East Malling railway station explained

East Malling
Symbol Location:gb
Symbol:rail
Borough:East Malling, Tonbridge and Malling
Country:England
Grid Name:Grid reference
Manager:Southeastern
Platforms:2
Code:EML
Classification:DfT category F2
Opened:May 1913
Footnotes:Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road

East Malling railway station serves the village of East Malling in Kent, and is close to Ditton and Larkfield. It is 35chain64chain down the line from .

The station, and most trains serving it, are operated by Southeastern.

History

East Malling Halt opened in 1913. The station is at high level, adjacent to the railway bridge over the High Street, and the platforms are accessed by steps from street level: there are no lifts. Originally built of sleepers, the halt was rebuilt in concrete in the late 1950s. About a mile (1.6 km) east of the station, a siding served a small quarry in the 1930s. Further east still, were the two Preston Hall Tunnels, of 33yd and 54yd length. These had been removed by 1995.

The ticket office here closed by 1988; it was located in a wooden building on the up (London-bound) platform, where the part retained as a shelter continues in use. A PERTIS 'permit to travel' machine, located at road level at the foot of the steep staircase to the up platform, suffices. There is a metal shelter on the down platform, where extensive underpinning of the concrete platform took place in 2006. The platforms were extended in the late 1980s to take 8-car trains, having previously been of 6-car length only.

Services

All services at East Malling are operated by Southeastern using and EMUs.

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

During the peak hours, the station is served by an additional hourly service between London Victoria and Ashford International, increasing the service to 2 tph in each direction.

References

References

Sources