Dartford railway station

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Location
Dartford
Place	Dartford
Local authority	Dartford
Operations
Managed by	Southeastern
Platforms in use	4
Annual entry/exit	2.894 million *
History
Key dates	Opened 1849
National Rail - UK railway stations
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
* based on sales of tickets in 2004/05 financial year which end or originate at Dartford. Disclaimer (PDF)

Dartford railway station serves the town of Dartford in Kent, England. All train services from the station are operated by Southeastern, who also manage the station.

The station is the nodal point for three lines from London:

the North Kent Line, via Woolwich Arsenal
the Bexleyheath Line,
the Dartford Loop Line via Sidcup.

Train services include:

Victoria to Dartford via Denmark Hill, Lewisham and the Bexleyheath Line, which terminate here.
Charing Cross or Cannon Street and London Bridge via the three lines. Some trains continue beyond Dartford to Gravesend or Gillingham: the remainder terminate here.

The first station was opened here by the South Eastern Railway it extended its North Kent Line from Gravesend on July 30 1849, taking the line from there to London. The original station building had an Italianate design; this has now been replaced by a modern, more efficient ticket office complex using glass and metal. A footbridge leads across the line to the two island platforms, which are capable of a very large number of train movements during a working day. There are four carriage sidings at the country end of the station.

Dartford station is notable because, despite its location outside Greater London, London residents with Freedom Passes (but not Oyster Cards) may travel to and from the station.