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Faversham railway station is on
the Chatham Main Line in England, serving the town of Faversham,
Kent. It is 51 miles 77 chains (83.6 km) down the line from
London Victoria. The station and all trains that call are
operated by Southeastern.
The original 1858 station (built for the East Kent Railway) was
rebuilt in 1898 and is an example of London, Chatham & Dover
Railway architecture. The buildings are Grade II listed, and
have been well maintained by Network Rail in recent years. A
brick engine shed (also Grade II listed) has, however, fallen
into ruinous condition at the junction to the east of the
station, mainly due to its inaccessibility. A further engine
shed, formerly on the Faversham Creek spur has now been
renovated and converted as offices. Sidings and other small
buildings remain, some a legacy from pre-electrification days
(1959) when Faversham Shed (73E) was of some importance. The
spur line to Faversham Creek has now disappeared and
incorporated into a housing development. The track ran along
Standard Quay (a building beside the creek). In 1967, the track
on Standard Quay was lifted, although a tiny section survives
and Iron Wharf still has a few railway goods vans, now used by
the boating fraternity. The brick built signal box dated from
1959 when electrification was completed. In 2009 preparatory
works were completed before services to London St Pancras via
Ebbsfleet International commenced on 13 December 2009. This
forms part of the UK's first domestic high speed service (beyond
Gravesend) with typical journey times of around 65 minutes. The
Chatham Main Line was re-signalled east of Faversham during
2011, and the Faversham signal box was decommissioned in late
December (still remaining in situ in August 2014). Signalling
responsibilities were transferred to the power box at
Gillingham.
Faversham had a barrow crossing but the section to platforms 1
and 2 was removed in 2009 to enable a platform extension as part
of a multimillion-pound signalling and platform upgrade.
Replacement 'platform' lifts were installed in March 2012, but
they were not in use until later in the year. Replacement lifts
were installed in December 2018 in a joint project between
Southeastern Railway and Network Rail. They are of a better
design with automatic sliding doors, one-touch operation and
incorporating cctv at all levels and inside the fully enclosed
lift car; they were officially opened by the Faversham MP Helen
Whately on 14 December 2018.
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