Herne Bay railway station

Herne Bay railway station is on the Chatham Main Line in England, serving the town of Herne Bay, Kent. It is 62 miles 58 chains (100.9 km) down the line from London Victoria and is situated between Chestfield & Swalecliffe and Birchington-on-Sea.

For the station in Sydney, Australia formerly known as Herne Bay, see Riverwood railway station.

Herne Bay
Location
PlaceHerne Bay
Local authorityCity of Canterbury
Grid referenceTR171674
Operations
Station codeHNB
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 0.838 million
2015/16 0.931 million
2016/17 0.956 million
2017/18 0.980 million
2018/19 0.984 million
History
Key datesOpened 13 July 1861 (13 July 1861)
National Rail – UK railway stations
* Annual estimated passenger usage based on sales of tickets in stated financial year(s) which end or originate at Herne Bay 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

Constructed by the Herne Bay and Faversham Railway Company, the station originally opened in 1861 as "Herne Bay and Hampton-on-Sea" as the terminus of a line from Faversham; however, this station was a temporary one, located just west of where Greenhill Bridge is now situated. The line was extended to Ramsgate on 5 October 1863, roughly when the current station was brought into use. The line was worked by the London, Chatham and Dover Railway which acquired the Herne Bay Company in 1871.[1] On the station platform in 1879–1880, a Hampton-on-Sea sign was added to the Herne Bay one in the expectation of the development of a new settlement next to what is now Hampton, but Hampton-on-Sea was drowned due to coastal erosion by 1921. It is not recorded how long the sign survived.[2]

(See historic photo, right): The buildings on the Down platform are all that remain of the original station building, as the Up side was reconstructed by the Southern Railway in 1926 as part of its plan to modernise the Thanet Lines. Goods facilities at the station were limited, consisting of two sidings on the Down side, a goods shed and two loading docks. In 1902 coal sidings were added to the Up side, followed by a private siding to the local gasworks. Electrification took place on 15 June 1959 and the old semaphore signals were replaced by colour-lights under Southern Region. General goods traffic ceased on 16 October 1965, with coal deliveries continuing until 1968.[3]

Herne Bay Railway Station was also featured briefly in the British Sitcom Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em, in the episode "Have a break, take a Husband" which originally aired 8 March 1973.

  • Herne Bay as viewed from a train
  • KCF 31461 northbound from Herne Bay station, 2 May 1953

Accidents and incidents
  • On 1 August 1895, a freight train collided with a passenger train at the station. One person was killed.[4]

Services
Preceding station National Rail Following station
Chestfield & Swalecliffe   Southeastern
Chatham Main Line - Ramsgate Branch		   Birchington-on-Sea
Whitstable   Southeastern
High Speed 1		   Birchington-on-Sea

References
  1. Herne Bay on Kent Rail
  2. Easdown, Martin (2008). Adventures in Oysterville: The failed oyster and seaside development of Hampton-on-Sea. Michael's Bookshop, Ramsgate. Retrieved 2 March 2010.
  3. Pryer, G.A.; Bowring, G.J. (1980). An Historical Survey of Selected Southern Stations: Volume One. Oxford: Oxford Publishing Company. p. 75. ISBN 0-86093-016-5.
  4. Kidner, R. W. (1977) [1963]. The South Eastern and Chatham Railway. Tarrant Hinton: The Oakwood Press. p. 90.

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