page_title: Wealden Line
section_title: Authorisation
hierarchical_section_title: Wealden Line / History / Authorisation
context_page_description: The Wealden Line is a partly abandoned double track railway line in East Sussex and Kent that connected Lewes with Tunbridge Wells, a distance of 25.25 miles. The line takes its name from its route through the chalk hills of the North and South Downs of the Weald, England.
  The line is essentially composed of three sections: in the south, from Lewes to Uckfield closed on 4 May 1969; in the north, from Eridge to Tunbridge Wells West closed on 6 July 1985; in between, from Uckfield to Eridge remains open as part of the Oxted Line.
  The northern section has partly re-opened under the auspices of the Spa Valley Railway, whilst the Lavender Line has revived Isfield Station on the southern section with about one mile of track. There has been a concerted campaign since 1986 led by the Wealden Line Campaign to have the whole line re-opened to passengers, but a 2008 study concluded that it would be "economically unviable".
context_section_description: Authorisation for the construction of a line from Brighton to Hastings via Lewes was obtained by the Brighton, Uckfield & Tunbridge Wells Railway in 1844, sponsored by the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway (LBSCR), with the passing of the Brighton, Lewes and Hastings Railway Act (7 & 8 Vict. c. xci.). However, no works were commenced and another company, the Lewes and Uckfield Railway Company, was incorporated and secured on 27 July 1856 the passing of an Act to construct a line covering the 7.5 miles (12.1 km) to Uckfield from a point 1.5 miles (2.4 km) north of Lewes to be known as Uckfield Junction, on the LBSCR's Brighton to Hastings line.
  Attracted by the prospect of extra patronage on its coastal line, with which Lewes had been linked in 1846, the LBSCR supported the company's proposals and a connection linking Lewes to Uckfield was opened on 11 October 1858 to goods, with passengers one week later. The line, much of it through low-lying meadows, was easy to build and required only three minor cuttings and a number of bridges including one over the Ouse Navigation. The initial service consisted of five trains each way on weekdays and three on Sundays. A four-horse coach service ran between Tunbridge Wells and Uckfield.
caption: The Wealden Line in relation to other railway lines in Kent