Bexleyheath line


























































Bexleyheath Line

Falconwood Station east of Eltham - geograph.org.uk - 986544.jpg

Falconwood Station, 2008

Overview
Type Heavy rail
System National Rail
Status Operating
Locale Greater London
Termini
Lewisham
Dartford
Operation
Owner Network Rail
Operator(s) Southeastern
Rolling stock
British Rail Class 376
British Rail Class 465
British Rail Class 466
Technical
Number of tracks 2
Track gauge
4 ft 8 12 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Electrification 750 V DC third rail



Route map






Legend





































































































































Charing Cross London Underground











South Eastern Main Line
























Lewisham Docklands Light Railway


















South Eastern Main Line
to Dover








Blackheath
















North Kent Line
via Woolwich Arsenal








Kidbrooke Tunnel







Kidbrooke







Eltham Well Hall







Eltham







Eltham Park







Falconwood







Welling







Bexleyheath







Barnehurst

















North Kent Line
via Woolwich Arsenal















Slade Green





















River Cray
















Dartford Loop Line
to Sidcup and the SEML








Dartford





















Dartford Carriage Sidings


















North Kent Line

Down arrow to Rochester







The Bexleyheath Line runs for 8 miles (13 km) from Lewisham to Dartford in Kent. It separates from the North Kent Line just to the east of Blackheath Station, and rejoins the same line just South of Slade Green in Dartford.




Contents






  • 1 History


  • 2 Service patterns


    • 2.1 December 2010


    • 2.2 From January 2015


    • 2.3 From August 2016




  • 3 References





History


The line was first proposed in 1881, when Squire Jones, of East Wickham, organised a petition to persuade South Eastern Railway to build a railway to Bexleyheath.[1] This led to the formation, on 20 August 1883,[2] of the Bexley Heath Railway Company, led by railway engineer Alfred Bean (owner of Danson House),[3] composed of local land-owners seeking to raise the value of their land for housing development.[4] The company secured an Act of Parliament to build the line in 1883, routed via Lee.[1] However, this was followed by disputes between the two companies, and disagreements over the final route, and in 1887 another act was passed authorising the construction of a line along a new route, via Blackheath, including the construction of a 1.6 km tunnel at the eastern entrance to Blackheath station.[1] The project subsequently fell into financial difficulties, and it was not until 1891 that work on the line finally commenced, with the construction contact awarded to a Mr Rigby.[1]


After yet another delay due to a landslide at Blackheath in 1894,[1] the Bexleyheath Line was finally opened on 1 May 1895,[1][4] running 12 trains per day to and from Charing Cross.[4] The opening day was marked by a brass band marching from Bexleyheath to Barnehurst stations, before returning by train.[4] Shareholders of the new line included: Charles Beadle, a coal and corn merchant; George Mence Smith, oil trader and hardware store owner; and Alfred Bean.[4] However, the company soon went into bankruptcy, and in 1900 the South Eastern Railway – which had previously refused to build a line to serve the area between the two lines – was forced to take over.[2]


The line originally included five stations: Kidbrooke, Eltham Well Hall, Welling, Bexleyheath and Barnehurst, all rudimentary wooden structures.[1] A more elaborate station was opened at Eltham Park in 1908 to cater for first-class ticket holders from the Eltham Park Estate.[1] The line was electrified with the other South Eastern and Chatham Railway local routes to Dartford on 6 June 1926 by Southern Railway.[5] Having initially been built to serve very rural areas, Well Hall, Welling, Bexleyheath and Barnehurst were rebuilt in 1932 to cater for the huge suburban expansion into the area of the 1930s,[1] and Falconwood was added in 1936.[1]


On 11 June 1972, a train derailed on a sharp curve at Eltham Well Hall station, resulting in 5 deaths and 126 injuries.[6]


Kidbrooke station was rebuilt in the 1970s as a glass and concrete structure.[1] In 1985 the new Eltham railway station replaced the two existing stations serving Eltham, Well Hall station and Shooters Hill & Eltham Park station.[7] The change coincided with the opening of the Rochester Relief Road which forms part of the A2 road.[8]



Service patterns



December 2010


Off-peak & Saturday:



  • 2tph between London Charing Cross & Dartford (not calling at New Cross)

  • 2tph between London Cannon Street & Barnehurst (calling at New Cross)

  • 2tph between London Victoria & Dartford


From 11 December 2011 the Barnehurst service continued to Slade Green and returned to London Cannon Street.[9]


Evenings & Sunday:


  • 2tph between London Charing Cross & Dartford (calling at New Cross)


From January 2015


Due to the Thameslink Programme causing Southeastern to make modifications to its timetable, it has been proposed that the following service pattern will operate.[10]


Off-peak & Saturday



  • 2tph between London Charing Cross & Dartford

  • 2tph between London Cannon Street & Slade Green (calling at New Cross)

  • 2tph between London Victoria & Dartford


Evenings:



  • 2tph between London Charing Cross & Dartford

  • 2tph between London Victoria & Dartford


Sundays:


  • 2tph between London Victoria & Dartford


From August 2016


Due to the Thameslink Programme causing Southeastern to make more modifications to its timetable, the line is expected to have some minor changes.[citation needed]



References





  1. ^ abcdefghijk "The Bexleyheath Line". Bexley.gov.uk. Archived from the original on 25 December 2014. Retrieved 30 November 2014..mw-parser-output cite.citation{font-style:inherit}.mw-parser-output q{quotes:"""""""'""'"}.mw-parser-output code.cs1-code{color:inherit;background:inherit;border:inherit;padding:inherit}.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-free a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/65/Lock-green.svg/9px-Lock-green.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-registration a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-gray-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-subscription a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-red-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration{color:#555}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription span,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration span{border-bottom:1px dotted;cursor:help}.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-error{display:none;font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-error{font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration,.mw-parser-output .cs1-format{font-size:95%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-left{padding-left:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-right{padding-right:0.2em}


  2. ^ ab "Bexley Heath Railway". National Archives.


  3. ^ "Danson House". Bexley.gov.uk. Archived from the original on 1 February 2016. Retrieved 30 November 2014.


  4. ^ abcde "Bexleyheath Line". Bexley Historical Society.


  5. ^ "The Growth of the Southern Electric Group". Southern Electric Group.


  6. ^ "Report on the Derailment that occurred on 11 June 1972 at Eltham (Well Hall) Station" (PDF).


  7. ^ "Domesday Reloaded". BBC.


  8. ^ "Station Name: ELTHAM PARK".


  9. ^ "December 2011 timetable changes" (Press release). Southeastern Railways. 3 November 2011. Archived from the original on 3 December 2011. Retrieved 3 November 2011.


  10. ^ "January 2015 Draft Timetable" (Press release). Southeastern Railways. 2 July 2014. Archived from the original on 13 July 2014. Retrieved 28 July 2014.











Popular posts from this blog

Shashamane

Carrot

Deprivation index