Fawkham Junction

Gravesend West Line /
Fawkham Junction Line
 Gravesend West
(1886–1953)
 Rosherville Halt
(1886–1933)
North Kent Line
to Dartford & Gravesend
A2
High Speed 1
to St Pancras & Channel Tunnel
 Southfleet
(1886–1953)
Southfleet Junction
 Longfield Halt
(1913–1953)
Chatham main line
to Swanley & Rochester
Fawkham Junction
Fawkham Junction, shown with the other railway lines in Kent.
The High Speed 1 spur as it curves away from the junction and the Chatham Main Line.
The third rail (750 V DC) and overhead (25 kV AC) systems of electrification changeover point.

Fawkham Junction is a railway junction that currently connects High Speed 1 with the Kent Rail Network.

Originally, the Junction was part of the London, Chatham and Dover Railway's line to Gravesend West (Gravesend which was already served by the South Eastern Railway's North Kent Line). The intermediate stations were: Longfield Halt, Southfleet, Rosherville Halt and Gravesend West. With the amalgamation of the two competing rail companies into the South Eastern and Chatham Railway in 1899, the future of the line was at risk. Passenger services were brought to a close and the line was not electrified, it eventually closed to passengers in 1953 and freight services finally ended in 1976. Plans to preserve the line never came to fruition.

The Channel Tunnel Rail Link (CTRL) gave part of the line a new lease of life with the reconstruction of the rural section near Southfleet as a spur linking the CTRL and the Chatham Main Line. Most of the original route was followed, but the initial Fawkham Junction was repositioned slightly to allow trains to run at faster speeds. Several bridges were also rebuilt alongside or in place of their originals. No stations on the line have been reopened. The CTRL was built in two stages and the initial stage (section 1) was connected to the rail network via this newly rebuilt line. The completion of section 2 to London St. Pancras International in 2007 means that Eurostar trains no longer use this line as they had their 750V DC third rail shoes removed in 2007. The line initially remained in use for engineering, non commercial trains and driver training purposes, but was previously used to store old Eurostar trains waiting to be recycled, and Fawkham Junction itself is considered disused and abandoned.

In a document created by Network Rail [1], discussing rail transport in the coming years for Kent and South-East London, it suggests creating a southern link line from Ebbsfleet International. The scheme would bring this line and Fawkham Junction back into operation, making it possible to travel straight to Bromley South and Victoria, helping to increase passenger capacity.

The line forms the boundary between the third rail (750 V DC) and overhead line (25 kV AC) systems of electrification.

References
  1. "More housing and more train passengers – Network Rail sets out 30-year plan to cater for growth in south east London and Kent – Network Rail". www.networkrail.co.uk. Retrieved 8 November 2017.
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