Higham railway station, Kent
Coordinates: 51°25′36.12″N 0°27′58.71″E / 51.4267000°N 0.4663083°E
Higham  | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Location | |
| Place | Higham |
| Local authority | Borough of Gravesham |
| Grid reference | TQ715726 |
| Operations | |
| Station code | HGM |
| Managed by | Southeastern |
| Number of platforms | 2 |
| DfT category | E |
|
Live arrivals/departures, station information and onward connections from National Rail Enquiries | |
| Annual rail passenger usage* | |
| 2004/05 | 0.205 million |
| 2005/06 |
 0.185 million |
| 2006/07 |
 0.205 million |
| 2007/08 |
0.241 million |
| 2008/09 |
0.247 million |
| 2009/10 |
0.216 million |
| 2010/11 |
0.193 million |
| 2011/12 |
0.191 million |
| 2012/13 |
0.183 million |
| History | |
| Original company |
Gravesend and Rochester Railway[1] South Eastern Railway |
| Pre-grouping | South Eastern and Chatham Railway |
| Post-grouping | Southern Railway |
| 8 Feb 1845 | Opened[1] |
| Nov 1846 | Closed (G & R) |
| 23 Aug 1847 | Reopened (SE) |
| National Rail – UK railway stations | |
| * Annual estimated passenger usage based on sales of tickets in stated financial year(s) which end or originate at Higham from Office of Rail and Road statistics. Methodology may vary year on year. | |
| UK Railways portal | |
Higham railway station is in the hamlet of Lower Higham in North Kent. The village of Higham is about 1 mile (1.6 km) to the south. Train services are operated by Southeastern. (Not to be confused with the closed station at Higham in Suffolk.)
The ticket office, on the 'up' side, is situated in the substantial station building. This is manned only during part of the day; at other times a PERTIS passenger-operated ticket machine issues 'Permits to Travel' - which are exchanged on-train or at manned stations for travel tickets - and is located at the entrance to the up platform, at the foot of the staircase.
From Higham to Strood, the railway passes through a tunnel built for the Thames and Medway Canal, and the station building was converted from the home of the canal towing contractor. The waiting room was heated by the original open fire until as recently as the 1980s.
One of the more unusual pieces of freight handled by the station was a Swiss chalet, in 94 separate pieces, packed into 58 boxes. It arrived over Christmas 1864 as a gift for Charles Dickens at nearby Gad's Hill.[2]
According to the Official Handbook of Stations the following classes of traffic were being handled at this station in 1956: G, P, L, H, C and there was a 1 ton 2 cwt crane. [3]
Services
The typical off-peak service from the station is:
- 2tph (trains per hour) to London Charing Cross via Dartford, Woolwich Arsenal and Greenwich
- 2tph to Gillingham
| Preceding station | National Rail |
Following station | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gravesend | Southeastern North Kent Line |
Strood | ||
| Historical railways | ||||
| Denton Halt Line open, station closed |
British Rail Southern Region North Kent Line |
Strood Line and station open | ||
| Milton Range Halt Line open, station closed |
British Rail Southern Region North Kent Line |
Strood Line and station open | ||
| Disused railways | ||||
| Gravesend Line and station open |
South Eastern Railway North Kent Line |
Strood (1st) Line and station closed | ||
References
- 1 2 Butt, R. V. J. (1995). The Directory of Railway Stations: details every public and private passenger station, halt, platform and stopping place, past and present (1st ed.). Sparkford: Patrick Stephens Ltd. ISBN 1-8526-0508-1. OCLC 60251199.
- ↑ The Chalet in the Shrubbery - Retrieved 4 January 2006
- ↑ Official Handbook of Stations, British Transport Commission, 1956
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Higham (Kent) railway station. |
- Train times and station information for Higham railway station, Kent from National Rail
- Higham (Kent) station on navigable 1946 O.S. map
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