Rochester railway station

Rochester
Rochester station building opened on 13 December 2015
Location
Place	Rochester
Local authority	Borough of Medway
Coordinates	51°23′19″N 0°30′30″E / 51.3886°N 0.5083°ECoordinates: 51°23′19″N 0°30′30″E / 51.3886°N 0.5083°E
Grid reference	TQ745684
Operations
Station code	RTR
Managed by	Southeastern
Number of platforms	3
DfT category	D
Live arrivals/departures, station information and onward connections from National Rail Enquiries
Annual rail passenger usage*
2010/11	1.068 million
2011/12	1.139 million
2012/13	1.162 million
2013/14	1.241 million
2014/15	1.305 million
History
1 March 1892	Opened
13 December 2015	Original station closed Opening of new relocated station
National Rail – UK railway stations
* Annual estimated passenger usage based on sales of tickets in stated financial year(s) which end or originate at Rochester from Office of Rail and Road statistics. Methodology may vary year on year.
UK Railways portal

Rochester railway station is on the Chatham Main Line in Rochester, Medway, South East England. The majority of services are provided by Southeastern, with a handful of peak services to and from Bedford operated by Thameslink.

On 13 December 2015, the new £26m station on Corporation Street opened 500m west of the original station which it replaced. This station has 12 coach long platforms instead of 10 coach maximum length at the original station. It is also closer to the town centre and its historic buildings.

Construction

On 16 January 2014 Gallagher Ltd cast the reinforced concrete base slab for a new subway for the station.^[1] A little over a year later, on 26 January 2015, Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin was given a tour of the site, and was quoted as saying, "Rochester’s new station will be a big improvement for this historic town. It will benefit commuters and visitors thanks to longer trains and more seats for passengers.".^[2] According to the billboards adjoining the station site, the 900-tonne concrete subway was to be the first part of the project to be completed; this was scheduled took place over Easter 2015.^[3] Office of Rail Regulation confirmation of the closure of the old station were exhibited at Charing Cross station and elsewhere in October 2015.^[4]

• 
  Rochester (original) station building closed on 13 December 2015.
• 
  Under construction platforms (on the left) and the large entrance hall (on the right).

Layout

Platform 1 serves trains towards Strood, Gravesend, Ebbsfleet International, Dartford, Meopham, Bromley and onto London.

Platform 2 serves trains towards Gillingham, Faversham, Ashford International and the Kent Coast.

Platform 3 has now opened up at a through platform, service trains towards Gillingham, Faversham, Ashford International and the Kent Coast. Trains can also terminate here before heading back towards London. As the through line runs all the way through the old Rochester Platform 4, it can be used to hold freight trains to allow passenger services to pass, removing a bottleneck.

Service

Medway Towns
Legend North Kent Line (& High Speed) to London Bridge & St Pancras Chatham Main Line to Victoria & Blackfriars Medway Valley Line to Maidstone Halling Cuxton Strood Rochester Bridge | Strood (1st) Rochester Bridge Goods station Rochester Common Rochester(2015–) Rochester(1892–2015) Chatham Central River Medway Chatham Gillingham Rainham Chatham Main Line to Faversham, Dover and Ramsgate

Typical off-peak frequencies in trains per hour are:^[5]

• 2 tph to London St Pancras via Gravesend and Ebbsfleet International (High Speed)
• 1 tph to London St Pancras via Ramsgate, Deal, Dover Priory, Ashford International and Ebbsfleet International (High Speed)
• 1 tph to Faversham (High Speed)
• 3 tph to London Victoria via Bromley South (Main Line)
• 2 tph to Dover Priory via Canterbury East (Main Line)
• 1 tph to Ramsgate via Faversham and Margate (Main Line)
• 2 tph to London Charing Cross via Dartford and Woolwich Arsenal (Metro)
• 2 tph to Gillingham (Metro)

References

1. "Reinforced concrete base slab cast at new Rochester Station". gallagher-group.co.uk. 16 January 2014. Retrieved 31 January 2014.
2. "Rochester railway station taking shape as transport secretary Patrick McLoughlin given tour". kentonline.co.uk. 8 April 2013. Retrieved 20 March 2015.
3. "Rochester's new station on the way". networkrail.co.uk. 14 April 2014. Retrieved 14 November 2015.
4. "Consultation outcome, Rochester railway station: closure". gov.uk. Retrieved 14 November 2015.
5. Table 212 National Rail timetable, May 2016

External links

• Train times and station information for Rochester railway station from National Rail