Paddock Wood railway station

Paddock Wood National Rail
Location
Place Paddock Wood
Local authority Borough of Tunbridge Wells
Coordinates 51°10′56″N 0°23′20″E / 51.1822°N 0.3890°E / 51.1822; 0.3890Coordinates: 51°10′56″N 0°23′20″E / 51.1822°N 0.3890°E / 51.1822; 0.3890
Grid reference TQ670452
Operations
Station code PDW
Managed by Southeastern
Number of platforms 3
DfT category C2
Live arrivals/departures, station information and onward connections
from National Rail Enquiries
Annual rail passenger usage*
2012/13 Decrease 1.130 million
– Interchange  Decrease 0.105 million
2013/14 Decrease 1.104 million
– Interchange  Decrease 94,019
2014/15 Increase 1.148 million
– Interchange  Decrease 90,619
2015/16 Increase 1.153 million
– Interchange  Increase 97,320
2016/17 Increase 1.175 million
– Interchange  Decrease 80,443
History
Key dates Opened 31 August 1842 (31 August 1842)
National Rail – UK railway stations
* Annual estimated passenger usage based on sales of tickets in stated financial year(s) which end or originate at Paddock Wood from Office of Rail and Road statistics. Methodology may vary year on year.
UK Railways portal
Paddock Wood
to Tonbridge
Down Siding West
B2160 Maidstone Road
Medway Valley Line
to Maidstone West
Hawkhurst Branch Line
to Marden

Paddock Wood railway station is on the South Eastern Main Line and Medway Valley Line in south-east England, serving the town of Paddock Wood, Kent. It is 34 miles 67 chains (56.1 km) down the line from London Charing Cross. The station and all trains calling there are operated by Southeastern.

History

The South Eastern Railway opened a line from Redhill to Ashford and on to Dover in 1842. This bypassed the county town of Maidstone, and a station named Maidstone Road was opened in a rural location on 31 August 1842 to serve the town, 8 miles (13 km) to the north. The village of Paddock Wood developed quickly around the station, which took the name Paddock Wood in 1844 when the branch line to Maidstone West was opened. Another branch line—the Hawkhurst Branch—to the village of Hawkhurst existed between 1892 and 1961.[1]

The station has Up and Down platforms (1 and 2 respectively) with a pair of fast lines between them. On the Down side, a bay platform (platform 3) is used for the Medway Valley Line services to Maidstone and beyond. A matching bay platform existed on the Up side when the Hawkhurst branch was in operation. The main station building is on the Up platform; there are long canopies on both platforms. Transfer between platforms is by footbridge.[2]

The station also serves the villages of Matfield, Brenchley and Horsmonden, which have no stations of their own.

Accidents

At 03:40 hrs on 5 May 1919, a goods train from Bricklayers Arms to Margate overran signals and ran into the back of another goods train just to the west of Paddock Wood station. The Margate train was hauled by C class No. 721. It had 50 goods vehicles including three brake vans. The other train was hauled by C class No. 61. The fireman of this train was killed in the accident. Although the main cause of the accident was the driver of the Margate train failing to obey signals, the signalman at Tonbridge East signal box was also censured for failure to give the driver adequate warning that although the train had been accepted by the signalman at Paddock Wood, the line was not clear. The signalman at Paddock Wood had accepted the train under Regulation No 5 - "Section clear but station or junction blocked".[3]

At 02:02 on 8 December 1961, a goods train was setting back at Paddock Wood station when the 00:20 goods from Hoo Junction to Tonbridge overran signals and collided with it. The wreckage from the accident piled up under the bridge carrying the B2160 Maidstone Road. The line was blocked for 12 hours.[4][5]

Paddock Wood Railway station appears in the novel Dombey and Son by Charles Dickens where, in chapter 55, the villain, Mr Carker, accidentally falls under a train at the station and is killed.[6]

Services

As of May 2010 the typical off-peak service from the station is:

There are also peak hour services to and from London Cannon Street.

Preceding station National Rail Following station
Tonbridge   Southeastern
South Eastern Main Line		   Marden
  Southeastern
Medway Valley Line		   Beltring
Disused railways
Terminus   British Railways
Southern Region
Hawkhurst Branch		   Horsmonden

Bus connections

Routes 6, 6A, 203, 205 and 296 are available from stops near the station, see List of bus routes in Kent

References

  1. ↑ Body, Geoffrey. PSL Field Guide – Railways of the Southern Region (1984), page 142. Patrick Stephens Ltd, Cambridge. ISBN 0-85059-664-5
  2. ↑ Body, page 143.
  3. ↑ Earnshaw, Alan (1993). Trains in Trouble, Volume Eight. Penryn: Atlantic. pp. 8–9. ISBN 0-906899-52-4.
  4. ↑ "Rail Crash: Inquiry begins". Tonbridge Free Press. 15 December 1961. pp. 1, 10.
  5. ↑ "Train crash at Paddock Wood". British Pathé. December 1961. Retrieved 20 November 2012.
  6. ↑ Railways and Culture in Britain: The Epitome of Modernity By Ian Carter
  7. 1 2 Network Rail Timetable May 2010: Table 207
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