Dungeness nuclear power station. The branch originally served New Romney, , , , , and Dungeness. Beyond Appledore, the line is single track and after crossing the River Rother reaches where there is a disused branch to Rye Harbour. The mainline continues to along the Brede Valley, after which it climbs uphill at a . The line passes through the former (closed in 1959), and before entering the Ore Tunnel. After the tunnel, the line is double track and electrified (originally for access to the carriage sidings at Ore but since their removal the lines are used by scheduled trains). After , the line enters the Mount Pleasant Tunnel before a descent towards Hastings. The Marshlink line does not follow any particular roads. The nearest equivalent route for road transport is the A259 from Hastings to Folkestone via Rye. Services Passenger services are operated by Southern. Trains run hourly between Ashford International and Hastings, stopping at Ham Street, Appledore and Rye. Winchelsea and Three Oaks are served by a two-hourly service in each direction (alternating between one and the other), while Doleham is served by just three or four trains per day each way. Trains then stop at Ore and Hastings before continuing on the East Coastway line; in the past these services usually ran through to but since May 2018 they form stopping services as far as . At peak times, an additional hourly shuttle runs between Ashford and Rye. Ore station, in addition to Ashford-Eastbourne services, receives services to Brighton and London (hourly to each), which start or terminate there. The services use electric multiple units (usually Class 377s). Ham Street, Appledore and Rye have staggered platforms: this once allowed passengers to cross the line from the end of one platform to the end of the other. Platforms at Three Oaks and Doleham can only accommodate a single carriage and passengers wishing to alight must travel in one particular carriage of the train. History Construction The line was originally the idea of the Brighton, Lewes and Hastings Railway (BLHR), founded in June 1844 to construct a link between those three towns in association with the London and Brighton Railway (LBR). The South Eastern Railway (SER) wanted to construct a line between Headcorn, Rye and Hastings, but the Parliamentary Select Committee thought there would be insufficient traffic to justify it. After an Act of Parliament was passed to construct