Longfield railway station

Longfield railway station is on the Chatham Main Line in England, serving the villages of Longfield, Hartley, and New Ash Green. It is 23 miles 30 chains (37.6 km) down the line from London Victoria and is situated between Farningham Road and Meopham.

Longfield
Location
PlaceLongfield
Local authorityBorough of Dartford
Grid referenceTQ601688
Operations
Station codeLGF
Managed bySoutheastern
Number of platforms2
DfT categoryD
Live arrivals/departures, station information and onward connections
from National Rail Enquiries
Annual rail passenger usage*
2014/15 0.602 million
2015/16 0.634 million
2016/17 0.629 million
2017/18 0.605 million
2018/19 0.599 million
History
Key datesOpened June 1872 (June 1872)
National Rail – UK railway stations
  • Annual estimated passenger usage based on sales of tickets in stated financial year(s) which end or originate at Longfield from Office of Rail and Road statistics. Methodology may vary year on year.

The station and all trains that call are operated by Southeastern.

History

Although situated in Longfield, the station was originally named after Fawkham when it opened in June 1872. The name of a nearby village was chosen as a local land owner had offered land and cash for provision of a station.

The original station was destroyed by fire around 1900, but rebuilt in the same location. The railway line through Fawkham station was electrified in 1939 under the Southern Railway with electric trains operating between Victoria and Gillingham. Steam trains continued to pass through the station on their way to/from the Kent Coast until June 1959 when those services were then also turned over to electric operation under British Railways.

With the start of summer timetable in 1961, the true location of the station was recognised when it was renamed 'Longfield for Fawkham & Hartley' from 12 June. By the end of the 1960s the cumbersome appendences were dropped in favour of plain Longfield, although the longer name survived on some signs and tickets well into the next decade.

The station building built following the fire of 1900 was demolished in 1971 and replaced by the contemporary CLASP prefabricated design favoured by British Rail.[1]

Usage of the station has grown considerably in the last thirty years, as it rests within a large catchment area of residential development. The frequency of services and journey times to and from London also attracts commuters away from the slower North Kent Line services provided at Gravesend, Northfleet and Swanscombe stations.

Service

Typical Monday to Saturday off-peak service:

  • 3 tph to London Victoria (2 tph calling at Bromley South only and 1 calling at all stations to Bromley South except Bickley then fast to Denmark Hill, additional services to Charing Cross and Cannon Street in peak times)
  • 2 tph to Dover Priory (1 all stations to Gillingham and 1 fast to Rochester then all stations to Dover)
  • 1 tph to Ramsgate (additional services attached to a Dover Service dividing at Faversham)

Typical Sunday service from the station:

gollark: Yes.
gollark: Your "everfull urn" crashed the server.
gollark: That is literally what the machine is for. An enrichment chamber improves efficiency but you don't need it.
gollark: Yes it does.
gollark: The stuff is all fairly easy. I don't believe it has significant IC². And you shouldn't because you don't have many gates either.

References
  1. "Longfield". Kent Rail website. David Glasspool. 2009. Retrieved 24 October 2009.
Preceding station National Rail Following station
Farningham Road
or Swanley		   Southeastern
Chatham Main Line		   Meopham

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