Only the lower-level platforms remain open today, the high level having closed in 1967 with the Three Bridges to Ashurst Junction line as part of the closure programme proposed by the Beeching Report.

[11][12] Constructed at a cost of £3,000, the station comprised a sandstone main building which survives to this day, as well as timber goods and engine sheds with slate roofs.

[25][26][27] The extension required East Grinstead station to be relocated a few yards north at a lower level in a cutting immediately to the west of the London Road at TQ392383 in order to allow the line to pass under the highway.

[32] During construction, the Surveyor of Highways of the Parish of East Grinstead complained to the Board of Trade that the station approaches were "inconvenient and dangerous" and that the road entrance for carriages was situated on the narrow bridge over the line.

"[33] The station building straddled the double track with basements at platform level which contained the stationmaster's office and porter's room.

[13] The architect was Thomas Myres, the inspiration behind what was termed the Queen Anne School, who prepared the design of the other stations on the L&EG, as well as those on the Chichester to Midhurst and Eridge to Polegate branches.

[61][62][63] Only passengers with valid tickets and railway staff had access to the rooms, which were licensed to sell alcohol and managed by the former owner of East Grinstead's Crown Hotel.

[64] The East Grinstead Parish Magazine complained of the distance from the new stations to the town and hoped that new roads would be built to connect it and the approaches improved.

[71][72][73] The L&EG closed on 16 March 1958 and for a short time afterwards a faster service to Brighton via Three Bridges ran which reached the coastal town in 45 minutes after leaving East Grinstead.

[86] Several fittings from the old station, including cast-iron pillars and brackets, valancing, gas lamps, nameboards and coloured glass, were sold to a Californian restaurant owner, Robert Freeman.

The typical off-peak service is one train per hour to London Victoria via Oxted, calling at all stations as far as Sanderstead then East Croydon and Clapham Junction.

Throughout its railway history, East Grinstead has been almost exclusively served by local services to London, Brighton, Three Bridges and Tunbridge Wells.

[99] Electrification of the Oxted line as far as Horsted Keynes was considered by the Southern Railway in 1939 but the outbreak of the Second World War put an end to any plans.

[100] Fuel shortages and wartime needs in the early 1940s resulted in services being reduced to their lowest level in the 20th century with only 45 trains scheduled to leave the station on weekdays.

Similar provision was made for services from London with departures at eight minutes past the hour from Victoria, continuing from East Grinstead to Groombridge and Tunbridge Wells West.

[109] A planning application for a Light Railway Order to extend services north to East Grinstead led to a public enquiry in June 1983 and the grant of permission by the Secretary of State for the Environment on 2 April 1985, subject to conditions including the removal of waste from Imberhorne cutting.

[114][116] In 1991, British Rail gave the Bluebell Railway an undertaking to sell it Hill Place Viaduct as well as land for a new station at East Grinstead; each would be sold for the sum of £1.00.

[117] Despite the understanding reached with British Rail, several attempts were made by neighbouring commercial interests to take over the site following its privatisation and the appearance of Railtrack.

[122] In April 1993, it was reported that the former goods yard had been sold by British Rail Property Board for £2.3m and that J Sainsbury plc would be constructing a supermarket on part of the land, with the rest to be used as a replacement car park in front of the station.

[118] The Bluebell had turned down a proposal by consultants engaged by Railtrack for a single-platform terminus relocated 80 metres (87 yd) nearer Imberhorne Viaduct.

[124] In September 2002, Railtrack applied to the Office of the Rail Regulator to sell the land earmarked for the Bluebell Railway to Sainsbury's for an extension of the adjoining supermarket car park.

[125] In its application, Railtrack acknowledged that an undertaking had been given to sell the land to the Bluebell Railway, but indicated that in its opinion the extension of the line to East Grinstead would not materialise.

[131][132] GB Railfreight (GBRf), which had been contracted to run occasional trains, ran the first of its services carrying 1,000 tons of excavated rubbish from Imberhorne Cutting to disposal sites, initially at Calvert.

[134] The waste had been deposited in the 60-foot-deep (18 m) and quarter-mile-long (400 m) Hill Place Cutting which was purchased and designated as a landfill tip by East Grinstead Town Council in the late 1960s and used for around 25 years.

[138][121] Train movements in the station area are subject to a 10 miles per hour (16 km/h) speed restriction in order to reduce noise and smoke.

[142] This plan was frustrated by Network Rail's need to access the land earmarked for the proposed building and it was therefore decided to use replicated LB&SCR lampposts, benches and signalling with Southern-style enamel signs in a Southern Region colour scheme to reflect how the 1882 East Grinstead station would have looked prior to demolition.

[145][146] Two GBRf Class 73s, 73207 and 73119, provided heating and also operated services between East Grinstead and Sheffield Park using the Bluebell's own rolling stock.

[51][160][161][46] This was a double-track connection from the west-end of the station on a tight curve which joined the CO&EG 0.5 miles (0.80 km) to the north of the town at St Margaret's Junction at TQ391390,[31] named after a local Anglican convent.

[165][166][159] The closure of the Three Bridges-Ashurst Junction line after the last train on Sunday 1 January 1967 spelt the end for the high level station and St Margaret's Loop which would receive no further traffic.

[171] The East Grinstead Society had attempted to save the brick goods shed for reuse as a drama and arts workshop but were unable to secure the necessary funds and so it was demolished in 1976.