Gravesend railway station

Infobox UK station
name = Gravesend Central


manager = Southeastern
locale = Gravesend
borough = Gravesham
platforms = 2
code = GRV
usage0405 = 2.247
usage0506 = 2.358
usage0607 = 2.482
start = 30 July 1849

Gravesend railway station serves the town of Gravesend in north Kent; train services are operated by Southeastern. The station is 24 miles (38km) from London Charing Cross. It has two central through lines for through freight trains and up and down loops that serve the two platforms.

History

The first railway to arrive in Gravesend was the "Gravesend & Rochester Railway" (G&RR) who had purchased the Thames and Medway Canal and its tunnel between Strood and Higham. The G&RR ran the first train to the then terminus at Gravesend on 10 February 1845. On 30 July 1849 the line was extended to "North Kent East Junction" on the South Eastern Railway (SER) and thence to London Bridge.

There was a second Gravesend station (in later years known as Gravesend West), opened by SER's rivals London, Chatham and Dover Railway (LCDR). It was the end of a branch off the LCDR's main line and it allowed access to Victoria. journey times were uncompetitive and when the two companies merged in 1899, the branch was soon relegated to a secondary line and closed in 1968.

Future

In the near future CTRL DS services will be introduced, utilising the new High Speed 1 and new rolling stock (Class 395) the service will access Ebbsfleet International, Stratford International and St Pancras International.

Towards the end of 2007, a further detailed plan for the proposed Gravesend Transport Interchange is set for public consultation. It is now universally accepted that the present station is far too small for today's growth and new rail links Refimprove|date=August 2007.

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 London Charing Cross via Dartford, Sidcup and Lewisham
*2tph to Gillingham
*2tph to Faversham (from 2009)
*2tph to St Pancras International via High Speed 1 (from 2009)

External links

*stn art lnk|GRV|DA110RR