Rainham railway station (Kent)

Coordinates: 51°21′59″N 0°36′41″E / 51.366411°N 0.611328°E / 51.366411; 0.611328
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Rainham
National Rail
The station looking eastbound, 2017
General information
LocationRainham, Borough of Medway
England
Coordinates51°21′59″N 0°36′41″E / 51.366411°N 0.611328°E / 51.366411; 0.611328
Grid referenceTQ818662
Managed bySoutheastern
Platforms3
Other information
Station codeRAI
ClassificationDfT category C2
Key dates
25 Jan 1858[1]Opened as Rainham and Newington
1 Aug 1862Renamed Rainham
Passengers
2018/19Increase 1.935 million
2019/20Decrease 1.870 million
2020/21Decrease 0.456 million
2021/22Increase 1.155 million
2022/23Increase 1.390 million
 Interchange  8,960
Notes
Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road
Medway Towns
Halling
Cuxton
Strood
Rochester Bridge | Strood (1st)
Goods station
Rochester Common
Rochester
(2015–)
Rochester
(1892–2015)
Chatham Central
Chatham
Gillingham
Rainham

Rainham railway station is on the Chatham Main Line in South East England, serving the town of Rainham, Kent. It is 38 miles 74 chains (62.6 km) down the line from London Victoria and is situated between Gillingham and Newington.

The station and most trains that call are operated by Southeastern. Following a timetable change on Sunday 20 May 2018, some trains are operated by Govia Thameslink. The station has three platforms.[2] Platform 0 is an "up" bay platform, used mainly by Thameslink Services. Platform 1 is an "up" through providing services towards London, and Platform 2 is a "down" through for services towards Ramsgate and Dover Priory.

It is sometimes shown as Rainham (Kent) in order to distinguish it from the station of the same name in East London.

View of Rainham Railway Station and forecourt from the front, there is a side-gate for access in the railings along the right hand side
Rainham railway station building forecourt front
Rainham level crossing road interchange
Crossing road for passengers requiring accessible entrances to interchange platforms

There are accessible entrances[3] without stairs on both platforms, with step-free access via Platform 1 for services towards London (via main station entrance). Step-free access via Platform 2 for services away from London (via side entrance, short ramp from Granary Close). To interchange platforms, people needing accessible access must use the road and steep paths in excess of 250 metres. (There is also a steep staircase overpass over the tracks to interchange platforms.)

Induction loops are available and ticket counters are able to be lowered or raised. There are also accessible ticket machines in the station forecourt. There are fold-away ramps available on platforms for wheelchair train access.

Services[edit]

Services at Rainham are operated by Southeastern and Thameslink using Class 375, 395 and 700 EMUs.

The typical off-peak service in trains per hour is:[4]

Additional services including trains to and from London Bridge and London Cannon Street call at the station in the peak hours.

Preceding station National Rail National Rail Following station
Gillingham   Southeastern
  Newington or Sittingbourne
Southeastern
ThameslinkTerminus

Thameslink Programme[edit]

In connection with the rebuild of Rochester Station, a new bay platform has been added on the south side (facing towards London).[5]
Trains are now able to use this new platform as the East Kent Resignalling Project[6] has been completed. Initially, only a couple of trains used it in the evening rush hour, but since May 2018, Thameslink trains are now starting from here to Luton, via Gravesend, Dartford and Greenwich. This replaces the Gillingham to Charing Cross services, meaning passengers will have to change at Dartford or London Bridge for Charing Cross or Cannon Street.[7]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Butt, R. V. J. (October 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. OL 11956311M.
  2. ^ "Planning permission for new Rochester station". Southeastern Railway. Retrieved 20 September 2013.
  3. ^ "Accessibility via Rainham Station". Southeastern Railway. Retrieved 10 May 2020.
  4. ^ Table 194, 200, 201, 212 National Rail timetable, December 2023
  5. ^ "Network Rail unveils plans for new railway station in Rochester, UK". 8 April 2013. Retrieved 30 January 2014.
  6. ^ "East Kent Resignalling Project". Retrieved 10 June 2020.
  7. ^ Boyden, Katie (23 November 2017). "A new train service which was set to revolutionise travel for some people in Kent has been delayed". kentlive.news. Retrieved 7 April 2018.

External links[edit]