Medway Valley Line

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Medway Valley Line

Legend North Kent Line To London Bridge and other London Termini Strood Docks Original Strood Station, later goods depot Strood line joins North Kent Line at North Kent Jct North Kent Jct To Rochester Chatham Main Line High Speed 1 To London Victoria and other London termini Cuxton Cement works Halling Snodland New Hythe Aylesford newsprint Aylesford M20 Swanley to Ashford (via Maidstone East) Line To London Victoria and other London termini Maidstone Barracks A20 & A26 Maidstone West Lockmeadow Tovil Tovil Goods Yard East Farleigh Teston Crossing Halt Wateringbury Yalding River Medway Beltring & Branbridges Halt Depot Paddock Wood SEML Hawkhurst Branch Closed 10 June 1961

The Medway Valley Line is the name given to the railway line linking Strood and the Medway Towns with Maidstone West and onward to Paddock Wood. The section from Maidstone West to Paddock Wood passes through some of Kent's most picturesque countryside along the narrower sections of the River Medway.

Contents 1 History 2 Infrastructure 2.1 Track 2.2 Stations 2.3 Signalling 2.4 Electrification 3 Train Services 3.1 Traction & Rolling Stock 4 References 5 Further reading 6 External links

[edit] History

The line was built in two stages by the South Eastern Railway (SER). The first stage opened on the 25 September 1844 and was a branch off the SER's first main line that crossed Kent between the coast ports of Dover and Folkestone and the LBSCR's main line at Redhill. The junction was at Paddock Wood and followed the Medway Valley up to the county town of Maidstone that had been by passed by the new main line. 12 years later, on the 18 June 1856 the line was extended up the Medway Valley to the North Kent Line at Strood (which had opened in 1847). The SER merged with local rival London, Chatham and Dover Railway (LCDR) on the 1 January 1899 to form the South Eastern and Chatham Railway (SECR). Post World War One, the railways were "grouped" and the SECR became part of Southern Railway.

It was designated by the Department for Transport as a community rail service on 28 September 2007.

[edit] Infrastructure

[edit] Track

The line is double track throughout, with a maximum speed of 90mph.

[edit] Stations

Paddock Wood station is the venue of the Hop Farm, a popular country show venue and tourist attraction.

[edit] Signalling

During 2005, the signalling systems were upgraded, replacing the traditional semaphore signals with colour light signals.

[edit] Electrification

The line from Strood to Maidstone West was electrified (at 750 V DC third rail) by the Southern Railway, opening on 2 July 1939. The rest of the line from Paddock Wood to Maidstone West was electrified under stage 2 of Kent Coast electrification by BR's 1955 Modernisation plan, opening to traffic on 18 June 1962.

[edit] Train Services

Services are operated by Southeastern.

Trains typically run a half-hourly service between Strood and Maidstone, and typically hourly hourly through to Paddock Wood. There is an early morning service to Redhill for connections to Gatwick Airport and an early morning weekday service that runs via Redhill to London Bridge. On Sundays trains run hourly from Maidstone West to Three Bridges via Gatwick Airport, a very useful connection.

[edit] Traction & Rolling Stock

The service primarily uses Class 466, but Class 508 units are also used in peak times.

[edit] References

[edit] Further reading

• R.V.J.Butt, (1995). The Directory of Railway Stations. Patrick Stephens Ltd.  ISBN 1 85260 508 1

• John Glover, (2001). Southern Electric. Ian Allan Ltd.  ISBN 0 7110 2807 9

[edit] External links

• http://www.kentrail.co.uk/medway_valley_line.htm - Map of the Medway Valley Line (Strood to Paddock Wood)
• http://www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/oswebsite/ - Ordnance Survey website.

v • d • e Railway lines in South-East England: Eastern  (Kent) Primary Routes: High Speed 1 · Chatham Main Line · South Eastern Main Line Secondary Lines: Ashford-Ramsgate via Canterbury Line · East Coastway · Hastings Line · Kent Coast Line · Maidstone East Line Minor/Branch Lines: Bexleyheath Line · Bromley North Line · Catford Loop · Dartford Loop · Greenwich Line · Hayes Line · Marshlink Line · Medway Valley Line · Mid-Kent Line · North Kent Line · Nunhead to Lewisham link · Sheerness Line Central  (Sussex) Primary Routes: Arun Valley Line · Brighton Main Line · Thameslink Secondary Lines: East Coastway · New Guildford Line · North Downs Line · Redhill-Tonbridge Line · Sutton & Mole Valley Line · West Coastway Minor/Branch Lines: Caterham Line · Epsom Downs Branch · Oxted Line · Seaford Branch Line · South London Line · Tattenham Corner Line Western  (Wessex) Primary Routes: North Downs Line · Portsmouth Direct Line · South Western Main Line · West Coastway · West of England Main Line Secondary Lines: Alton Line · Ascot-Guildford Line · Chertsey Branch · Eastleigh-Fareham Line · Eastleigh-Romsey Line · Hounslow Loop · Kingston Loop Line · Waterloo-Reading Line · West London Line Minor/Branch Lines: Chessington Branch · Greenford Branch · Hampton Court Branch · Henley Branch Line · Island Line · Lymington Branch Line · Marlow Branch Line · Shepperton Branch Line · Slough-Windsor & Eton Line · Staines-Windsor & Eton Line Northern  (Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire) Primary Routes: West Coast Main Line · Chiltern Line Secondary Lines: London to Aylesbury Line · Cherwell Valley Line · Cotswold Line Minor/Branch Lines: Marston Vale Line · Oxford to Bicester Line · Princes Risborough to Aylesbury Line · Varsity Line (currently partially disused)