Herne Bay railway station

Railway station in Kent, England

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

Herne Bay

General information
Location| Herne Bay, City of Canterbury
England
Grid reference| TR171674
Managed by| Southeastern
Platforms| 2
Other information
Station code| HNB
Classification| DfT category D
History
Opened| 5 October 1863
Passengers
2019/20|  0.942 million
2020/21|  0.279 million
2021/22|  0.635 million
2022/23|  0.702 million
2023/24|  0.748 million

Notes

Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road

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.

The station and all trains that serve the station are operated by Southeastern.

## History

[edit]

Constructed by the Herne Bay and Faversham Railway Company, the first 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 & 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.

In October 2021, approval was given to construct a footbridge with lifts that will enable step-free access to both platforms.[4]

* Herne Bay as viewed from a train

* KCF 31461 northbound from Herne Bay station, 2 May 1953

## Accidents and incidents

[edit]

* On 1 August 1895, a freight train collided with a passenger train at the station. One person was killed.[5]

## Services

[edit]

All services at Herne Bay are operated by Southeastern using Class 375 and 395 EMUs.

The typical off-peak service in trains per hour is:[6]

* 1 tph to London St Pancras International
* 1 tph to London Victoria
* 2 tph to Ramsgate

Additional services including trains to and from London Bridge and London Cannon Street call at the station in the peak hours.

Preceding station  |  National Rail | Following station

|
|

Chestfield & Swalecliffe

| | Southeastern

Chatham Main Line - Ramsgate Branch

| |

Birchington-on-Sea

Whitstable

| | Southeastern

High Speed 1

## References

[edit]

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. ^ Dyson, Jack (16 October 2021). "Lifts to give disabled passengers access to station". Kent Online. Retrieved 16 October 2021.
5. ^ Kidner, R. W. (1977) [1963]. The South Eastern and Chatham Railway. Tarrant Hinton: The Oakwood Press. p. 90.
6. ^ Table 194, 212 National Rail timetable, December 2021

## External links

[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Herne Bay railway station.

* Train times and station information for Herne Bay railway station from National Rail

51°21′52.18″N 1°7′4.14″E﻿ / ﻿51.3644944°N 1.1178167°E﻿ / 51.3644944; 1.1178167

* v
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Railway stations in Kent

London Charing Cross to Gillingham|

* Dartford
* Stone Crossing
* Greenhithe
* Swanscombe
* Northfleet
* Gravesend
* Higham
* Strood
* Rochester
* Chatham
* Gillingham

Other alternative routes from London to Dartford via Sidcup and via Bexleyheath.

London Victoria to Ramsgate
via Chatham|

* Swanley
* Farningham Road
* Longfield
* Meopham
* Sole Street
* Rochester
* Chatham
* Gillingham
* Rainham
* Newington
* Sittingbourne
* Teynham
* Faversham
* Whitstable
* Chestfield & Swalecliffe
* Herne Bay
* Birchington-on-Sea
* Westgate-on-Sea
* Margate
* Broadstairs
* Dumpton Park
* Ramsgate

London Victoria to Dover
via Chatham|

* Swanley
* Farningham Road
* Longfield
* Meopham
* Sole Street
* Rochester
* Chatham
* Gillingham
* Rainham
* Newington
* Sittingbourne
* Teynham
* Faversham
* Selling
* Canterbury East
* Bekesbourne
* Adisham
* Aylesham
* Snowdown
* Shepherds Well
* Kearsney
* Dover Priory

London Victoria to Ashford
via Maidstone East|

* Eynsford
* Shoreham
* Otford
* branch line to Sevenoaks via Bat & Ball
* Kemsing
* Borough Green & Wrotham
* West Malling
* East Malling
* Barming
* Maidstone East
* Bearsted
* Hollingbourne
* Harrietsham
* Lenham
* Charing
* Ashford International

