Paddock Wood railway station

Paddock Wood railway station is on the South Eastern Main Line and Medway Valley Line in south-east England, serving the town of Paddock Wood, Kent. The station also serves the villages of Matfield, Brenchley and Horsmonden, which have do not have stations of their own. It is 34 miles 67 chains (56.1 km) down the line from London Charing Cross. The station and all trains calling there are operated by Southeastern.

Paddock Wood
Location
Place	Paddock Wood
Local authority	Borough of Tunbridge Wells
Coordinates	51.1822°N 0.3890°E / 51.1822; 0.3890
Grid reference	TQ670452
Operations
Station code	PDW
Managed by	Southeastern
Number of platforms	3
DfT category	C2
Live arrivals/departures, station information and onward connections from National Rail Enquiries
Annual rail passenger usage*
2014/15	1.148 million
– Interchange	90,619
2015/16	1.153 million
– Interchange	97,320
2016/17	1.175 million
– Interchange	80,443
2017/18	1.181 million
– Interchange	82,355
2018/19	1.214 million
– Interchange	80,654
History
Key dates	Opened 31 August 1842 (31 August 1842)
National Rail – UK railway stations
* Annual estimated passenger usage based on sales of tickets in stated financial year(s) which end or originate at Paddock Wood from Office of Rail and Road statistics. Methodology may vary year on year.

Paddock Wood
to Tonbridge Down Siding West  B2160  Maidstone Road Medway Valley Line to Maidstone West Hawkhurst Branch Line to Marden

History

The South Eastern Railway opened a line from Redhill to Ashford and on to Dover during 1842.[1] This bypassed the county town of Maidstone, and a station named Maidstone Road was opened in a rural location on 31 August 1842 to serve the town, 8 miles (13 km) to the north.[2] The village of Paddock Wood developed quickly around the station, which took the name Paddock Wood on 25 September 1844 when the branch line to Maidstone West was opened.[1][3] Another branch line—the Hawkhurst Branch—to the village of Hawkhurst existed between 1892 and 1961.[4]

In popular culture

Paddock Wood Railway station appears in the novel Dombey and Son by Charles Dickens where, in chapter 55, the villain, Mr Carker, accidentally falls under a train at the station and is killed.[5]

Platforms

The station has Up and Down platforms (1 and 2 respectively) with a pair of fast lines between them. On the Down side, a bay platform (platform 3) is used for the Medway Valley Line services to Maidstone and beyond. A matching bay platform existed on the Up side when the Hawkhurst branch was in operation. The main station building is on the Up platform; there are long canopies on both platforms. Transfer between platforms is by footbridge.[6]

Services

As of May 2018 the typical off peak services from this station are:

• 2tph (trains per hour) to London Charing Cross
• 1tph to Dover Priory
• 1tph to Ramsgate via Canterbury West
• 1tph to Strood via Maidstone West
• 1tph to Tonbridge only

There are also peak hour services to and from London Cannon Street

Preceding station	National Rail			Following station
Tonbridge		Southeastern South Eastern Main Line		Marden
		Southeastern Medway Valley Line		Beltring
	Disused railways
Terminus		British Railways Southern Region Hawkhurst Branch		Horsmonden

Accidents

At 03:40 hrs on 5 May 1919, a goods train from Bricklayers Arms to Margate overran signals and ran into the back of another goods train just to the west of Paddock Wood station. The Margate train was hauled by C class No. 721. It had 50 goods vehicles including three brake vans. The other train was hauled by C class No. 61. The fireman of this train was killed in the accident. Although the main cause of the accident was the driver of the Margate train failing to obey signals, the signalman at Tonbridge East signal box was also censured for failure to give the driver adequate warning that although the train had been accepted by the signalman at Paddock Wood, the line was not clear. The signalman at Paddock Wood had accepted the train under Regulation No 5 - "Section clear but station or junction blocked".[7]

At 02:02 on 8 December 1961, a goods train was setting back at Paddock Wood station when the 00:20 goods from Hoo Junction to Tonbridge overran signals and collided with it. The wreckage from the accident piled up under the bridge carrying the B2160 Maidstone Road. The line was blocked for 12 hours.[8][9]

Bus connections

Routes 6, 6A, 203, 205 and 296 are available from stops near the station.

References

Citations

1. Mitchell & Smith 1990, Historical background.
2. Gray 1990, p. 17.
3. Butt 1995, pp. 152,180.
4. Body, Geoffrey. PSL Field Guide – Railways of the Southern Region (1984), page 142. Patrick Stephens Ltd, Cambridge. ISBN 0-85059-664-5
5. Railways and Culture in Britain: The Epitome of Modernity By Ian Carter
6. Body, page 143.
7. Earnshaw, Alan (1993). Trains in Trouble, Volume Eight. Penryn: Atlantic. pp. 8–9. ISBN 0-906899-52-4.
8. "Rail Crash: Inquiry begins". Tonbridge Free Press. 15 December 1961. pp. 1, 10.
9. "Train crash at Paddock Wood". British Pathé. December 1961. Retrieved 20 November 2012.

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.
• 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

• Train times and station information for Paddock Wood railway station from National Rail
• Paddock Wood station on navigable 1940 OS map