Staplehurst railway station

Staplehurst railway station is on the South Eastern Main Line in England, serving the town of Staplehurst, Kent. It is 41 miles 70 chains (67.4 km) down the line from London Charing Cross . The station and all trains calling there are operated by Southeastern.

Staplehurst
Location
PlaceStaplehurst
Local authorityBorough of Maidstone
Grid referenceTQ783444
Operations
Station codeSPU
Managed bySoutheastern
Number of platforms2
DfT categoryC2
Live arrivals/departures, station information and onward connections
from National Rail Enquiries
Annual rail passenger usage*
2014/15 0.888 million
2015/16 0.858 million
2016/17 0.851 million
2017/18 0.837 million
2018/19 0.872 million
History
Key datesOpened 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 Staplehurst from Office of Rail and Road statistics. Methodology may vary year on year.
Staplehurst
railway
station
 1950 
 Legend
 Running lines
 Sidings
 A229 

The station opened in August 1842. It is well-known for the Staplehurst rail crash on 9 June 1865 on which Charles Dickens was a passenger.

History

The station was opened by the South Eastern Railway on 31 August 1842, when the line was extended from Tonbridge to Headcorn.[1][2] The platforms were widened in 1889.[3] A footbridge over the platforms was installed in 1961, in preparation for the electification of the South Eastern Main Line.[4]

A coal depot was established at Staplehurst in September 1965. All goods facilities were withdrawn on 4 October 1971.[5]

Facilities

Staplehurst is located in the north of the urban area on the A229 road which runs from Chatham to Hastings via Maidstone.[6] The ticket office is located on the London-bound platform 1. A passenger-operated self-service ticket machine is located next to the station.[7]

The station is used by commuters to London from Cranbrook, Sissinghurst and Hawkhurst, which have no stations of their own. Arriva bus 5 links these three settlements to the station.[8]

Services

As of December 2019, the off-peak service at the station in trains per hour is:[9]

There are also peak hour services to London Cannon Street

Preceding station National Rail Following station
Southeastern

Incidents

The stretch of line near the station which crosses the River Beult was the site of a fatal train accident on 9 June 1865, which killed ten people and injured forty. This accident is well known in literary circles as Charles Dickens was on the stricken train and survived. The accident left Dickens very anxious about rail travel.[10]

On 21 January 1960, the up platform buildings were destroyed by fire. They were replaced by a modern construction.[4]

On 14 September 1996, a train derailed at the station.[11] The cause of the accident was excess speed.[12]

References

Citations

  1. Butt 1995, p. 219.
  2. Gray 1990, p. 17.
  3. Gray 1990, p. 154.
  4. Mitchell & Smith 1990, Fig. 94.
  5. Mitchell & Smith 1990, Fig. 91.
  6. Mitchell & Smith 1990, Staplehurst - Map and Fig. 92.
  7. "Staplehurst". SouthEastern. Retrieved 7 March 2020.
  8. "5 Maidstone to Sandhurst Bus Services". Arriva Bus Services. Retrieved 7 March 2020.
  9. "Timetable 1 - London and Tonbridge to Ashford International, Canterbury West, Folkestone, Dover, Ramsgate and Margate" (PDF). SouthEastern. Retrieved 7 March 2020.
  10. Gray 1990, pp. 146-147.
  11. "Freight Train Derailments". Hansard. 20 May 1997. Retrieved 7 March 2020.
  12. "Staplehurst 14/09/1996" (PDF). Rail Safety & Standards Board. Retrieved 22 June 2011.

Sources

  • 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.
  • Gray, Adrian (1990). South Eastern Railway. Middleton Press. ISBN 978-0-906520-85-7.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Mitchell, Vic; Smith, Keith (1990). Redhill to Ashford. Middleton Press. ISBN 0-906520-73-8.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)

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