Higham railway station (Kent)

Higham railway station is in the hamlet of Lower Higham in north Kent. The village of Higham is about 1 mile (1.6 km) to the south.

Higham
Location	Higham, Borough of Gravesham England
Grid reference	TQ715726
Managed by	Southeastern
Platforms	2
Other information
Station code	HGM
Classification	DfT category E
History
Original company	Gravesend and Rochester Railway[1] South Eastern Railway
Pre-grouping	South Eastern and Chatham Railway
Post-grouping	Southern Railway
Key dates
8 Feb 1845	Opened[1]
13 December 1846[2]	Closed (G & R)
23 Aug 1847	Reopened (SE)
Passengers
2015/16	0.187 million
2016/17	0.194 million
2017/18	0.197 million
2018/19	0.173 million
Interchange	6
2019/20	0.173 million
Interchange	5
Notes
Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road

It is 28 miles 42 chains (45.9 km) down the line from London Charing Cross. Train services have been operated by Thameslink since May 2018. Before that time, the services were operated by Southeastern and its predecessors, although the station is still managed by Southeastern.

The ticket office, on the 'up' side, is situated in the substantial station building. This is manned only during part of the day; at other times a PERTIS passenger-operated ticket machine issues 'Permits to Travel' - which are exchanged on-train or at manned stations for travel tickets - and is located at the entrance to the up platform, at the foot of the staircase.

From Higham to Strood, the railway passes through a tunnel built for the Thames and Medway Canal, and the station building was converted from the home of the canal towing contractor. The waiting room was heated by the original open fire until as recently as the 1980s.

History

One of the more unusual pieces of freight handled by the station was a Swiss chalet, in 94 separate pieces, packed into 58 boxes. It arrived over Christmas 1864 as a gift for Charles Dickens at nearby Gad's Hill.[3]

According to the Official Handbook of Stations the following classes of traffic were being handled at this station in 1956: G, P, L, H, C and there was a 1-ton 2 cwt crane. [4]

Services

Off-peak, all services at Higham are operated by Thameslink using Class 700 EMUs.

The typical off-peak service in trains per hour is:[5]

• 2 tph to Luton via Dartford and Greenwich
• 2 tph to Rainham

During the peak hours, there are additional services to London Charing Cross via Sidcup and to London Cannon Street, operated by Southeastern.

References

1. Butt, R. V. J. (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.
2. Southern Region Record by R.H.Clark
3. The Chalet in the Shrubbery - Retrieved 4 January 2006
4. Official Handbook of Stations, British Transport Commission, 1956
5. "Timetable 06: Luton to Dartford and Rainham" (PDF). Thameslink, December 2019.

External links

• Train times and station information for Higham railway station (Kent) from National Rail
• Higham (Kent) station on navigable 1946 O.S. map