London St Pancras to Paris & Brussels
High Speed 1|

* Ebbsfleet International
* Ashford International
* Also London to Faversham via Ebbsfleet & Chatham, and to Dover & Ramsgate via Ashford

London Charing Cross to Dover
via Tonbridge|

* Dunton Green
* Sevenoaks
* Hildenborough
* Tonbridge
* Paddock Wood
* Marden
* Staplehurst
* Headcorn
* Pluckley
* Ashford International
* Westenhanger
* Sandling
* Folkestone West
* Folkestone Central
* Dover Priory

London Charing Cross to Hastings|

* Dunton Green
* Sevenoaks
* Hildenborough
* Tonbridge
* High Brooms
* Tunbridge Wells

London Bridge to Uckfield|

* Edenbridge Town
* Hever
* Cowden
* Ashurst

Ashford to Ramsgate
via Canterbury West|

* Ashford International
* Wye
* Chilham
* Chartham
* Canterbury West
* Sturry
* Minster
* Thanet Parkway
* Ramsgate

Dover to Margate|

* Dover Priory
* Martin Mill
* Walmer
* Deal
* Sandwich
* Thanet Parkway
* Ramsgate
* Dumpton Park
* Broadstairs
* Margate

Redhill–Tonbridge|

* Edenbridge
* Penshurst
* Leigh
* Tonbridge

Sittingbourne to Sheerness-on-Sea|

* Sheerness-on-Sea
* Queenborough
* Swale
* Kemsley
* Sittingbourne

Ashford to St Leonards
Marshlink|

* Ashford International
* Ham Street
* Appledore

Strood to Paddock Wood
Medway Valley Line|

* Strood
* Cuxton
* Halling
* Snodland
* New Hythe
* Aylesford
* Maidstone Barracks
* Maidstone West
* East Farleigh
* Wateringbury
* Yalding
* Beltring
* Paddock Wood

Heritage railways

East Kent Railway|

* Shepherdswell (EKR) (Adjacent to Shepherds Well)
* Eythorne

Kent & East Sussex Railway|

* Tenterden Town
* Rolvenden
* Wittersham Road

Romney, Hythe & Dymchurch Railway|

* Hythe
* Burmarsh Road
* Dymchurch
* St Mary's Bay
* Warren Halt
* New Romney
* Romney Sands
* Dungeness

Spa Valley Railway|

* Tunbridge Wells West

* v
* t
* e

Thameslink, Great Northern, Southern and Southeastern routes

Southeastern routes serving this station

Mainline via
Chatham|

* London Victoria
* Denmark Hill
* Bromley South
* London Cannon Street
* London Bridge
* St Mary Cray
* Swanley
* Farningham Road
* Longfield
* Meopham
* Sole Street
* Rochester
* Chatham
* Gillingham
* Rainham
* Newington
* Sittingbourne
* Teynham
* Faversham
* Selling
* Canterbury East
* Bekesbourne
* Adisham
* Aylesham
* Snowdown
* Shepherds Well
* Kearsney
* Dover Priory
* Whitstable
* Chestfield & Swalecliffe
* Herne Bay
* Birchington-on-Sea
* Westgate-on-Sea
* Margate
* Broadstairs
* Dumpton Park
* Ramsgate

High Speed 1|

* St Pancras International
* Stratford International
* Ebbsfleet International
* Gravesend
* Strood
* Snodland
* Maidstone West
* Rochester
* Chatham
* Gillingham
* Rainham
* Sittingbourne
* Faversham
* Whitstable
* Herne Bay
* Birchington-on-Sea
* Margate
* Broadstairs
* Ramsgate
* Canterbury West
* Ashford International
* Folkestone West
* Folkestone Central
* Dover Priory
* Martin Mill
* Walmer
* Deal
* Sandwich

Stations in italics are served on limited occasions, at peak hours or on Sundays only.

* Govia
* National Rail
* Thameslink
* Great Northern
* Southeastern
* Southern
* Gatwick Express

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