Hoo Junction

Up yard of Hoo Junction with a Networker train on the main line

Hoo Junction is a rail yard on the North Kent Line, near the village of Higham, Kent and Shorne Marshes, operated by DB Schenker. It is between Gravesend and Higham stations, at the junction with the freight-only single-track Hoo branch to the Hoo Peninsula.

Layout

There are up and down yards on either side of the main line, with the branch line entering from the north east.

The up yard (south of the main line) consists of 14 sidings and three through roads, with other ancillary sidings. The down yard (north of the main line) consists of 10 sidings and three through roads. Some sidings in the down yard have been taken up.

Westinghouse Rail Systems has buildings adjacent to the north perimeter of the yard.

Traffic

The yard re-marshals wagon traffic on the main line and from the branch. The majority of traffic is aggregate wagons, with steel strip carriers are also present. Infrastructure units and ballast trains also use the yard. Container traffic from Thamesport passes through non-stop.

Staff halt

Hoo Junction Staff Halt opened in 1956 in the yard, which it was built to serve.^[1] The down platform is on the main line before the junction with the branch, at TQ 6950 7369 51°26′11″N 0°26′20″E / 51.4364°N 0.4390°E, while the up platform is only on the main line, at TQ 6980 7364 51°26′09″N 0°26′36″E / 51.4358°N 0.4433°E.^[2] The halt no longer has any scheduled services ^[3] and seems to have gone out of use from some date between 1998 and 2002 ^[4]

Down platform

Preceding station	Disused railways			Following station
Denton Halt		1956 to 3-12-1961 BR(S) Hundred of Hoo Railway		Uralite Halt
Gravesend Central		From 4-12-1961 BR(S) later Network Rail Hundred of Hoo Railway		Goods line to Grain
Denton Halt		1956 to 3-12-1961 BR(S) North Kent Line		Higham

Up platform

Preceding station	Disused railways			Following station
Higham		1956 to 3-12-1961 BR(S) North Kent Line		Denton Halt

See also

• Rail transport in Great Britain

References

1. Kidner, R. W. (1985). Southern Railway Halts. Survey and Gazetteer. Headington, Oxford: The Oakwood Press. ISBN 0-85361-321-4.
2. Dartford to Sittingbourne, Southern Main Lines. Middleton Press. ISBN 1-873793-34-0.
3. Network Rail working timetable
4. Branch Lines News 948.367 and 952.464

External links

• Sketch of Hoo Junction track plan
• Kent Rail website detailing the operations of Hoo Junction
• Kent Rail detailing the staff halt
• Subterranea Britannica

Coordinates: 51°26′10″N 0°26′46″E / 51.43611°N 0.44611°E