There is a lack of knowledge especially in respect of Eurostar what about Ebbsfleet close to the M25 and Ashford connected by train to Brighton.
Slightly misleading - the local services to Ashford take the best part of two hours, quicker to drive, but that's dead time.
Back in Shoreham, had a quick look and the cheapest Eurostar seat is £69 one way and SOU/PAR with AF on a couple of random dates was well over £160 one way so why £59 - on the face of it that looks way too cheap.
Well most people want to come back, and ES are competing across the whole of SE England, so £59 is reasonable compared to Easyjet, but certainly not all-seat-filling by any means.
I'm not sure that lack or presence of a route from LGW is a fair indicator - for anything from BSH to work, and have 'local' appeal, the market must surely be restricted to a fairly short stretch of south coast - but the 'Brighton-Littlehampton-Worthing' connurbation still numbers some 460,000.
Which routes would have a natural market at both ends? Surely if any, we're looking at hops within the UK - JER and EDI must have demand at both ends, but it is still a brave businessperson that steps forward in this market to fill that demand.