Dartford railway station

Dartford 8
National Rail annual entry and exit
2018–19	4.623 million[1]
– interchange	0.402 million[1]
2019–20	4.659 million[1]
– interchange	0.333 million[1]
2020–21	1.485 million[1]
– interchange	0.105 million[1]
2021–22	3.153 million[1]
– interchange	0.210 million[1]
2022–23	3.991 million[1]
– interchange	0.404 million[1]
Key dates
30 July 1849	Station opened
Other information
External links	Departures Layout Facilities Buses
WGS84	51°26′51″N 0°13′09″E / 51.4475°N 0.2193°E / 51.4475; 0.2193
London transport portal

Dartford railway station serves the town of

. Southeastern also manages the station. Dartford is a major interchange station in the North Kent region of the Southeastern network. Ticket barriers control access to the platforms.

Dartford Railway Station has become the busiest station in Kent with an annual passenger usage of 4.62 million in 2018/19. Between 2018 and 2019, use of the station increased by 11%, a much higher rate than other stations across Kent. More people use Dartford railway station than Ebbsfleet International and all the other stations in the Borough put together.

The station is where three lines from London meet:

• the
  Woolwich Arsenal
• the
  Bexleyheath Line
• the Dartford Loop Line via Sidcup.

Westbound services normally terminate at

.

Many of the terminating services at Dartford form London bound services, but the remainder will be stabled and maintained at Slade Green Depot approximately two miles west on the North Kent Line. There are several sidings to the east of the station where terminating trains can be stabled until such time as needed to return to Dartford to form London bound services or until drivers are available to return the train to Slade Green Depot.

History

The first station was opened here by the

it extended its North Kent Line from Gravesend on 30 July 1849, taking the line from there to London. The original station building had an Italianate design; this was replaced by a glass and metal ticket office complex in 1972. A footbridge leads across the line to the two island platforms.

Replacement of the 1972 station building was approved in 2011,^[2] with enabling works started late that year, and major works commenced in mid-2012. The new building was completed in November 2013.^[3]

Future development

In the future, Dartford station may form part of a

Trivia

In 1961, Mick Jagger and Keith Richards met by chance at the station, going on to be the core writing team of the Rolling Stones. There is a plaque on the London-bound platform to commemorate this fact.^[5][6][7]

Dartford railway station gained a lot of attention due to the high numbers of people travelling using this line, mistakenly not knowing that Oyster cards were not valid, and there was evidence of being approached by staff and receiving penalty fares.

Services

Services at Dartford are operated by Southeastern and Thameslink using Class 376, 465, 466, 700 and 707 EMUs.

The typical off-peak service in trains per hour is:^[10]

• 4 tph to London Charing Cross via Sidcup (2 of these run non-stop from Hither Green to London Bridge and 2 call at Lewisham)
• 2 tph to London Cannon Street via Woolwich Arsenal and Lewisham
• 1 tph to London Charing Cross via Bexleyheath
• 2 tph to London Victoria via Bexleyheath
• 2 tph to Luton via Woolwich Arsenal and Greenwich
• 4 tph to Gravesend (2 of these call at all stations and 2 call at Greenhithe only)
• 2 tph to Rainham via Chatham

During the peak hours, the service to and from London Charing Cross via Bexleyheath is increased to 2 tph.

Preceding station	National Rail			Following station
Crayford		Southeastern Dartford Loop Line		Stone Crossing or Terminus
Thameslink North Kent Line		Stone Crossing
		Southeastern North Kent Line		Greenhithe
Bexleyheath Line		Terminus

Connections

The station is served by the following bus services:

• Bluewater and Gravesend.^[11]
• Fastrack routes A, AZ and B. These buses provide connections to Temple Hill, Bluewater, Ebbsfleet and Gravesend.^[12][13]
• Go-Coach routes 429, Dart 1 and Dart 2. These buses provide connections to Temple Hill, Swanley and West Kingsdown.
• 492. These buses provide connections to Bluewater, Bexleyheath, Erith, Woolwich and Sidcup
  .

Concessionary and electronic ticketing

Oyster and contactless bank cards

Dartford entered the TfL zonal Oyster/contactless system on Sunday 6 September 2015, in Zone 8. Whilst season tickets, daily capping and contactless weekly capping are set at standard Zone 8 levels, single fares from Dartford are lower than "standard" Zone 8 fares.[14]

This followed Southeastern agreement to seek to bring Oyster/Contactless PAYG to Dartford by 31 January 2016 as part of the 2014–2018 franchise extension.^[15]

Passenger representation

Dartford Rail Travellers' Association^[16] campaigns for improvements across the seven railway stations in the Dartford area - Dartford, Stone Crossing, Greenhithe for Bluewater, Swanscombe, Ebbsfleet International, Longfield and Farningham Road. The group operates through social media on Facebook and Twitter.

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Dartford railway station.

• Train times and station information for Dartford railway station from National Rail
• Photograph of station building