Chatham railway station
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- This article is about the station in Kent, England. For the station in Melbourne, Australia see Chatham railway station, Melbourne.
| Chatham | |
 |
|
|---|---|
| Location | |
| Place | Chatham |
| Local authority | Medway |
| Operations | |
| Managed by | Southeastern |
| Platforms in use | 2 |
| Annual entry/exit 04/05 | 2.893 million ** |
| History | |
| Key dates | Opened 1858 |
| National Rail - UK railway stations | |
| ** based on sales of tickets in 2004/05 financial year which end or originate at Chatham. Disclaimer (PDF) | |
Chatham railway station is situated in Chatham, one of the Medway Towns in Kent, England. It is on the Chatham Main Line between Rochester and Gillingham, and is 34.3 miles (54km) from London Victoria. Train services are provided by Southeastern.
The station was opened on 25 January 1858, when the London, Chatham and Dover Railway (LCDR) (then known as the East Kent Railway) opened a single line eastwards to Faversham. Two months later (29 March 1858) the link with the North Kent Line at Strood was opened; and the new railway reached Dover Priory in 1861. The Chatham Dockyard branch connection is made near Gillingham.
As built the station was had two platforms with the station buildings being on the Down side. A note on the working drawings states that the station had to be visible from the Fort Pitt [Napoleonic Fort]. About 1881 it was rebuilt with two island platforms and the station buildings were moved onto the road bridge then known as Rome Place. A modern entrance and booking hall replaced the originals in 1981. Further remodelling in the 1990s and 2000s has seen the ticket office moved twice, accompanied by the opening, closing and re-opening of retail areas. The building is located at one side of the road bridge (now Railway Street) over the track, with a taxi rank located between the road and the building. Stairs lead down to the platforms: a buffet is located on the London-bound platform. In 1958 the station was converted back to two platforms as part of the then Electrifiction Scheme, the redundant loop lines being replaced by those between Rainham and Newington.
There are two platforms, one for each direction, each capable of handling 12-car trains.
There are tunnels at either end of the station: Fort Pitt Tunnel (428 yards/385m) at the London end and Chatham Tunnel (297 yards/267m) at the other end.
The typical off-peak service from the station is:
Towards London:
- 4tph (trains per hour) to London Victoria via Bromley South.
- 2tph to London Charing Cross via Dartford and Woolwich Arsenal.
From London:
- 4tph to Faversham. Of these, 2tph divide at Faversham with one portion going on to Dover Priory via Canterbury East, and the other portion going to Ramsgate via Margate.
- 2tph to Gillingham.
[edit] External links
- Train times and station information for Chatham railway station from National Rail
- Street map and aerial photo of Chatham railway station from Multimap.com
| Preceding station | National Rail | Following station | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rochester | Southeastern North Kent Line |
Gillingham | ||
| Rochester | Southeastern Chatham Main Line |
Gillingham | ||
| Ebbsfleet International |
Southeastern CTRL-DS London-Broadstairs (not yet operational) |
Gillingham | ||
