| Higham | |
| Symbol Location: | gb |
| Symbol: | rail |
| Borough: | Higham, Borough of Gravesham |
| Country: | England |
| Grid Name: | Grid reference |
| Manager: | Southeastern |
| Platforms: | 2 |
| Code: | HGM |
| Classification: | DfT category E |
| Original: | Gravesend and Rochester Railway South Eastern Railway |
| Pregroup: | South Eastern and Chatham Railway |
| Postgroup: | Southern Railway |
| Years: | 8 Feb 1845 |
| Events: | Opened |
| Years1: | 13 December 1846[1] |
| Events1: | Closed (G & R) |
| Years2: | 23 Aug 1847 |
| Events2: | Reopened (SE) |
| Footnotes: | Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road |
Higham railway station is in the hamlet of Lower Higham in north Kent. The village of Higham is about 1miles to the south.
It is 28chain42chain down the line from . Train services have been operated by Thameslink since May 2018. Before that time, the services were operated by Southeastern and its predecessors, although the station is still managed by Southeastern.
The ticket office, on the 'up' side, is situated in the substantial station building. This is staffed only during part of the day; at other times a PERTIS passenger-operated ticket machine issues 'Permits to Travel' - which are exchanged on-train or at staffed stations for travel tickets - and is located at the entrance to the up platform, at the foot of the staircase.
From Higham to Strood, the railway passes through a tunnel built for the Thames and Medway Canal, and the station building was converted from the home of the canal towing contractor. The waiting room was heated by the original open fire until as recently as the 1980s.
One of the more unusual pieces of freight handled by the station was a Swiss chalet, in 94 separate pieces, packed into 58 boxes. It arrived over Christmas 1864 as a gift for Charles Dickens at nearby Gad's Hill.[2]
According to the Official Handbook of Stations the following classes of traffic were being handled at this station in 1956: G, P, L, H, C and there was a 1-ton 2 cwt crane.[3]
Off-peak, all services at Higham are operated by Thameslink using EMUs.
The typical off-peak service in trains per hour is:
Additional services, including a small number of Southeastern operated trains to and from London Charing Cross via call at the station during the peak hours.