Staplehurst railway station

Railway station in Kent, England

Staplehurst

General information
Location| Staplehurst, Borough of Maidstone
England
Grid reference| TQ783444
Managed by| Southeastern
Platforms| 2
Other information
Station code| SPU
Classification| DfT category C2
History
Opened| 31 August 1842
Passengers
2018/19|  0.872 million
2019/20|  0.855 million
2020/21|  0.152 million
2021/22|  0.474 million
2022/23|  0.612 million
Notes

Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road

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Staplehurst
railway
station

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Staplehurst

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A229

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Maidstone

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Staplehurst railway station is on the South Eastern Main Line in England, serving the village of Staplehurst, Kent. It is 41 miles 70 chains (67.4 km) down the line from London Charing Cross . The station and all trains that serve the station are operated by Southeastern.

The station opened in August 1842. It is well known for the Staplehurst rail crash on 9 June 1865 on which Charles Dickens was a passenger.

## History[edit]

The station was opened by the South Eastern Railway on 31 August 1842, when the line was extended from Tonbridge to Headcorn.[1][2] The platforms were widened in 1889.[3] A footbridge over the platforms was installed in 1961, in preparation for the electrification of the South Eastern Main Line.[4]

A coal depot was established at Staplehurst in September 1965. All goods facilities were withdrawn on 4 October 1971.[5]

## Facilities[edit]

Staplehurst is located in the north of the urban area on the A229 road which runs from Chatham to Hastings via Maidstone.[6] The ticket office is located on the London-bound platform 1. A passenger-operated self-service ticket machine is located next to the station.[7]

The station is used by commuters to London from Cranbrook, Sissinghurst and Hawkhurst, which have no stations of their own. Arriva Southern Counties bus 5 links these three settlements to the station.[8]

## Services[edit]

All services at Staplehurst are operated by Southeastern using Class 375 EMUs.

The typical off-peak service in trains per hour is:[9]

* 2 tph to London Charing Cross
* 1 tph to Dover Priory
* 1 tph to Ramsgate via Canterbury West

Additional services, including trains to and from London Cannon Street and Ramsgate via Deal call at the station during the peak hours.

Preceding station  |  National Rail | Following station

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Marden

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South Eastern Main Line

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Headcorn

## Incidents[edit]

The stretch of line near the station which crosses the River Beult was the site of a fatal train accident on 9 June 1865, which killed ten people and injured forty. This accident is well known in literary circles as Charles Dickens was on the stricken train and survived. The accident left Dickens very anxious about rail travel.[10]

On the 15th September 1940, during the Battle of Britain, a Hurricane piloted by Belgian Georges Doutrepont crashed into the station. This also killed the 18 year old station clerk, Charles Ashdown.

On 21 January 1960, the up platform buildings were destroyed by fire. They were replaced by a modern construction.[4]

On 14 September 1996, a train derailed at the station.[11] The cause of the accident was excess speed.[12]

## References[edit]

Citations

1. ^ Butt 1995, p. 219.
2. ^ Gray 1990, p. 17.
3. ^ Gray 1990, p. 154.
4. ^ a b Mitchell & Smith 1990, Fig. 94.
5. ^ Mitchell & Smith 1990, Fig. 91.
6. ^ Mitchell & Smith 1990, Staplehurst - Map and Fig. 92.
7. ^ "Staplehurst". SouthEastern. Retrieved 7 March 2020.
8. ^ "5 Maidstone to Sandhurst Bus Services". Arriva Bus Services. Retrieved 7 March 2020.
9. ^ Table 207 National Rail timetable, December 2023
10. ^ Gray 1990, pp. 146–147.
11. ^ "Freight Train Derailments". Hansard. 20 May 1997. Retrieved 7 March 2020.
12. ^ "Staplehurst 14/09/1996" (PDF). Rail Safety & Standards Board. Retrieved 22 June 2011. [dead link]

Sources

* Butt, R. V. J. (October 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. OL 11956311M.
* Gray, Adrian (1990). South Eastern Railway. Middleton Press. ISBN 978-0-906520-85-7.
* Mitchell, Vic; Smith, Keith (1990). Redhill to Ashford. Middleton Press. ISBN 0-906520-73-8.

## External links[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Staplehurst railway station.

* Train times and station information for Staplehurst railway station from National Rail
* Signal box diagrams for 1950 and 1962
* Staplehurst station on navigable 1940 OS map

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Staplehurst

Locations in the
parish of Staplehurst|

* Cross-at-Hand
* Hawkenbury
* Pagehurst Emergency Landing Ground

Buildings|

* All Saints Church
* Lovehurst Mill
* Staplehurst station

Events|

* Staplehurst rail crash

Military|

* RAF Marden
* RAF Staplehurst

People|

* Harry Hill
* Hugh Hoare
* Gordon Thomson
* Edward Thwaites
* Norman Wooland

* v
* t
* e

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

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Thameslink, Great Northern, Southern and Southeastern routes

Southeastern routes serving this station

Main line via
Staplehurst|

* London Charing Cross
* London Waterloo East
* London Cannon Street
* London Bridge
* Sevenoaks
* Tonbridge
* Paddock Wood
* Marden
* Staplehurst
* Headcorn
* Pluckley
* Ashford International
* Wye
* Chilham
* Chartham
* Canterbury West
* Sturry
* Minster
* Westenhanger
* Sandling
* Folkestone West
* Folkestone Central
* Dover Priory
* Martin Mill
* Walmer
* Deal
* Sandwich
* Ramsgate

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
* South Western Railway

51°10′16″N 0°33′00″E﻿ / ﻿51.171°N 0.550°E﻿ / 51.171; 0.550
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