Swale railway station

Swale National Rail

Swale Station with the Sheppey Crossing in the background
Location
Place Kingsferry Bridge, Iwade
Local authority Swale
Grid reference TQ912691
Operations
Station code SWL
Managed by Southeastern
Number of platforms 1
DfT category F2
Live arrivals/departures, station information and onward connections
from National Rail Enquiries
Annual rail passenger usage*
2004/05 3,831
2005/06 Increase 5,446
2006/07 Decrease 3,947
2007/08 Decrease 2,756
2008/09 Decrease 2,394
2009/10 Increase 2,876
2010/11 Increase 4,068
2011/12 Increase 5,996
2012/13 Decrease 3,372
2013/14 Increase 3,792
2014/15 Increase 5,026
History
25 November 1913[1] Opened as a staff halt called Kings Ferry Bridge Halt.
December 1922 Opened to public as Kings Ferry Bridge South Halt.
1 November 1923 Name changed to Kings Ferry Bridge Halt.
1929 Name changed to Swale Halt.
20 April 1960 New station opened.
National Rail – UK railway stations
* Annual estimated passenger usage based on sales of tickets in stated financial year(s) which end or originate at Swale from Office of Rail and Road statistics. Methodology may vary year on year.
UK Railways portal

Swale railway station is in north Kent, England, on the Sheerness Line 4 miles (6.4 km) north of Sittingbourne at the southern end of the Kingsferry Bridge which connects the Isle of Sheppey to mainland Kent. The nearest settlement is Iwade. Train services are provided by Southeastern.

Map of the Swale Railway Station in relation to other local stations and the Sittingbourne & Kemsley Light Railway. The Chatham Main Line runs along the bottom, east to west, while the Sheerness Line branches off northwards, west of Sittingbourne.

History

The station was opened in 1913 as a staff halt, called Kings Ferry Bridge Halt.[2] On 17 December 1922, the Norwegian cargo ship Gyp collided with the Kingsferry Bridge,[3] rendering it unfit for rail traffic, and the station was renamed Kings Ferry Bridge South Halt, and opened to the public, who were able to walk across the bridge to a temporary station at Kings Ferry Bridge North Halt to continue their journeys.

This arrangement continued until 1 November 1923, when the bridge reopened to traffic and the North halt closed. The station was renamed Kings Ferry Bridge Halt on this date. The name was changed to Swale Halt in 1929. With the building of the new Kingsferry Bridge in 1960, a new station was constructed, opening on 20 April 1960.[2] The station is the nearest to Ridham Dock and was built by British Railways.

In 2005 the idea of closing Swale station, or at least replacing its train service with a token service (e.g. one train a week in either direction), was proposed by the Strategic Rail Authority (SRA)[4] but rejected.

Services

The typical off-peak service from the station is two trains per hour to Sheerness-on-Sea and two trains per hour to Sittingbourne, for connections to London.

Preceding station National Rail Following station
Kemsley   Southeastern
Sheerness Line		   Queenborough

References

  1. ↑ Private and Untimetabled Railway Stations by G.Croughton
  2. 1 2 Kidner, p. 56.
  3. ↑ "King's Ferry Bridge seriously damaged". The Times (43217). London. 18 December 1922. col A, p. 9.
  4. ↑ "Kent franchise sees service plans revised". Modern Railways. London: Ian Allan. February 2005. p. 5.
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Coordinates: 51°23′21″N 0°44′50″E / 51.3892°N 0.7471°E / 51.3892; 0.7471

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