What have the people who run Brighton Station got against the passengers?

Time was when Bonaparte’s cosy bar provided a welcome haven for those of us waiting to catch a train or to meet people arriving from London.

Then Marks & Spencer colonised the pub space and we were condemned to waiting around on the breezy forecourt, juggling our coffees and pastries without a table at which to sit and consume them. Nothing against M&S, which provides a useful service, but we were promised a year ago in the cheery station literature that another bar/ cafe would be opened at the station to replace Bonaparte’s.

It hasn’t happened.

Of course, in the meantime, the train companies have ensured the fares for our journeys have greatly increased. And now we can’t even down a draught Guinness to make the pain less. Brighton possesses, architecturally, one of the most handsome train stations in the country. Why make it a windswept desert?

Peter Avis
Coombe Road, Brighton