Beltring railway station explained

Beltring
Symbol Location:gb
Symbol:rail
Borough:Beltring, Maidstone
Country:England
Coordinates:51.2046°N 0.4059°W
Grid Name:Grid reference
Manager:Southeastern
Platforms:2
Code:BEG
Classification:DfT category F2
Opened:1 September 1909
Footnotes:Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road

Beltring railway station is on the Medway Valley Line in Kent, England, serving the village of Beltring. It is 36chain50chain down the line from London Charing Cross via and is situated between and . The station and all trains that call are operated by Southeastern.

History

Beltring station opened later than the others on the line (which had been opened in 1844): its opening date was 1 September 1909. The halt originally had platforms built of wooden sleepers.[1] It originally had a freight siding; used for the forwarding of farm produce until 5 June 1961. The station was then named Beltring and Branbridges Halt. It consists of concrete platforms with shelters. It serves a predominantly rural area: the nearest settlements being the small villages of Beltring, Branbridges, Laddingford and East Peckham.

Facilities

Beltring station is unstaffed and facilities are limited. The station is fitted with a self-service ticket machine as well as modern help points on the platforms. Seated areas are available on both platforms and train information screens are provided for running information.[2]

No regular buses stop outside the station although Arriva Southern Counties routes 6 & 6A to Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells and Go-Coach route 208 to Tonbridge both stop a short walk away on Branbridges Road.[3] [4]

Services

All services at Beltring are operated by Southeastern using EMUs.

The typical off-peak service in trains per hour is:

A small number of morning, mid afternoon and late evening trains continue beyond Paddock Wood to .

On Sundays, the service is reduced to hourly in each direction.

Plans mooted in the mid-2000s to close Beltring station, or at least replace the existing services with a token service (such as one train a week in each direction) have been withdrawn.[5]

Notes and References

  1. Book: Kidner, R. W.. 1985. Southern Railway Halts. Survey and Gazetteer. 40 . The Oakwood Press. Headington, Oxford. 0-85361-321-4.
  2. Web site: Beltring Station Information. Southeastern, June 2020.
  3. Web site: Routes 6/6A: Tunbridge Wells to East Peckham and Maidstone. Arriva Southern Counties, June 2020.
  4. Web site: Route 208: Pembury to East Peckham. Go Coach, June 2020. 14 July 2020. 14 July 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200714203343/http://www.go-coach.co.uk/Timetable?routeId=129. dead.
  5. Web site: Southeastern mainline timetable changes. Southeastern. 2009-12-29. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20091209023436/http://www.southeasternrailway.co.uk/index.php/cms/pages/view/51. 9 December 2009. dmy-all.