Ashford International railway station
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Ashford International | |||
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|---|---|---|---|
| Location | |||
| Place | Ashford, Kent | ||
| Local authority | Borough of Ashford | ||
| Operations | |||
| Station code | AFK | ||
| Managed by | Southeastern | ||
| Platforms in use | 6 | ||
| Live departures and station information from National Rail | |||
| Annual Passenger Usage | |||
| 2004/05 ** | 2.286 million | ||
| History | |||
| Key dates | Opened 1996 [1] | ||
| National Rail - UK railway stations | |||
| Annual passenger usage based on sales of tickets in stated financial year(s) which end or originate at Ashford International. | |||
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Ashford International railway station serves Ashford in Kent. Services are provided by Southeastern, Southern and Eurostar.
International services use platforms 3 & 4, whilst domestic trains use the original platforms 1 & 2, and a new island (platforms 5 & 6) built when the Channel Tunnel opened. While all tracks are electrified with 750v DC third rail, platforms 3-6 are also electrified with 25kV 50 Hz AC overhead line.
The typical domestic off-peak service from the station is:
- 4tph (trains per hour) to London Charing Cross, of which three run via Tonbridge and one via Maidstone East
- 1tph to London Cannon Street via Maidstone East
- 1tph to London Victoria via Maidstone East
- 2tph to Dover Priory of which one continues to Ramsgate
- 3tph to Canterbury West, of which one continues to Margate and one of those continues to Ramsgate
- 1tph to Brighton via the Marshlink Line
As well as these domestic services, every day 12 Eurostar trains serve the station heading towards Paris (7 trains) or Brussels (5), and 18 trains serve the station heading towards London (Waterloo International) (9 from Paris and 9 from Brussels).
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[edit] History
Ashford Station has been rebuilt on two occasions in recent history. The station layout up until the early nineteen sixties consisted of two through tracks, two through platform loops and two bay platforms accessible from the east for terminating services.
For phase two of the Kent electrification scheme in 1962, the two bay platforms were converted into through platforms whilst the main station buildings on either side of the line were replaced by an overbridge including a booking hall, newsagent and catering facilities.
It should be noted that whilst most of the original station was swept away during early 1960's rebuild, two substantial platform canopies dating from the South Eastern & Chatham Railway (SECR) era were retained, albeit without their original wooden valence until the later rebuild of the 1990's. The supporting columns of these canopies were stamped with the date 1908 and the structures were similar in design to the platform canopies that survive at Ramsgate station.
The station was rebuilt as Ashford International during the early nineteen nineties for international services from the continent and this included the addition of two platforms to the north of station (the original down island platform had been taken over by international services).
Of the early 1960's rebuild, the majority of the overbridge and platform buildings were destroyed during the rebuild of the early 1990's. A small section of the 1960's overbridge does remain however, as an emergency exit between the up island platform (platforms 1&2) and the up car park.
[edit] CTRL DS
On 12 September 2006 it was announced that when the Channel Tunnel Rail Link is completed (to be branded High Speed 1/HS1 from the intended 14th November 2007 opening date) and only three trains a day to Paris and one to Disneyland Paris will stop at Ashford because of the opening of Ebbsfleet station. No Brussels-bound trains will stop at the station, meaning passengers must instead change at Lille for Brussels. [2] It should be noted that it is not permitted to use Eurostar services for journeys solely between Ashford and London. International trains from London only pick passengers up at Ashford and do not set down. Similarly, International trains to London only set down passengers at Ashford and do not pick up.
From 2009, Southeastern will operate high-speed services from Ashford International to London Saint Pancras International via High Speed 1. Journey time will take approximately 35 minutes with two trains an hour on average. The Class 395 train sets are being specially built by Hitachi and the first train set will be delivered in 2007 for advanced testing.
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- Train times and station information for Ashford International railway station from National Rail
- Street map and aerial photo of Ashford International railway station from Multimap.com
[edit] References
| Preceding station | National Rail | Following station | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Charing | Southeastern Ashford via Maidstone East Line |
Terminus | ||
| Terminus | Southeastern Ashford to Ramsgate (via Canterbury West) line |
Wye | ||
| Pluckley | Southeastern South Eastern Main Line |
Westenhanger | ||
| Ham Street | Southern Marshlink Line |
Terminus | ||
| London Waterloo International |
Eurostar CTRL |
Calais-Fréthun via the Channel Tunnel |
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| Under construction | ||||
| Ebbsfleet International |
Eurostar CTRL (not yet operational) |
Calais-Fréthun via the Channel Tunnel |
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| Ebbsfleet International |
Southeastern CTRL-DS London-Margate (not yet operational) |
Wye | ||
| Southeastern CTRL-DS London-Folkestone (not yet operational) |
Sandling | |||
| Disused Railways | ||||
| Hothfield | British Rail Southern Region Ashford via Maidstone East Line |
Terminus | ||
| Pluckley | British Rail Southern Region South Eastern Main Line |
Smeeth | ||
