Dover, Folkestone & Tunbridge Wells RJD 33

Folkestone Central railway station is on the

South Eastern Main Line The South Eastern Main Line is a major long-distance railway route in South East England, UK, one of the three main routes crossing the county of Kent, going via Sevenoaks, Tonbridge, Ashford and Folkestone to Dover. The other routes are the C ...

in England, and is the main station serving the town of

Folkestone Folkestone ( ) is a port town on the English Channel, in Kent, south-east England. The town lies on the southern edge of the North Downs at a valley between two cliffs. It was an important harbour and shipping port for most of the 19th and 20t ...

, Kent. It is down the line from London Charing Cross. All trains that call are operated by

Southeastern The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each se ...

History

The

reached Folkestone in 1843, with a station being opened at Folkestone Junction (Folkestone East) on 18 December 1843. Folkestone West was then opened in 1863, with a station named ''Cheriton Arch'' being provided between the two on 1 September 1884. The name ''Radnor Park'' was adopted in 1886, and for a few years with just two platform faces, the station was rebuilt in 1890 to add a bay. The station was renamed ''Folkestone Central'' in 1895. The station was rebuilt at the time of the route's electrification in 1961 with two

island platform An island platform (also center platform, centre platform) is a station layout arrangement where a single platform is positioned between two tracks within a railway station, tram stop or transitway interchange. Island platforms are popular on ...

s, linked by a subway and with ramps leading up from the ticket office and concourse, which is itself above street level (an approach road and accompanying pedestrian ramp leads up from Cheriton Road). In 1999 one island platform was abandoned, along with the subway; the platform has not been demolished, although all buildings have been removed. Services to and from Dover Priory were suspended on 24 December 2015 due to major damage to the track and sea wall near Dover harbour caused by strong winds &

tidal surges A storm surge, storm flood, tidal surge, or storm tide is a coastal flood or tsunami-like phenomenon of rising water commonly associated with low-pressure weather systems, such as cyclones. It is measured as the rise in water level above the n ...

. A replacement bus service was operation between the two stations, along with a modified timetable whilst repair work was carried out. A new £44.5 million viaduct was constructed to replace the old rail embankment and sea wall. The line reopened on 5 September 2016, as the work progressed faster than originally anticipated.

Services

All services at Folkestone Central are operated by

using and

EMUs Emus may refer to: * Emu The emu () (''Dromaius novaehollandiae'') is the second-tallest living bird after its ratite relative the ostrich. It is endemic to Australia where it is the largest native bird and the only extant member of the g ...

. The typical off-peak service in trains per hour is: * 1 tph to

London St Pancras International St Pancras railway station (), also known as London St Pancras or St Pancras International and officially since 2007 as London St Pancras International, is a central London railway terminus on Euston Road in the London Borough of Camden. It i ...

* 1 tph to London Charing Cross via * 2 tph to of which 1 continues to During the peak hours, there are also services to and from

London Cannon Street Cannon Street station, also known as London Cannon Street, is a central London railway terminus and connected London Underground station in Travelcard zone 1 located on Cannon Street in the City of London and managed by Network Rail. It is ...

and there is also 1 train per day to .

References

External links

{{TSGN and SE Stations, Staplehurst=y, High Speed=y, FCC None=y, SN None=y Transport in Folkestone and Hythe Railway stations in Kent DfT Category C1 stations Former South Eastern Railway (UK) stations Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1884 Railway stations served by Southeastern Folkestone