Press Release 1st July 2024
Bus Link between Newhaven/Dieppe ferry and Dieppe town-centre and railway station reinstated
From July 1, 2024, foot passengers arriving in the French port will once again be able to reach the town centre and station by bus. This development has been eagerly awaited by rail campaigners in Sussex. The previous bus transfer was axed during the Covid pandemic in 2020.
Vic Ient of Lewes Rail said “After the Covid crisis ended in 2022, I wrote to Torben Carlsen, the CEO of DFDS and I was very pleased to see that he replied immediately, but it has taken nearly two years for the bus service to be restored. Over the last 18 months we have chased up DFDS/Transmanche Ferries in Dieppe and I’m pleased to say that, thanks to the support of the local authorities in the Département de la Seine-Maritime the bus service is being reinstated”.
The new service also comes just in time for the Paris Olympics, which runs from 26 July to 11 August, and with no date as yet for through Eurostar services to be restored from nearby Ashford International, this Rail/Sea route offers an affordable and practical alternative option for continental travel at the current time. DFDS will be operating the 4 hour crossing up to four times a day in high-summer. For timings visit Ferries from Newhaven to Dieppe | Ferries to France | DFDS
In contrast to Newhaven, where the railway station and ferry terminal are ver near to each other, foot passengers in Dieppe face a 1.5 mile walk to and from the railway station or the town centre, a challenge in poor weather and for anybody with luggage. Completing the ‘missing link’ in Dieppe will make life easier for people wishing to travel to and from England.
Richard Madge of Bexhill Rail Action Group said “We would like to see this new service promoted on this side of the Channel as a two-way connection both for Rail and Sail passengers travelling to France and incoming visitors to Sussex”.
Ray Chapman of the Transmanche Metro group said, “The service could be mutually beneficial for both Sussex and Normandy. Newhaven has regular rail and bus services to Brighton and along the Sussex coast, while London can be reached in about an hour and a half by train via Lewes. Dieppe has regular rail connections to Paris via Rouen, taking about two and a half hours”.
Ludovic Cardona-Gil of the Dieppe tourist office says in the ‘Paris Normandie’ newspaper “The service will operate from Monday 1 July every day of the week and for each ferry departure and arrival until 31 December 2024”.
Vic Ient said “With the service due to be reviewed in December, it is important for it to be seen to be successful over the summer, and we as transport campaigners will do everything we can to spread the word.”
Tickets cost €3 for adults, €1.50 for children aged 4 to 17 and free for children under 3.
The new bus service was announced in the French regional newspaper ‘Paris Normandie’ on 27th June 2024. **
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**See:
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Release by:
campaigning organisations in the UK:
Transmanche Metro promotes international multi-modal travel to and from Europe.
Lewes Rail promotes sustainable travel, including better rail services. Also, its aim is to encourage railway companies and the government to promote services to and from the cross channel services at Newhaven.
Bexhill Rail Action Group (BRAG)
MarshLink Action Group Campaigning for a Better Rail Network between Ashford and Hastings
We mentioned this on our website last month.
Have you managed to get any publicity in the local media ?
Is it possible to get (1) DFDS to publicise this on their website. (2) Southern/Thameslink to publicise this ?
Thank you for mentioning this on your website. Could you send me a link? Yes, we did do a press release early on and there is an article in the Sussex Express. I have recently been over to Dieppe to assure myself that the bus service actually operates. I took the night ferry which arrives at 6:00 a.m. and not long after we cleared customs, the bus arrived. I was able to get the 7:02 to Rouen. Having come back from my travels. I now propose issuing another press release.
DFDS are now publicizing the bus shuttle times at the port of office in Dieppe. See image below. I have some colleagues who are trying to get Southern/Thameslink to publicise the service.