The Arun Valley line, also known as the Mid Sussex line, is part of the Southern- and Thameslink-operated railway services. For the initial part of the route trains follow the Brighton Main Line, and at a junction south of Three Bridges the route turns westwards. It then runs via Crawley, Horsham (where there is a junction with the Portsmouth Line) and Arundel, before meeting the West Coastway line at Arundel Junction. Trains on the Arun Valley line then proceed to either Bognor Regis, Portsmouth & Southsea (with some of these extended to Portsmouth Harbour) or Southampton Central.^{[lower-alpha 1]}

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Arun Valley line
Southern class 377 train bound for Victoria passes under the A29 road bridge south of Pulborough in West Sussex in 2009
Overview
Status	Operational
Owner	Network Rail
Locale	South East England
Termini	Littlehampton Three Bridges
Stations	11
Service
Type	Heavy rail
System	National Rail
Operator(s)	Southern Thameslink
Rolling stock	Class 377[1] Class 700[2]
History
Opened	1863
Technical
Line length	30 mi 46 ch (49.2 km) (Between Three Bridges and Arundel junctions)[3]
Number of tracks	2
Track gauge	4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Electrification	750 V DC third rail
Route map (Click to expand)

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Legend
Brighton Main Line to London Victoria & London Bridge Three Bridges Three Bridges to T. Wells Central Line to Tunbridge Wells Brighton Main Line to Brighton Crawley Ifield Faygate Roffey Road Halt Littlehaven Portsmouth Line to Peckham Rye Horsham Junction Horsham River Arun A24 Stammerham Junction Christ's Hospital Cranleigh line to Guildford Itchingfield Junction Steyning Line to Shoreham-by-Sea Billingshurst Pulborough River Arun Hardham Junction Midhurst Railways to Chichester & Petersfield Amberley North Stoke Tunnel ( 83 yd 76 m ) Arundel West Coastway line to Brighton Arundel Junction West Coastway line to Littlehampton & Barnham

Many stations on this line retain the short platforms which were originally built, not being extended by the Southern Railway when the line was modernised in the 1930s, nor by any subsequent operators. This causes operational difficulties to this day, which require frequent platform and on-train announcements with longer trains, telling passengers they must travel in the correct part of the train.

The line was opened in three stages by the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway (LB&SCR) between 1848 and 1863, creating what was then known as Mid-Sussex route to Portsmouth.

There are currently four trains per hour in each direction over the route off-peak, made up of twin portions from two trains per hour from London Victoria. This is the most frequent service on the route since the late 1970s.

Down-line services: Both divide at Horsham, the train on the hour has a front portion which is fast to Barnham then onto Portsmouth & Southsea (and occasionally continuing to Portsmouth Harbour). The rear portion is semi-fast to Bognor Regis (not calling at Christ's Hospital and Amberley Stations). The 30-minutes-past train's front portion again runs fast to Barnham then is semi-fast to Southampton Central. The rear section calls all stations to Bognor Regis.

Up-line service: Again two trains an hour, both services attach at Horsham. The Bognor Regis section always arrives first unless there is disruption and then a section from either Portsmouth & Southsea (Sometimes starting from Portsmouth Harbour) or Southampton Central arrives. Once the train has attached it runs semi fast to London Victoria via the Horsham Branch Line (Horsham to Three Bridges) and the fast Quarry Line. Each of the up services arrive with normally a 10-minute interchange for the Thameslink services to Peterborough via Redhill and London Bridge and the one closest the hour for the Mole Valley service towards London Victoria via Dorking.

Typical off-peak journey times from London Victoria (via Redhill and Gatwick Airport)

Based on December 2006 timetable, prior to the introduction of the train split at Horsham and the non-stop services Horsham to Barnham. In 2016 most of the off-peak fast services reached Barnham in 80–81 minutes and Chichester in 88; peak-hour services were slightly slower.
Stations in italics are served by through trains but are not part of the Arun Valley line.

Typical off-peak journey times from London Bridge (via Redhill and Gatwick Airport)

Based on December 2006 timetable. Stations in italics are served by through trains but are not part of the Arun Valley line. There are two trains per hour on this route. Some stations between London Bridge and Gatwick Airport have been omitted. Faygate is served during peak hours only.