Kent Downs Line
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Kent Downs Line
The Kent Downs line is a railway line between Otford and Ashford International in Kent, England. It adopted its current name in 2020, by the Kent Rail Partnership. It covers a large part of what was known as the Maidstone line which extended further from Otford to Swanley. This line diverged from the Chatham Main Line at Swanley Junction, and proceeds down the Darent Valley line to Otford junction, Retrieved 12 January 2012 where the Darent Valley line, also known as the Bat & Ball line, divides towards . Whereas the line now known as Kent Downs, continues via Borough Green & Wrotham and Maidstone East to Ashford, where it joins the South Eastern Main Line. History The line was built by the London, Chatham and Dover Railway from their first line (the Chatham Main Line). The final section to Ashford opened on 1 July 1884 and terminated at . There was initially no direct connection to the rival South Eastern Railway's existing station. Upon the creation of the South Easter ...
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Suburban Rail
Commuter rail or suburban rail is a Passenger train, passenger rail service that primarily operates within a metropolitan area, connecting Commuting, commuters to a Central business district, central city from adjacent suburbs or commuter towns. Commuter rail systems can use locomotive-hauled trains or multiple units, using electric or diesel propulsion. Distance charges or zone pricing may be used. The term can refer to systems with a wide variety of different features and service frequencies, but is often used in contrast to rapid transit or light rail. Some services share similarities with both commuter rail and high-frequency rapid transit; examples include German S-Bahn in some cities, the Réseau Express Régional (RER) in Paris, the Milan S Lines, S Lines in Milan, many Japanese commuter systems, the East Rail line in Hong Kong, and some Australasian suburban networks, such as Sydney Trains. Many commuter rail systems share tracks with other passenger services and Cargo ...
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Ashford International Railway Station
Ashford International railway station is a National Rail station in the town of Ashford, Kent, England. It connects several railway lines, including High Speed 1 and the South Eastern Main Line. Services are operated by Southeastern and Southern. The station opened in 1842 as Ashford by the South Eastern Railway (SER) as a temporary terminus of the line from London to Dover via Croydon. Connections to Folkestone, Canterbury and Hastings opened within ten years. It was renamed Ashford (Kent) in 1923. There have been two significant rebuilds; in the 1960s for the South Eastern Main Line electrification, and to accommodate international services in the 1990s. The station was renamed as Ashford International in 1996. International services were reduced following the completion of the Channel Tunnel Rail Link and the opening of in 2007, but were partially restored before being suspended indefinitely in 2020. Domestic services along High Speed 1 to St Pancras have been running si ...
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Third Rail
A third rail, also known as a live rail, electric rail or conductor rail, is a method of providing electric power to a railway locomotive or train, through a semi-continuous rigid conductor placed alongside or between the rails of a track (rail transport), railway track. It is used typically in a mass transit or rapid transit system, which has alignments in its own corridors, fully or almost fully segregated from the outside environment. Third-rail systems are usually supplied with direct current. Modern tram systems with street running avoid the electrical injury risk of the exposed electric rail by implementing a segmented ground-level power supply, where each segment is electrified only while covered by a vehicle which is using its power. The third-rail system of electrification is not related to the third rail used in dual gauge, dual-gauge railways. The system is generally associated with a low voltage (rarely above 750 V) and is far less used for main lines than ...
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1955 Modernisation Plan
Events January * January 3 – José Ramón Guizado becomes president of Panama. * January 17 – , the first Nuclear marine propulsion, nuclear-powered submarine, puts to sea for the first time, from Groton, Connecticut. * January 18–January 20, 20 – Battle of Yijiangshan Islands: The Chinese Communist People's Liberation Army seizes the islands from the Republic of China (Taiwan). * January 22 – In the United States, The Pentagon announces a plan to develop intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs), armed with nuclear weapons. * January 23 – The Sutton Coldfield rail crash kills 17, near Birmingham, England. * January 25 – The Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union announces the end of the war between the USSR and Germany, which began during World War II in 1941. * January 28 – The United States Congress authorizes President Dwight D. Eisenhower to use force to protect Taiwan from the People's Republic of China. February * February 10 – T ...
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Southern Railway (Great Britain)
The Southern Railway (SR), sometimes shortened to 'Southern', was a British railway company established in the 1923 Grouping. It linked London with the Channel ports, South West England, South coast resorts and Kent. The railway was formed by the amalgamation of several smaller railway companies, the largest of which were the London and South Western Railway (LSWR), the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway (LB&SCR) and the South Eastern and Chatham Railway (SE&CR).Bonavia (1987) pp. 26–28 The construction of what was to become the Southern Railway began in 1838 with the opening of the London and Southampton Railway, which was renamed the London & South Western Railway. The railway was noted for its astute use of public relations and a coherent management structure headed by Sir Herbert Walker. At , the Southern Railway was the smallest of the "Big Four" railway companies, the only one to operate entirely in England, and, unlike the others, the majority of its reven ...
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South Eastern And Chatham Railway
The South Eastern and Chatham Railway Companies Joint Management Committee (SE&CRCJMC),Awdry (1990), page 199 known as the South Eastern and Chatham Railway (SE&CR), was a working union of two neighbouring rival railways, the South Eastern Railway (England), South Eastern Railway (SER) and London, Chatham and Dover Railway (LC&DR), which operated between London and south-east England. Between 1899 and 1923, the SE&CR had a monopoly of railway services in Kent and to the main English Channel, Channel ports for ferries to France and Belgium. The companies had competed extensively, with some of the bitterest conflicts between British railway companies. Competing routes to the same destinations were built, so several towns in Kent had been served with a similar frequency service by both companies. In places, unfettered competition allowed two stations and services to multiple London termini. It would be a constituent of the Southern Railway (UK), Southern Railway a ...
