The serious road accident near Eridge station on Wednesday* morning has renewed doubts about current development strategies for the station.
The crash, which took place at the junction between the station access road and the A26 Tunbridge Wells - Crowborough route, shut the main road for several hours as emergency services worked to free the injured, and then the scene was cleared and examined.
While the Campaign does not wish to make any comments that might prejudice the police accident investigation, we have long believed that high vehicle speeds on this section of the A26 - dubbed by some locals "the 100-mph road" - make this a very dangerous junction, particularly for vehicles turning right towards Crowborough.
However, the latest East Sussex County Council-backed development strategy for Eridge station will see even more vehicles use this hazardous junction. Not only have current plans already brought a major expansion of the car park, but councillors have also fought to ensure that even the fastest trains will call at this isolated country station.
With Crowborough the obvious traffic source, this policy seems set to make the station into a 'Crowborough Parkway' by the back door, focusing attention away from the town's existing station and generating more car journeys on a particularly hazardous stretch of road.
Wealden Line Campaign Director Brian Hart said: "thanks in part to the closure of the Eridge Tunbridge Wells rail link in 1985, this stretch of the A26 is already quite busy enough without the council working to make things even worse.
"If Eridge ends up becoming a new 'Crowborough Parkway', I really worry that we shall see more tragic accidents like this as commuters siphoned away from Crowborough try to get out onto this road on dark winter nights on their way home. As things stand, the main road access to Eridge must be among the most dangerous station approaches in the county. "
"Rather than indulging in these 'Parkway' policies on the cheap, the council ought to be ensuring that there is adequate parking at major stations like Crowbrough, and we have train services that focus on the places where people actually live."
* Two women were seriously injured in a road accident that took place at the junction between the A26 Tunbridge Wells - Brighton route and the Eridge station access road on 30 March 2005.
4 April 2005