Southern’s Eridge, Crowborough and Uckfield stations have received a national award for achieving recognised standards in station design, management, security and passenger safety.

To mark this award, local MP Charles Hendry visited Crowborough station to present the certificate to Southern's Commercial Director Jan Chaudhry. Also present were Sam Bryant, Community Rail Officer, Sussex Community Rail Partnership and Wealden District Councillor, and chair of the Uckfield Line Steering Group, Norman Buck.

The stations receive this award under the Secure Stations Scheme, managed by the Department for Transport in partnership with the BTP.

The award was made against strict security criteria including:
* good CCTV coverage
* good lighting
* good use of corner mirrors and signage
* a reduction in crime rates at the station
* regular station maintenance audits including removal of graffiti within 24-hours
* positive results in an independent survey of passengers using the station on how they feel about security at the station.

Charles Hendry, MP for Wealden said: “I am very pleased to present this award to Southern Trains. It shows the progress which Southern are taking to improve safety for passengers who use the service every day. Creating a secure environment in which to travel, tackling all incidents from anti-social behaviour right up to serious crimes is an integral part in encouraging more people to use the railways. This will help us not only in the fight to reduce carbon emissions but also provide a basis on which we can call for more frequent, faster and wider ranging rail services. I congratulate Southern Railways on their achievements so far and hope they build on this progress to secure a totally secure network.”

Southern’s commercial director Jan Chaudhry said: “The safety and security of our passengers is our highest priority and we are very pleased that these stations have achieved this award. This brings our total number of stations with secure accreditation to 84, over half our station compliment.”

Although unable to attend the ceremony, BTP Inspector Jack Ioannou said: “The safety and security of the traveling public is a high priority.This is a good example of joint partnerships between the BTP and Southern, working towards passenger reassurance and security.”