railroad.wikisort.org - Station

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.

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
2016/17	0.851 million
2017/18	0.837 million
2018/19	0.872 million
2019/20	0.855 million
2020/21	0.152 million
Notes
Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road

v t e Staplehurst railway station
Legend
1950  Legend Running lines Sidings
to Marden Staplehurst  A229  Maidstone to Headcorn

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

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 All goods facilities were withdrawn on 4 October 1971.[5]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

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

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 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
Marden		Southeastern South Eastern Main Line		Headcorn

Incidents

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 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

Citations

Sources

External links

• 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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