Birchington-on-Sea railway station

Birchington-on-Sea
Location
Place	Birchington-on-Sea
Local authority	District of Thanet
Coordinates	51°22′37″N 1°18′04″E / 51.377°N 1.301°ECoordinates: 51°22′37″N 1°18′04″E / 51.377°N 1.301°E
Grid reference	TR298694
Operations
Station code	BCH
Managed by	Southeastern
Number of platforms	2
DfT category	E
Live arrivals/departures, station information and onward connections from National Rail Enquiries
Annual rail passenger usage*
2010/11	0.267 million
2011/12	0.270 million
2012/13	0.269 million
2013/14	0.292 million
2014/15	0.325 million
History
Original company	Kent Coast Railway
Pre-grouping	South Eastern and Chatham Railway
Post-grouping	Southern Railway
5 October 1863	Opened as Birchington
October 1878	Renamed Birchington-on-Sea
National Rail – UK railway stations
* Annual estimated passenger usage based on sales of tickets in stated financial year(s) which end or originate at Birchington-on-Sea from Office of Rail and Road statistics. Methodology may vary year on year.
UK Railways portal

Birchington-on-Sea railway station is on the Chatham Main Line in north Kent, England, and serves the village of Birchington-on-Sea. Train services are provided by Southeastern.

The station is located at one end of the High Street about 880 yards (800 m) from the Village Square. Buses operate from here to Minnis Bay and Margate on weekdays during core hours, at other times buses can be caught from the village square. Taxi Services are available with numbers displayed on posters at the station.

History

The station was opened on 5 October 1863 by the Kent Coast Railway (KCR).^[1] The KCR was operated by the London, Chatham and Dover Railway (LCDR), which absorbed the KCR on 1 July 1871,^[2] and the station was renamed Birchington-on-Sea by the LCDR in October 1878.^[1] From the start of 1899, the LCDR's services were operated by the newly formed South Eastern and Chatham Railway, which the LCDR co-owned with the South Eastern Railway (SER). At the start of 1923, the LCDR amalgamated with other railways (including the SER) to form the Southern Railway. A small goods yard was situated on the Up London bound side of the station which closed in the 1970s and operated by the signalbox located midway on the down platform closed about the same time during a resignalling programme. The wire and rod cutout can still be seen within the brick face of the down platform. The 2007 Budget plan of Network Rail allows for the removal of the remaining manual turnround and it is believed short residual siding occasionally used for storing tamping track maintenance units, 'tampers'.

Birchington-on-Sea Station in 1963

A junction existed to the west of the station to serve RAF Manston^[3] until the 1930s operated from a Ground Frame Birchington B located some 440 yards (400 m) upside of the station - a plan of which can be seen in the RAF Manston Museum.

Services

• 1 tph to London St Pancras via Chatham and Ebbsfleet International (High Speed)
• 1 tph to London St Pancras via Ramsgate, Deal, Dover Priory, and Ashford International (High Speed)
• 1 tph to London Victoria via Chatham and Bromley South (Main Line)
• 1 tph to Ramsgate via Margate (Main Line)

References

1. Butt, R.V.J. (1995). The Directory of Railway Stations. Yeovil: Patrick Stephens Ltd. p. 34. ISBN 1-85260-508-1. R508.
2. Awdry, Christopher (1990). Encyclopaedia of British Railway Companies. London: Guild Publishing. p. 189. CN 8983.
3. McCarthy, Colin; McCarthy, David (October 2007). Waller, Peter, ed. Railways of Britain: Kent and Sussex. Hersham: Ian Allan. map 8, section B5. ISBN 978-0-7110-3222-4. 0710/C1.

External links

• Train times and station information for Birchington-on-Sea railway station from National Rail