Folkestone Harbour railway station
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| Folkestone Harbour | |||
| Location | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Place | Folkestone | ||
| Local authority | Shepway | ||
| Operations | |||
| Station code | FKH | ||
| Managed by | VSOE | ||
| Owned by | Network Rail | ||
| Platforms in use | 2 (1 in use) | ||
| Live departures and station information from National Rail | |||
| History | |||
| 1850 | Opened | ||
| 2001 | Station closed to regular traffic | ||
| National Rail - UK railway stations | |||
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Folkestone Harbour station is a railway station built to serve the port of Folkestone in Kent, and is one of three stations in the town. It is at the end of the Folkestone Harbour Branch.
Contents |
[edit] History
The station provided a terminus for the boat-trains from London which connected with the ferry services to Calais and Boulogne. However, the opening of the Channel Tunnel and the Eurotunnel Shuttle terminal led to the majority of ferry operators moving to other ports in the South-East, with the result that only two services per day were arriving at Folkestone Harbour, to connect with the Hoverspeed SeaCat services. When these were moved to Ramsgate, Folkestone Harbour became redundant, and so the station closed to ordinary rail traffic in 2001.
However, it remains in use between March and November when the Venice Simplon Orient Express's British Pullman service terminates there; from Folkestone Harbour, passengers are transferred by coach to the Eurotunnel terminal, where they join a Eurotunnel Shuttle to Calais to pick up the Orient Express in France.
[edit] Services
VSOE operates two scheduled services per week to Folkestone Harbour on its London-Paris route, which run on Thursdays and Sundays. This not only covers the main London-Venice service, but also allows connections with VSOEs other European services.
| Preceding station | National Rail | Following station | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| London Victoria | Venice Simplon Orient Express London-Paris-Venice |
Calais-Ville via Channel Tunnel |
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[edit] Closure
Folkestone Harbour station is located at the end of a viaduct which separates the port's inner and outer harbours, which in turn is the end of the spur railway that separates from the main line. The proposals for the regeneration of the Harbour area will see additional accommodation built; however, it has been determined that this will not be sufficient to justify reopening the rail link to the Harbour. Due to its infrequent use, and given that there is no likelihood of the restoration of ordinary services to the station, it has been proposed that Folkestone Harbour be closed permanently, the viaduct demolished, and the track on the rail spur lifted[1]. However, these are tentative plans, and, at present, Orient Express does not intend to stop using Folkestone Harbour as its terminus but has used it twice in 2007 once in June and the second on the 19th July[2].
In April 2008, Network Rail issued a closure order for the branch to Folkestone Harbour, with the intention that the line and the station be closed permanently. VSOE plan to transfer their operations to Folkestone West. However, objections lodged, believed to be by EWS and Southeastern have led to a temporary reprieve.[3]
[edit] See also
Other Folkestone mainline railway stations
- Folkestone Central railway station
- Folkestone West railway station
- Folkestone East railway station
- Folkestone Warren Halt railway station
- Cheriton Halt railway station
[edit] References
- ^ Folkestone Harbour Masterplan
- ^ Kent Rail Accessed 07/02/07
- ^ Railway Herald Issue 127
[edit] External links
- Folkestone Harbour railway station is at coordinates Coordinates:
