Sun, Semaphores and Inspiration at Bognor Regis

Exactly three years after the local authority gave its reluctant authority to Network Rail for their removal (on 3 March 2023) the two semaphore signal brackets at Bognor Regis proudly remain in use, with no sign at all of their potential removal.

So on the eve of that anniversary (2 March 2026) the promise of a fine sunny day, along with an appearance by the Inspiration 200 exhibition train, prompts me to take a bus trip to the South Coast resort to capture the charming and unchanging scene.

Arriving on a Stagecoach 700 bus from Chichester could hardly be more convenient as there is a stop called “Signal Box” that is around 300 yards north of the railway station and alongside the impressive 1938-vintage art deco style “Odeon” signal box, known as a Southern Railway Type 13.

For those unfamiliar with them, this is reckoned to be amongst the most significant signal box designs of the twentieth century, and is an identical design to surviving boxes at a number of locations in the south, including Wimbledon, Woking, Portsmouth Harbour and Deal, with this latter one also retaining a handful of semaphore signals.

Immediately north of the signal box is an old footbridge with a fine view looking south of the extensive and listed four-platform station, with its two semaphore signal brackets and with carriage sidings to the west side of the station complex. This is a slightly tricky spot for photos, though, on a day of unbroken sunshine.

The four semaphore arms on the two signal brackets controlled by Bognor Regis Signal Box comprise one housing signal 008 (platform 1) alongside 009 for platform 2, as seen on the left in the photo above, while the second bracket contains 010 on platform 3 and 012 on platform 4. There are also a number of wire-worked shunting discs around the station complex.

A normal weekday timetable at Bognor Regis sees all four of the station platforms in use, but with the Inspiration 200 train occupying platform 3 – where it was topped-and-tailed by GBRf electro-diesels 73213 Rhodalyn and 73109 Battle of Britain – this meant that during my time at the station on 2 March 2026 all trains were using platforms 1 and 2.

Weekday passenger services from Bognor Regis are all formed by three and four-car Class 377 Electrostar units, with the four hourly departures from Bognor Regis comprising one three-car unit operating half-hourly shuttles to Barnham, just 3½ miles away, and half-hourly services to London Victoria via the Arun Valley Line.

Having arrived by bus and not having a rail ticket for access to the barriered station platforms I asked at the station ticket office whether it was possible to buy a platform ticket, and was pleasantly amazed when the helpful booking clerk managed to produce one for me for the princely sum of 10p.

My attempts last year to get an update on any re-signalling plans from Network Rail proved unsuccessful, but I had learned then that signal heads there had been recently replaced. Talking to platform staff once again, their impression was that shortage of NR funds meant that the mechanical signalling here was likely to remain for some considerable time.

At the time NR had sought listed building consent to remove the semaphores, its application stated: “The Bognor Regis signalling assets are currently in operation way beyond their extended life…the structures at the end of Bognor Regis platform are corroded and are not fit for re-use, so need to be removed to enable new signals to be installed, providing a safer and more reliable railway infrastructure.”