Folkestone Central railway station
Folkestone Central railway station is on the South Eastern Main Line in England, and is the main station serving the town of Folkestone, Kent. It is 69 miles 73 chains (112.5 km) down the line from London Charing Cross. All trains that call are operated by Southeastern.
View taken in the 1990s before the up platform (on the left) was closed and all trains use the down platform (on the right). | |
| General information | |
| Location | Folkestone, Folkestone & Hythe England |
| Grid reference | TR220362 |
| Managed by | Southeastern |
| Platforms | 2 |
| Other information | |
| Station code | FKC |
| Classification | DfT category C1 |
| Key dates | |
| 1 September 1884 | Opened as "Cheriton Arch" |
| September 1886 | Renamed "Radnor Park" |
| 1 June 1895 | Renamed "Folkestone Central" |
| Passengers | |
| 2018/19 | 1.055 million |
| Interchange | 11,487 |
| 2019/20 | 1.031 million |
| Interchange | 11,123 |
| 2020/21 | 0.268 million |
| Interchange | 2,144 |
| 2021/22 | 0.683 million |
| Interchange | 7,455 |
| 2022/23 | 0.812 million |
| Interchange | 15,263 |
| Notes | |
Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road | |
History edit
The South Eastern Main Line reached Folkestone in 1843, with a station being opened at Folkestone Junction (Folkestone East) on 18 December 1843. Folkestone West was then opened in 1863, with a station named Cheriton Arch being provided between the two on 1 September 1884. The name Radnor Park was adopted in 1886, and for a few years with just two platform faces, the station was rebuilt in 1890 to add a bay.[1] The station was renamed Folkestone Central in 1895.
The station was rebuilt at the time of the route's electrification in 1961[2] with two island platforms, linked by a subway and with ramps leading up from the ticket office and concourse, which is itself above street level (an approach road and accompanying pedestrian ramp leads up from Cheriton Road). In 1999 one island platform was abandoned, along with the subway; the platform has not been demolished, although all buildings have been removed.[1]
Services to and from Dover Priory were suspended on 24 December 2015 due to major damage to the track and sea wall near Dover harbour caused by strong winds & tidal surges.[3] A replacement bus service was operation between the two stations, along with a modified timetable whilst repair work was carried out. A new £44.5 million viaduct was constructed to replace the old rail embankment and sea wall.[4] The line reopened on 5 September 2016, as the work progressed faster than originally anticipated.[5]
Services edit
All services at Folkestone Central are operated by Southeastern using Class 375 and 395 EMUs.
The typical off-peak service in trains per hour is:[6]
- 1 tph to London St Pancras International
- 1 tph to London Charing Cross via Tonbridge
- 2 tph to Dover Priory of which 1 continues to Ramsgate
During the peak hours, there are also services to and from London Cannon Street and there is also 1 train per day to London Victoria.
| Preceding station | National Rail | Following station | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Southeastern | ||||
| Southeastern | ||||
| Disused railways | ||||
| Folkestone West Line and station open | British Rail Southern Region | Folkestone East Line open, station closed | ||
| Folkestone Warren Halt Line open, station closed | ||||
Line and station open | South Eastern and Chatham Railway | Line and station closed | ||
References edit
- ^ a b "Folkestone Central". Retrieved 9 October 2008.
- ^ Body, Geoffrey. PSL Field Guide – Railways of the Southern Region (1984), pages 96–97. Patrick Stephens Ltd, Cambridge. ISBN 0-85059-664-5
- ^ "Railway between Dover Priory and Folkestone Central closed after damage to sea wall"Network Rail Media Centre 27 December 2015; Retrieved 5 February 2016
- ^ "Dover to Folkestone railway expected to reopen in December" 13 April 2016 at the Wayback MachineNetwork Rail press release; Retrieved 8 April 2016
- ^ "Dover to Folkestone railway to reopen on Monday, 5 September, three months ahead of schedule."Network Rail press release 22 August 2016; Retrieved 25 August 2016
- ^ Table 194, 207 National Rail timetable, December 2021
External links edit
51°04′58″N 1°10′11″E / 51.0827°N 1.1697°E
- Train times and station information for Folkestone Central railway station from National Rail