Beltring railway station

Beltring railway station is on the Medway Valley Line in Kent, England, serving the village of Beltring. It is 36 miles 50 chains (58.9 km) down the line from London Charing Cross via Paddock Wood and is situated between Paddock Wood and Yalding. The station and all trains that call are operated by Southeastern.

Beltring
Location
Place	Beltring
Local authority	Maidstone
Coordinates	51.204587°N 0.405887°E / 51.204587; 0.405887
Grid reference	TQ680477
Operations
Station code	BEG
Managed by	Southeastern
Number of platforms	2
DfT category	F2
Live arrivals/departures, station information and onward connections from National Rail Enquiries
Annual rail passenger usage*
2014/15	13,502
2015/16	11,418
2016/17	11,314
2017/18	15,074
2018/19	13,962
History
Key dates	Opened 1 September 1909 (1 September 1909)
National Rail – UK railway stations
* Annual estimated passenger usage based on sales of tickets in stated financial year(s) which end or originate at Beltring from Office of Rail and Road statistics. Methodology may vary year on year.

History

Beltring station opened later than the others on the line (which had been opened in 1844): its opening date was 1 September 1909. The halt originally had platforms built of wooden sleepers.[1] It originally had a freight siding; used for the forwarding of farm produce until 5 June 1961. The station was then named Beltring and Branbridges Halt. It consists of concrete platforms with shelters. It serves a predominantly rural area: the nearest settlements being the small villages of Beltring, Branbridges, Laddingford and East Peckham.

Facilities

Beltring station is unstaffed and facilities are limited. The station is fitted with a self-service ticket machine as well as modern help points on the platforms. Seated areas are available on both platforms and train information screens are provided for running information.[2]

No regular buses stop outside the station although Arriva Southern Counties routes 6 & 6A to Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells and Go Coach route 208 to Tonbridge both stop a short walk away on Branbridges Road.[3][4]

Services

The typical off-peak service from the station is one train per hour to Paddock Wood and Tonbridge, and one train an hour to Strood. Connections to London are available at either of these two stations, or by changing at Maidstone Barracks and walking to Maidstone East.[5]

Plans mooted in the mid-2000s to close Beltring station, or at least replace the existing services with a token service (such as one train a week in each direction) have been withdrawn.[6]

Preceding station	National Rail			Following station
Yalding		Southeastern Medway Valley Line		Paddock Wood

References

1. Kidner, R. W. (1985). Southern Railway Halts. Survey and Gazetteer. Headington, Oxford: The Oakwood Press. p. 40. ISBN 0-85361-321-4.
2. "Beltring Station Information". Southeastern, June 2020.
3. "Routes 6/6A: Tunbridge Wells to East Peckham and Maidstone". Arriva Southern Counties, June 2020.
4. "Route 208: Pembury to East Peckham". Go Coach, June 2020.
5. "Timetable 3: Maidstone East and Medway Valley Lines" (PDF). Southeastern, May 2020.
6. Southeastern. "Southeastern mainline timetable changes". Archived from the original on 9 December 2009. Retrieved 29 December 2009.

External links

• Train times and station information for Beltring railway station from National Rail