Marden railway station
Marden railway station is on the South Eastern Main Line in England, serving the village of Marden in the borough of Maidstone, Kent. It is 39 miles 31 chains (63.4 km) down the line from London Charing Cross . The station and all trains that call are operated by Southeastern. The station is often referred to as Marden (Kent), to distinguish itself between similarly-named villages across England.[1]
Marden | |
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Marden station | |
Location | |
Place | Marden |
Local authority | Borough of Maidstone |
Coordinates | 51.175°N 0.493°E |
Grid reference | TQ743447 |
Operations | |
Station code | MRN |
Managed by | Southeastern |
Number of platforms | 2 |
DfT category | E |
Live arrivals/departures, station information and onward connections from National Rail Enquiries | |
Annual rail passenger usage* | |
2014/15 | |
2015/16 | |
2016/17 | |
2017/18 | |
2018/19 | |
History | |
31 August 1842 | Opened |
National Rail – UK railway stations | |
* Annual estimated passenger usage based on sales of tickets in stated financial year(s) which end or originate at Marden from Office of Rail and Road statistics. Methodology may vary year on year. |
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History
The station was opened by the South Eastern Railway on 31 August 1842, when the line was extended from Tonbridge to Headcorn.[2][3] It was built to serve local goods traffic, particularly the transport of fruit from the orchards surrounding Marden.[4]
The goods shed was designed so that wagons could not pass through it.[5] The yard was expanded in 1908, adding an additional siding.[6] The station was completely revamped in 1961 in preparation for the electrification of the South East Main line, including an additional footbridge.[7]
Facilities
Along with similar sized stations along the South East Main Line, the ticket office is only staffed part-time. A ticket machine is available for other times.[1]
Accidents and incidents
At 20:42 on 4 January 1969 there was a collision between a down electric passenger train (formed of 2 x 4CEP units) and a down parcels train to the west of Marden station. Four people were killed. The cause was the driver of the passenger train missing a signal in fog and passing it at danger. Local farmer David Winch of Brook Farm, along with his employees, worked for fourteen hours assisting in the rescue operation. They used their tractors and trailers to ferry the injured across muddy fields from the crash site to waiting ambulances. The ambulance officer in charge at the time, Stanley Skinner, was awarded a BEM in recognition of his role.[8][9]
On 5 September 2012, an up passenger train caught fire at Marden. The blaze was under control within half an hour. Passengers were evacuated and services between Tonbridge and Ashford were disrupted.[10]
Services
As of December 2019, the off-peak service at the station in trains per hour is:[11]
- 2 tph to London Charing Cross via Tonbridge
- 1 tph to Dover Priory
- 1 tph to Ramsgate via Canterbury West
There are also peak hour services to London Cannon Street
Preceding station | Following station | |||
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Southeastern |
References
Citations
- "Marden (Kent)". SouthEastern. Retrieved 7 March 2020.
- Butt 1995, p. 154.
- Gray 1990, p. 17.
- Mitchell & Smith 1990, Fig. 85.
- Mitchell & Smith 1990, Fig. 84.
- Mitchell & Smith 1990, Fig. 82 and map.
- Mitchell & Smith 1990, Fig. 88.
- Glover 2001, pp. 137-138.
- "Marden History". Archived from the original on 9 May 2009.
- "Marden train evacuated after wheel bearings catch fire". BBC News Online. Retrieved 5 September 2012.
- "Timetable 1 - London and Tonbridge to Ashford International, Canterbury West, Folkestone, Dover, Ramsgate and Margate" (PDF). SouthEastern. Retrieved 7 March 2020.
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.
- Glover, John (2001). Southern Electric. Hersham, Surrey: Ian Allan. pp. 137–38. ISBN 0-7110-2807-9.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
- 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)
External links
- Eyewitness account of the 1969 train crash.
- Signal box diagram, 1951
- Marden on navigable 1940 OS map