Sevenoaks railway station

Sevenoaks railway station is on the South Eastern Main Line in England, serving the town of Sevenoaks, Kent. It is 22 miles 9 chains (35.6 km) down the line from London Charing Cross and is situated between Dunton Green and Hildenborough stations. Trains calling at the station are operated by Southeastern and Thameslink.

Sevenoaks
The station in 2009
Location
PlaceSevenoaks
Local authorityDistrict of Sevenoaks
Grid referenceTQ522553
Operations
Station codeSEV
Managed bySoutheastern
Number of platforms4
DfT categoryB
Live arrivals/departures, station information and onward connections
from National Rail Enquiries
Annual rail passenger usage*
2014/15 4.138 million
– Interchange  0.411 million
2015/16 4.139 million
– Interchange  0.868 million
2016/17 4.160 million
– Interchange  0.410 million
2017/18 4.154 million
– Interchange  0.386 million
2018/19 4.376 million
– Interchange  0.355 million
History
Key datesOpened 2 March 1868 (2 March 1868)
National Rail – UK railway stations
  • Annual estimated passenger usage based on sales of tickets in stated financial year(s) which end or originate at Sevenoaks from Office of Rail and Road statistics. Methodology may vary year on year.

Trains from the station run northbound to London Bridge, Cannon Street, Waterloo East and Charing Cross via Orpington, or to Blackfriars via Swanley and Catford; and southbound to Ashford International and Ramsgate via Dover Priory, or Tunbridge Wells and Hastings.

History

Sevenoaks railway station was opened on 2 March 1868. It was formerly known as "Tubs Hill", after the adjacent area. There is a second station, on the branch to Swanley Junction, which opened on 2 June 1862. The station is named after the Bat & Ball local inn which is now closed, and serves the north end of the town.

The two lines to Sevenoaks were electrified in January 1935. When the station was reconstructed in the 1970s a new ticket office was built replacing the old wooden S.E.R. building. The largest version of the Southern Region D70 type glass box station, this reconstruction was designed by regional architect Nigel Wikeley.[1] Two additional side platforms were also abolished.

Sevenoaks is part of the rail franchise which, post-privatisation, was served by Connex South Eastern. Subsequent to their 'sacking' in 2003 due to poor financial management (although their train operating performance had been very poor), services were operated by South Eastern Trains, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Strategic Rail Authority (SRA). On 1 April 2006, Southeastern, owned by Govia, took over management of the station as part of the new Integrated Kent Franchise.

Accidents

7 June 1884 - A double-headed freight train ran into the rear of another freight train at Tub's Hill station. Both crew of the first train were killed. The Hildenborough signalman was charged with causing their deaths. The trains were being worked under the time interval system.[2]

24 August 1927 - the Sevenoaks railway accident. River class tank locomotive No. 800 River Cray derailed at Shoreham Lane between Dunton Green and Sevenoaks. Thirteen people were killed and 20 were injured. The locomotives were withdrawn and rebuilt as tender locomotives.

Platforms and Services

The view from platform 3 at Sevenoaks, looking south towards Tonbridge with a Thameslink train operating on behalf of Southeastern

Platforms

There are two island platforms - 1 & 2, and 3 & 4.

  • Platform 1- Northbound fast trains (through Dunton Green) fast to London Bridge, Waterloo East, London Charing Cross and London Cannon Street
  • Platform 2- Slow trains starting/terminating at Sevenoaks (through Dunton Green) to London Charing Cross and London Cannon Street via Orpington and Lewisham
  • Platform 3- Southbound trains via Tonbridge (destinations are Tunbridge Wells, Hastings, Ashford International, Canterbury and Ramsgate).
  • Platform 4- Thameslink trains (through Bat & Ball) which all start/terminate here.

Services

As of December 2019, the typical off peak service at the station is:

Preceding station National Rail Following station
SoutheasternTerminus
London Bridge
Southeastern
Southeastern
ThameslinkTerminus

Passenger Representation

The not-for-profit Sevenoaks Rail Travellers' Association (SRTA) corresponds and meets with Southeastern Railway, TfL, the DfT, MPs and other relevant parties to represent the interests of passengers using Sevenoaks and stations nearby – Bat & Ball, Dunton Green, Eynsford, Kemsing, Otford, and Shoreham.[3]

References

  1. Lawrence, David (2018). British Rail Architecture, 1948-97 (First ed.). Manchester, UK: Crecy Publishing Ltd. p. 144. ISBN 978-0-86093-685-5.
  2. Jewell, Brian (1984). Down the line to Hastings. Southborough: The Baton Press. ISBN 0-85936-223-X.
  3. http://www.sevenoakschronicle.co.uk/Sevenoaks-train-group-slams-Southeastern-s/story-19925773-detail/story.html

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.