Eynsford railway station


Eynsford railway station serves Eynsford in Kent, England. It is down the line from and is situated between and. Train services are provided by Thameslink.
The ticket office, on the 'down' side, is situated in the substantial station building. This is manned only during part of the day; at other times a ticket machine may be used, which is located at the foot of the stairs leading from the car park to the Ashford-bound platform.
The platforms are connected by a concrete footbridge - a typical product of the Southern Railway concrete factory at Exmouth Junction. There is a small car park at the entrance to the station.

History

The Swanley to Sevenoaks Bat & Ball line was opened on 2 June 1862, by the London, Chatham and Dover Railway, initially with just a single track. The station at Eynsford came into use the following month, with two platforms and a passing loop; the second track came in 1863.
The main station building is on the "down" side, two storeys high, with chimney stacks and arched window frames. On the "up" side is a shelter with an elaborate valance and sides for protection from the weather. The track was crossed at ground level until a lattice footbridge was built in about 1910. The signal cabin was positioned at the southern end of the "up" platform.
Eynsford's goods yard was positioned on the "down" side, to the south of the main building, and comprised a pair of sidings, one of which passed over a wagon turntable through the pitched-roof goods shed. The platforms were extended twice, first in 1894 and again in 1932 when they were lengthened at their southern ends, requiring the demolition of the signal box. This was replaced by a porch on the ground floor of the station building's platform side.
Electric services between Bickley and Sevenoaks were introduced on 6 January 1935, when the station lost its lattice footbridge to a prefabricated concrete replacement. Goods traffic ceased in May 1962 and the goods shed was demolished soon after.
Approximately 1 km to the north west lie the remains of Lullingstone, built but never opened, as the development it was intended to serve never materialised. All that remains are the platforms and the platform canopies, now gracing Canterbury East station. Between the two, the line is taken over the River Darent by an impressive nine-arch red-brick viaduct.

Services

Off-peak, all services are operated by Thameslink.
The typical off-peak service in trains per hour is:
Southeastern services on the Maidstone East Line call here occasionally during times of service disruption.

Connections

Go Coach routes 2 and 429 serve the station.