Swanley railway station

Railway station in Kent, England

Swanley

Location of Swanley in Kent

LocationSwanleyLocal authorityDistrict of SevenoaksGrid referenceTQ509682Managed bySoutheasternStation codeSAYDfT categoryC2Number of platforms4Fare zone8National Rail annual entry and exit2018–19

1.568 million^[1]– interchange

0.123 million^[1]2019–20

1.559 million^[1]– interchange

0.117 million^[1]2020–21

0.399 million^[1]– interchange

21,609^[1]2021–22

0.922 million^[1]– interchange

59,018^[1]2022–23

1.120 million^[1]– interchange

0.263 million^[1]Key dates1 July 1862Opened as Sevenoaks Junction1 January 1871Renamed Swanley Junction16 April 1939Resited and renamed SwanleyOther informationExternal links

Departures
Layout
Facilities
Buses

Coordinates51°23′36″N 0°10′08″E / 51.3934°N 0.1690°E / 51.3934; 0.1690

London transport portal

Swanley railway station is on the Chatham Main Line in England, serving the town of Swanley, Kent. It is 17 miles 31 chains (28.0 km) down the line from London Victoria and is situated between St Mary Cray and Farningham Road on the main line. The Maidstone Line branches from the main line south of Swanley and the next station on that route is Eynsford.

The station and most trains that call are operated by Southeastern. The station has four platforms.

Since March 2016, Oyster cards have been accepted at Swanley, with the station being placed into London's fare zone 8.^[2]

History

The original location of the station was at grid reference TQ513684 at the junction with separate platforms for the main line and the Sevenoaks branch. It was first named Sevenoaks Junction and 1871 was changed to Swanley Junction. On 27 June 1937, there was a collision between two trains near the station, resulting in the deaths of four people and with 37 injured.^[3] In 1939 a new station called Swanley was constructed approximately 440 yards (400 m) further west and the original station was closed.

In May 2021, a new ticket office and station building was opened.^[4]

Location

The station is located at Station Approach, half a mile from Swanley Town Centre.

Facilities

The station has a staffed ticket office. The station has a self-service ticket machine and is also fitted with Oyster card readers. The station has passenger help points on its platforms and covered seating is available on all 4 platforms which are all fitted with passenger information screens. There are toilets located on platforms 1 and 2 as well as a passenger shop and buffet. The station has a chargeable car park (106 spaces) and a cycle rack at the station entrance. Step free access is available to all platforms from the Station Approach entrance.^[5]

Services

Services at Swanley are operated by Southeastern and Thameslink using Class 375, 377, 465, 466 and 700 EMUs.

The typical off-peak service in trains per hour is:^[6]

1 tph to London Charing Cross (non-stop to London Bridge)
2 tph to London Victoria (semi-fast)
2 tph to London Blackfriars via Catford
1 tph to Gillingham
2 tph to Sevenoaks
1 tph to Maidstone East (semi-fast)
1 tph to Ashford International (stopping)

During the peak hours, additional services run between London Victoria, Ashford International and Gillingham. In addition, the service to London Blackfriars is extended to and from Welwyn Garden City via Finsbury Park.

On Sundays, the services between London Charing Cross and Maidstone East do not run.

Preceding station	National Rail		Following station
London Bridge		Southeastern South Eastern Main Line (via Chislehurst Junction)	Otford
St Mary Cray		Southeastern Maidstone East Line	Otford
		Southeastern Chatham Main Line	Farningham Road
		Thameslink Blackfriars to Sevenoaks	Eynsford
	Historical railways
St Mary Cray Line and station open		Southern Railway Maidstone East Line	Lullingstone Line open, station closed

