Faversham railway station

Faversham railway station is on the Chatham Main Line in England, serving the town of Faversham, Kent. It is 51 miles 77 chains (83.6 km) down the line from London Victoria. The station and all trains that call are operated by Southeastern.

Faversham
LocationFaversham, Swale
England
Grid referenceTR016609
Managed bySoutheastern
Platforms4
Other information
Station codeFAV
ClassificationDfT category C2
History
Opened25 January 1858
Passengers
2015/16 1.468 million
 Interchange  0.111 million
2016/17 1.499 million
 Interchange  43,917
2017/18 1.549 million
 Interchange  63,700
2018/19 1.569 million
 Interchange  70,411
2019/20 1.543 million
 Interchange  67,166
Notes
Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road

History

The original 1858 station (built for the East Kent Railway) was rebuilt in 1898 and is an example of London, Chatham and Dover Railway architecture. The buildings are Grade II listed,[1] and have been well maintained by Network Rail in recent years. A brick engine shed (also Grade II listed [2]) has, however, fallen into ruinous condition at the junction to the east of the station, mainly due to its inaccessibility. A further engine shed, formerly on the Faversham Creek spur has now been renovated and converted as offices. Sidings and other small buildings remain, some a legacy from pre-electrification days (1959) when Faversham Shed (73E) was of some importance. The spur line to Faversham Creek has now disappeared and incorporated into a housing development. The track ran along Standard Quay (a building beside the creek). In 1967, the track on Standard Quay was lifted, although a tiny section survives and Iron Wharf still has a few railway goods vans,[3] now used by the boating fraternity. The brick built signal box dated from 1959 when electrification was completed. In 2009 preparatory works were completed before services to London St Pancras via Ebbsfleet International commenced on 13 December 2009. This forms part of the UK's first domestic high speed service (beyond Gravesend) with typical journey times of around 65 minutes. The Chatham Main Line was re-signalled east of Faversham during 2011, and the Faversham signal box was decommissioned in late December (still remaining in situ in August 2014). Signalling responsibilities were transferred to the power box at Gillingham.

Faversham had a barrow crossing but the section to platforms 1 and 2 was removed in 2009 to enable a platform extension as part of a multimillion-pound signalling and platform upgrade.[4] Replacement 'platform' lifts were installed in March 2012, but they were not in use until later in the year. Replacement lifts were installed in December 2018 in a joint project between Southeastern Railway and Network Rail. They are of a better design with automatic sliding doors, one-touch operation and incorporating cctv at all levels and inside the fully enclosed lift car; they were officially opened by the Faversham MP Helen Whately on 14 December 2018.[5]

Accidents and incidents
  • In May 1862, a passenger train was derailed due to defective track. Three people were killed.[6]

Services

Typical journey times for fastest services to Victoria is 70 minutes, and 65 minutes to St Pancras.

Typical off-peak services are:

Preceding station National Rail Following station
Teynham or Sittingbourne   Southeastern
Chatham Main Line - Ramsgate Branch		   Whitstable
  Southeastern
Chatham Main Line - Dover Branch		   Selling
Sittingbourne   Southeastern
High Speed 1		   Terminus or
Whitstable

References
  1. "Faversham Railway Station, Faversham". www.britishlistedbuildings.co.uk. Retrieved 18 February 2013.
  2. "Engine Shed at Faversham Station, Faversham". www.britishlistedbuildings.co.uk. Retrieved 18 February 2013.
  3. "Old railway van, Iron Wharf boatyard, Faversham Creek". www.geograph.org.uk. Retrieved 18 February 2013.
  4. "New lifts at rail station". www.thisiskent.co.uk. Archived from the original on 5 May 2013. Retrieved 18 February 2013.
  5. "Faversham MP officially opens lifts". Twitter. Retrieved 14 December 2018.
  6. Kidner, R. W. (1977) [1963]. The South Eastern and Chatham Railway. Tarrant Hinton: The Oakwood Press. p. 89.

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