Maidstone East railway station

Maidstone East railway station is one of three railway stations in Maidstone in Kent, but the only one with a regular direct service to London. It is served by Southeastern.

The typical off-peak service from the station is:

2tph to London Victoria
1tph to London Cannon Street
2tph to Ashford International, of which 1tph continues to Canterbury West

There are three main platforms; two though platforms capable of handling up to 8 car trains and a bay platform (Number 3) on the coast bound line.

1 Derailment
2 Development
3 See also
4 References
5 External links

[edit] Derailment

On 6 September 1993, at 12:02, a serious freight derailment occurred.

The train, travelling from Dover to Willesden and comprising 15 goods wagons hauled by Class 47 Locomotive No 47288, derailed in the tunnel approaching Maidstone East. The locomotive ended up on its side, on the track, although several wagons left the track, running into signals, platforms and buildings, spilling their load of 900 tons of steel cables.

The driver subsequently failed a breathalyser test.

Maidstone East was closed for recovery and repairs for several weeks following the incident.

[edit] Development

A redevelopment of the station has been proposed by UK Supermarket chain ASDA. It is reported to be considering 50,000 sq ft store, hotel, 100 new homes and a car park for 515 cars.^[1]