Connections

Go-Coach route 429 and Arriva Kent Thameside route 477 serve the station.^[7]^[8]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j "Estimates of station usage". Rail statistics. Office of Rail Regulation. Please note: Some methodology may vary year on year.
^ "Pay as you go travel with contactless and Oyster extends to Swanley". Transport for London. 10 November 2015. Retrieved 7 March 2016.
^ "Report on the Accident at Swanley Junction on 27th June 1937". railwaysarchive.co.uk. Retrieved 2 February 2018.
^ Holden, Alan (31 May 2021). "New ticket office and station building open at Swanley railway station". RailAdvent. Retrieved 6 June 2021.
^ "Swanley station information". Southeastern, June 2020.
^ Table 52, 195, 196, 197, 212 National Rail timetable, December 2022
^ "Route 429: Dartford to West Kingsdown". Go-Coach. Retrieved 26 February 2024.
^ "Route 477: Orpington to Dartford". Arriva Southern Counties. Retrieved 26 February 2024.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Swanley railway station.

Train times and station information for Swanley railway station from National Rail

Railway stations in Kent

London Charing Cross to Gillingham

Other alternative routes from London to Dartford via Sidcup and via Bexleyheath.

London Victoria to Ramsgate
via Chatham

London Victoria to Dover
via Chatham

London Victoria to Ashford
via Maidstone East

London St Pancras to Paris & Brussels
High Speed 1

Ebbsfleet International
Ashford International
Also London to Faversham via Ebbsfleet & Chatham, and to Dover & Ramsgate via Ashford

London Charing Cross to Dover
via Tonbridge

London Charing Cross to Hastings

London Bridge to Uckfield

Ashford to Ramsgate
via Canterbury West

Dover to Margate

Redhill–Tonbridge

Sittingbourne to Sheerness-on-Sea

Ashford to St Leonards
Marshlink

Strood to Paddock Wood
Medway Valley Line

Heritage railways

East Kent Railway

Shepherdswell (EKR) (Adjacent to Shepherds Well)
Eythorne

Kent & East Sussex Railway

Romney, Hythe & Dymchurch Railway

Spa Valley Railway

Tunbridge Wells West

Thameslink, Great Northern, Southern and Southeastern routes

Thameslink and Great Northern routes serving this station
Thameslink Sevenoaks line	Bedford Luton St Albans City West Hampstead Thameslink Kentish Town St Pancras International Farringdon City Thameslink London Blackfriars Elephant & Castle Denmark Hill Peckham Rye Nunhead Crofton Park Catford Bellingham Beckenham Hill Ravensbourne Shortlands Bromley South Bickley Petts Wood Orpington St Mary Cray Swanley Eynsford Shoreham Otford Bat & Ball Sevenoaks
Thameslink Bedford to Rochester and Ashford Int'l	Bedford (Wixams planned) Flitwick Harlington Leagrave Luton Luton Airport Parkway Harpenden St Albans City West Hampstead Thameslink St Pancras International Farringdon City Thameslink London Blackfriars Elephant & Castle Bromley South St Mary Cray Swanley Farningham Road Longfield Meopham Sole Street Rochester Otford Kemsing Borough Green & Wrotham West Malling East Malling Barming Maidstone East Bearsted Hollingbourne Harrietsham Lenham Charing Ashford International

Southeastern routes serving this station
Metro Bromley South	London Victoria Brixton London Blackfriars Elephant & Castle Loughborough Junction Herne Hill West Dulwich Sydenham Hill Penge East Kent House Beckenham Junction Shortlands Bromley South Bickley Petts Wood Orpington
Mainline via Chatham	London Victoria Denmark Hill Bromley South London Cannon Street London Bridge St Mary Cray Swanley Farningham Road Longfield Meopham Sole Street Rochester Chatham Gillingham Rainham Newington Sittingbourne Teynham Faversham Selling Canterbury East Bekesbourne Adisham Aylesham Snowdown Shepherds Well Kearsney Dover Priory Whitstable Chestfield & Swalecliffe Herne Bay Birchington-on-Sea Westgate-on-Sea Margate Broadstairs Dumpton Park Ramsgate
Mainline via Maidstone East	London Victoria Wandsworth Road Clapham High Street Bromley South St Mary Cray Swanley Otford Kemsing Borough Green & Wrotham West Malling East Malling Barming Maidstone East Bearsted Hollingbourne Harrietsham Lenham Charing Ashford International