Battle station gets a £24,oooSpring Clean

Work to brighten the aesthetics and bolster comfort at the Grade II listed station, considered one of the finest Gothic style small stations in the country, includes a redecoration of the booking hall.

The leaded diamond-shape windows are being restored, oak benches refurbished and the floor sanded down and given a coat of high performance lacquer.

Outside, the redecoration includes the chimney, windows, doors and bike shed, with weeding of the surrounding area and sponsored garden.

Later this year Network Rail will undertake a full refurbishment and restoration of the roof to include masonry and ridge tiles.

Additional funding of £6,000 is being made available by the Railway Heritage Trust.

David Statham, managing director of Southeastern, said: “These works will make a positive impact on the passenger environment at Battle.

It’s all part of our wider programme of station enhancements designed to make a difference to people’s journeys. We’ll be making further improvements at other stations throughout East Sussex soon.”

Mr Statham revealed that later in April 2015 Southeastern will begin a £4.8million programme of cosmetic work across all its 166 stations. Paint jobs and repairs targeting wear and tear seen in photographic surveys will be conducted in batches of stations, phased for completion by October 2016.

Press spokesman Edd Ross said: “Southeastern – which provides 170m passenger journeys every year – has pledged £2m of its own money, over and above its franchise commitments of more than £70m, to deliver a number of passenger focussed initiatives across its network in the coming months.”

Southeastern runs train services into London from Kent and East Sussex, operating some 2000 trains a day,