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Marden railway station is on the South Eastern Main Line in England, serving the village of Marden in the borough of Maidstone, Kent. It is 39 miles 31 chains (63.4 km) down the line from London Charing Cross . The station and all trains that serve the station are operated by Southeastern. The station is often referred to as Marden (Kent), to distinguish itself between similarly-named villages across England.[1]

Marden
Marden station
General information
Location	Marden, Borough of Maidstone England
Coordinates	51.175°N 0.493°E / 51.175; 0.493
Grid reference	TQ743447
Managed by	Southeastern
Platforms	2
Other information
Station code	MRN
Classification	DfT category E
Key dates
31 August 1842	Opened
Passengers
2016/17	0.527 million
2017/18	0.540 million
2018/19	0.563 million
2019/20	0.565 million
2020/21	0.114 million
Notes
Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road

v t e Marden railway station
Legend
1951
to Paddock Wood Pattenden Lane single slip  B2079  to Maidstone to Staplehurst
Legend
running line sidings

History

The station was opened by the South Eastern Railway on 31 August 1842, when the line was extended from Tonbridge to Headcorn.[2][3] It was built to serve local goods traffic, particularly the transport of fruit from the orchards surrounding Marden.[4]

The goods shed was designed so that wagons could not pass through it.[5] The yard was expanded in 1908, adding an additional siding.[6] The station was completely revamped in 1961 in preparation for the electrification of the South East Main line, including an additional footbridge.[7]

Facilities

Along with similar sized stations along the South East Main Line, the ticket office is only staffed part-time. A ticket machine is available for other times.[1]

Accidents and incidents

At 20:42 on 4 January 1969 there was a collision between a down electric passenger train (formed of 2 x 4CEP units) and a down parcels train to the west of Marden station. Four people were killed. The cause was the driver of the passenger train missing a signal in fog and passing it at danger. Local farmer David Winch of Brook Farm, along with his employees, worked for fourteen hours assisting in the rescue operation. They used their tractors and trailers to ferry the injured across muddy fields from the crash site to waiting ambulances. The ambulance officer in charge at the time, Stanley Skinner, was awarded a British Empire Medal in recognition of his role.[8][9]

On 5 September 2012, an up passenger train caught fire at Marden. The blaze was under control within half an hour. Passengers were evacuated and services between Tonbridge and Ashford were disrupted.[10]

Services

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

The typical off-peak service in trains per hour is:[11]

• 2 tph to London Charing Cross via Tonbridge
• 2 tph to Ashford International of which 1 continues to Dover Priory

During the weekday peak hours, there are also services to and from London Cannon Street, Canterbury West and Ramsgate.

Preceding station	National Rail			Following station
Paddock Wood		Southeastern South Eastern Main Line		Staplehurst

References

Citations

Sources

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Marden railway station.

• Train times and station information for Marden railway station from National Rail
• Eyewitness account of the 1969 train crash.
• Signal box diagram, 1951
• Marden on navigable 1940 OS map

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