Headcorn railway station

Coordinates: 51°09′56.70″N 00°37′37.89″E / 51.1657500°N 0.6271917°E / 51.1657500; 0.6271917
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Headcorn
KESR
2 April 1962[2]Goods services withdrawn
1988–1989Rebuilt
Passengers
2018/19Increase 0.628 million
2019/20Decrease 0.610 million
2020/21Decrease 0.108 million
2021/22Increase 0.361 million
2022/23Increase 0.468 million
Notes
Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road

Headcorn railway station is on the South Eastern Main Line in England, serving the village of Headcorn, Kent. It is 45 miles 20 chains (72.8 km) down the line from London Charing Cross . The station and all trains that serve the station are operated by Southeastern.

Headcorn was, until January 1954, the northern terminus of the

Kent & East Sussex Railway although their platform was named Headcorn Junction
.

History

A 1914 Railway Clearing House map of lines around Headcorn railway station, note the KESR.

Headcorn station was opened on 31 August 1842 as part of the extension of the

Dover by February 1844.[5] A bridge between Headcorn and Staplehurst was the scene of an accident in 1865 involving Charles Dickens; a rail had been removed by a ganger mistaken as to the day, and the Staplehurst rail crash resulted.[6]

In 1905, the station became the northern terminus of

Southern Railway (SR), with the addition of two new fast lines through the station. This involved the demolition of the main line Up platform, its reconstruction opposite the Down platform, and the moving of the KESR's connection to the main line to the west side of the station.[8] A new concrete KESR platform was provided here facing on a curved alignment.[9]

0-6-0 on goods in 1954

The remodelling included a footbridge across the station and new

signal box for the main line and an SR signal for the KESR branch.[10] A connection was also provided between KESR metals and the SR Up loop line on the London side of Headcorn station, the KESR's facilities consisting by now of two loops and a siding.[11]

Following a decline in passenger and freight traffic, the KESR between Headcorn and Tenterden was closed to all traffic in January 1954. Goods facilities were withdrawn from Headcorn in 1962,

goods yard became a car park. The SER's original buildings however survived until 1988 when they were swept away by British Rail as part of a modernisation scheme.[12] A new red-brick station building was officially opened on 11 May 1989 by Ann Widdecombe, then MP for Maidstone and The Weald constituency; shelters were provided for the platforms. In 1994, a new freight loop was built for Channel Tunnel
freight services.

Services

All services at Headcorn are operated by Southeastern using Class 375 EMUs.

The typical off-peak service in trains per hour is:[13]

Additional services, including trains to and from London Cannon Street and Ramsgate via Deal call at the station during the peak hours.

Preceding station National Rail National Rail Following station
Staplehurst   Southeastern
  Pluckley
or
Ashford International
Disused railways
Terminus  
Kent & East Sussex Railway
   Frittenden Road

References

Citations

  1. Colonel Stephens
    Museum
  2. ^
    ISBN 0-905466-19-5
    .
  3. ^ Butt 1995, p. 116.
  4. ^ Mitchell & Smith1990, Historical Information.
  5. ISBN 978-0-946537-77-8
    .
  6. ISBN 0-7134-0490-6
    .
  7. ISBN 978-0-85361-516-3
    .
  8. ISBN 978-0-946537-37-2
    .
  9. ISBN 978-0-86093-608-4
    .
  10. ISBN 978-0-906520-21-5
    .
  11. ^ White, H.P. (1987), p. 43.
  12. ^ Kent Rail, "Headcorn".
  13. ^ Table 207 National Rail timetable, December 2023

Sources

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Headcorn railway station.

51°09′56.70″N 00°37′37.89″E / 51.1657500°N 0.6271917°E / 51.1657500; 0.6271917

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