Sittingbourne railway station

Sittingbourne railway station is on the Chatham Main Line and the Sheerness Line in north Kent. It is 44 miles 59 chains (72.0 km) down the line from London Victoria. Train services are provided by Southeastern. Ticket barriers are sometimes in operation, depending on the time of day.

Map of the Sittingbourne Railway Station in relation to other local stations and the Sittingbourne & Kemsley Light Railway. The Chatham Main Line runs along the bottom, east to west, while the Sheerness Line branches off northwards, west of Sittingbourne.

Sittingbourne
Eastbound view of the station from platform 1
Location
Place	Sittingbourne
Local authority	Swale
Grid reference	TQ905638
Operations
Station code	SIT
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	2.063 million
– Interchange	0.546 million
2015/16	2.111 million
– Interchange	0.307 million
2016/17	2.164 million
– Interchange	0.382 million
2017/18	2.224 million
– Interchange	0.395 million
2018/19	2.295 million
– Interchange	0.438 million
History
25 January 1858	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 Sittingbourne from Office of Rail and Road statistics. Methodology may vary year on year.

Facilities

Two new lifts linked by a new footbridge have created a step-free route between the station entrance and platforms to provide better access to train services. The improvements have been funded through the government’s Access for All programme and cost around £1,800,000.[1]

The work has also included a series of enhancements to station facilities funded through the National Stations Improvement Programme and include relocating and increasing the number of cycle parking spaces outside the station; renovating all passenger toilets; creating new waiting shelters on the platforms and a new waiting room on platform; repositioning the ticket gates to create more space for passengers in the ticket office; and installing a new customer information screen and non-slip flooring in the ticket office.

The Sittingbourne & Kemsley Light Railway's station, at Sittingbourne Viaduct, is a short walk away.

Accidents and incidents

• In January 1861, a passenger train was derailed. One passenger was killed.[2]
• On 31 August 1878, a passenger train collided with some goods wagons. Five people were killed.[2]
• On 27 July 1966, a freight train was derailed at Sittingbourne West Junction. The line was blocked for two days.[3]

Services

Typical off-peak services are:

• 2 tph to London St Pancras via Gravesend and Ebbsfleet International (High Speed)
• 1 tph to London St Pancras via Faversham, Ramsgate, Deal, Dover Priory and Ashford International (High Speed)
• 1 tph to Faversham (High Speed)
• 3 tph to London Victoria via Bromley South with 1 train also stopping at Denmark Hill (Main Line)
• 2 tph to Dover Priory via Faversham and Canterbury East (Main Line)
• 1 tph to Ramsgate via Faversham and Margate (Main Line)
• 2 tph to Sheerness-on-Sea starting here (Sheppey Branch)

Peak hour mon-fri to London Bridge & Cannon Street

Preceding station	National Rail			Following station
Newington or Rainham (Kent)		Southeastern Chatham Main Line		Teynham or Faversham
Kemsley		Southeastern Sheerness Line		Terminus
Rainham (Kent)		Southeastern High Speed 1 London-Broadstairs		Faversham

References

1. http://www.rail.co/2011/06/02/work-starts-to-improve-access-at-sittingbourne-station/
2. Kidner, R. W. (1977) [1963]. The South Eastern and Chatham Railway. Tarrant Hinton: The Oakwood Press. p. 89.
3. Moody, G. T. (1979) [1957]. Southern Electric 1909-1979 (Fifth ed.). Shepperton: Ian Allan Ltd. pp. 169–70. ISBN 0 7110 0924 4.