Folkestone Central railway station

Folkestone Central railway station is on the South Eastern Main Line in England, and is the main station serving the town of Folkestone, Kent. It is 69 miles 73 chains (112.5 km) down the line from London Charing Cross. All trains that call are operated by Southeastern.

Folkestone Central
view taken in the 1990s before the up platform (on the left) was closed and all trains use the down platform ( on the right).
Location
PlaceFolkestone
Local authorityFolkestone & Hythe
Grid referenceTR220362
Operations
Station codeFKC
Managed bySoutheastern
Number of platforms2
DfT categoryC1
Live arrivals/departures, station information and onward connections
from National Rail Enquiries
Annual rail passenger usage*
2014/15 1.037 million
– Interchange  14,961
2015/16 0.995 million
– Interchange  12,192
2016/17 1.021 million
– Interchange  12,626
2017/18 1.092 million
– Interchange  12,837
2018/19 1.055 million
– Interchange  11,487
History
1 September 1884Opened as "Cheriton Arch"
September 1886Renamed "Radnor Park"
1 June 1895Renamed "Folkestone Central"
National Rail – UK railway stations
* Annual estimated passenger usage based on sales of tickets in stated financial year(s) which end or originate at Folkestone Central from Office of Rail and Road statistics. Methodology may vary year on year.
A 1908 Railway Clearing House map of lines around Folkestone

History

The South Eastern Main Line reached Folkestone in 1843, with a station being opened at Folkestone Junction (Folkestone East) on 18 December 1843. Folkestone West was then opened in 1863, with a station named Cheriton Arch being provided between the two on 1 September 1884. The name Radnor Park was adopted in 1886, and for a few years with just two platform faces, the station was rebuilt in 1890 to add a bay.[1] The station was renamed Folkestone Central in 1895.

The station was rebuilt at the time of the route's electrification in 1961[2] with two island platforms, linked by a subway and with ramps leading up from the ticket office and concourse, which is itself above street level (an approach road and accompanying pedestrian ramp leads up from Cheriton Road). In 1999 one island platform was abandoned, along with the subway; the platform has not been demolished, although all buildings have been removed.[1]

Services to and from Dover Priory were suspended on 24 December 2015 due to major damage to the track and sea wall near Dover harbour caused by strong winds & tidal surges.[3] A replacement bus service was operation between the two stations, along with a modified timetable whilst repair work was carried out. A new £44.5 million viaduct was constructed to replace the old rail embankment and sea wall.[4] The line reopened on 5 September 2016, as the work progressed faster than originally anticipated.[5]

Services

The off-peak service as of September 2016 is:

Preceding station National Rail Following station
Folkestone West   Southeastern
South Eastern Main Line		   Dover Priory
Folkestone West   Southeastern
High Speed 1
London-Dover		   Dover Priory
Disused railways
Folkestone West
Line and station open		   British Rail
Southern Region
South Eastern Main Line		   Folkestone East
Line open, station closed
    Folkestone Warren Halt
Line open, station closed
Folkestone West
Line and station open		   SECR
Folkestone Harbour Branch		   Folkestone Harbour
Line and station closed
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References
  1. "Folkestone Central". Retrieved 9 October 2008.
  2. Body, Geoffrey. PSL Field Guide – Railways of the Southern Region (1984), pages 96–97. Patrick Stephens Ltd, Cambridge. ISBN 0-85059-664-5
  3. "Railway between Dover Priory and Folkestone Central closed after damage to sea wall"Network Rail Media Centre 27 December 2015; Retrieved 5 February 2016
  4. "Dover to Folkestone railway expected to reopen in December" Archived 13 April 2016 at the Wayback MachineNetwork Rail press release; Retrieved 8 April 2016
  5. "Dover to Folkestone railway to reopen on Monday, 5 September, three months ahead of schedule."Network Rail press release 22 August 2016; Retrieved 25 August 2016

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