Higham railway station (Kent)

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.

Higham
Location
PlaceHigham
Local authorityBorough of Gravesham
Grid referenceTQ715726
Operations
Station codeHGM
Managed bySoutheastern
Number of platforms2
DfT categoryE
Live arrivals/departures, station information and onward connections
from National Rail Enquiries
Annual rail passenger usage*
2014/15 0.182 million
2015/16 0.187 million
2016/17 0.194 million
2017/18 0.197 million
2018/19 0.173 million
– Interchange  6
History
Original companyGravesend and Rochester Railway[1]
South Eastern Railway
Pre-groupingSouth Eastern and Chatham Railway
Post-groupingSouthern Railway
8 Feb 1845Opened[1]
13 December 1846[2]Closed (G & R)
23 Aug 1847Reopened (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.

It is 28 miles 42 chains (45.9 km) down the line from London Charing Cross. Train services have been operated by Thameslink since May 2018. Before that time, the services were operated by Southeastern and its predecessors, although the station is still managed by Southeastern.

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.

History

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.[3]

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. [4]

Services

The typical off-peak service from the station is:

Preceding station National Rail Following station
Gravesend   Thameslink
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. 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 978-1-85260-508-7. OCLC 60251199.
  2. Southern Region Record by R.H.Clark
  3. The Chalet in the Shrubbery - Retrieved 4 January 2006
  4. Official Handbook of Stations, British Transport Commission, 1956
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