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Maidstone Line
The Kent Downs line is a railway line between Otford and Ashford International in Kent, England. It adopted its current name in 2020, by the Kent Rail Partnership. It covers a large part of what was known as the Maidstone line which extended further from Otford to Swanley. This line diverged from the Chatham Main Line at Swanley Junction, and proceeds down the Darent Valley line to Otford junction, Retrieved 12 January 2012 where the Darent Valley line, also known as the Bat & Ball line, divides towards . Whereas the line now known as Kent Downs, continues via Borough Green & Wrotham and Maidstone East to Ashford, where it joins the South Eastern Main Line. History The line was built by the London, Chatham and Dover Railway from their first line (the Chatham Main Line). The final section to Ashford opened on 1 July 1884 and terminated at . There was initially no direct connection to the rival South Eastern Railway's existing station. Upon the creation of the South Easter ...
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South Eastern Railway (England)
The South Eastern Railway (SER) was a railway company in south-eastern England from 1836 until 1922. The company was formed to construct a route from London to Dover. Branch lines were later opened to Tunbridge Wells, Hastings, Canterbury and other places in Kent. The absorbed or leased other railways, some older than itself, including the London and Greenwich Railway and the Canterbury and Whitstable Railway. Most of the company's routes were in Kent, eastern Sussex and the London suburbs, with a long cross-country route from in Surrey to Reading, Berkshire. Much of the company's early history saw attempts at expansion and feuding with its neighbours; the London Brighton and South Coast Railway (LBSCR) in the west and the London, Chatham and Dover Railway (LCDR) to the north-east. However, in 1899 the agreed with the to share operation of the two railways, work them as a single system (marketed as the South Eastern and Chatham Railway) and pool receipts: but it w ...
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London, Chatham And Dover Railway
The London, Chatham and Dover Railway (LCDR or LC&DR) was a railway company in south-eastern England. It was created on 1 August 1859, when the East Kent Railway was given parliamentary approval to change its name. Its lines ran through London, and northern and eastern Kent, to form a significant part of the Greater London commuter network. The company existed until 31 December 1922, when its assets were merged with those of other companies to form the Southern Railway (Great Britain), Southern Railway as a result of the Big Four (British railway companies), grouping determined by the Railways Act 1921. The LCDR was always in a difficult financial situation and went bankrupt in 1867, although it was able to continue to operate. Many of the difficulties were caused by the intense competition and duplication of services with the South Eastern Railway, UK, South Eastern Railway (SER). In 1898, the LCDR agreed with the SER to share the operation of the two railways, working them ...
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South Eastern Main Line
The South Eastern Main Line is a major long-distance railway route in South East England, UK, one of the three main routes crossing the county of Kent, going via Sevenoaks, Tonbridge, Ashford and Folkestone to Dover. The other routes are the Chatham Main Line which runs along the north Kent coast to Ramsgate or Dover via Chatham and High Speed 1 which runs through the centre of Kent to the coast at Folkestone where it joins the Channel Tunnel. History Construction The line was built by the South Eastern Railway (SER), which was in competition with the London, Chatham and Dover Railway (LCDR), hence the duplication of routes in Kent. The original main line was given sanction by act of Parliament, the South Eastern Railway Act 1836 ( 6 & 7 Will. 4. c. lxxv). The route first authorised was from via Oxted, Tunbridge, Maidstone, Ashford and Folkestone. The route was to make use of the existing London and Croydon Railway and London and Greenwich Railway companies' tra ...
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Maidstone East Railway Station
Maidstone East is one of three railway stations in the town of Maidstone, in Kent, England, but currently the only one with a regular all-day direct service to London. The station is on the Maidstone line, from , and is served by trains operated by Southeastern. History Maidstone East was opened as ''Maidstone'' by the London, Chatham and Dover Railway (LCDR) on 1 June 1874, as the terminus of the line from Otford. The location of the station was determined by local geography, as the ground from the River Medway west of the station rises sharply to the east. Consequently, it was built on a restricted site across from a high-level bridge over the river, immediately before entering the Week Street tunnel. On 1 July 1884, the line was extended eastwards to . In 1899, following the merger of the LCDR with the South Eastern Railway (SER) which operated the Medway Valley line, the station was given its current name to distinguish it from the SER's identically named station whi ...
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Borough Green & Wrotham Railway Station
Borough Green & Wrotham railway station is located in Borough Green in Kent, England. It is down the line from . Train services are provided by Southeastern (train operating company), Southeastern. History Wrotham station opened on 1 June 1874, as part of the Maidstone Line from to Maidstone East railway station, Maidstone. The station was initially named after Wrotham, which lies to the north. The station was later renamed Wrotham & Borough Green, and then Borough Green & Wrotham as Borough Green grew in size relative to Wrotham. The goods yard had three sidings. One of them served a goods shed, another extended northwards to serve a Kentish Ragstone, Ragstone quarry. A 5-ton capacity crane was provided. Freight facilities were withdrawn on 9 September 1968. East of the station, there was a private siding at Platt, Kent, Platt, and a public siding at Offham, Kent, Offham. This closed on 6 September 1961. In Spring 2008, the concrete footbridge spanning the tracks to link the ...
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