for closure in the Beeching Report in 1963 but was saved after opposition from local campaigners and the impracticality of the proposed replacement bus service.
Latest official figures show overall station usage on the Marshlink line was up 7.5% in 2023-24 compared with the previous year.
