Minster railway station
Minster railway station serves Minster in Kent and surrounding villages. It is next to a junction between Canterbury West, Ramsgate and Sandwich.
Minster  | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Location | Minster-in-Thanet, Thanet England |
| Grid reference | TR311641 |
| Managed by | Southeastern |
| Platforms | 2 |
| Other information | |
| Station code | MSR |
| Classification | DfT category F1 |
| Key dates | |
| 13 April 1846[1] | Opened as Minster |
| 1 January 1852 | Renamed Minster Junction |
| 1 August 1901 | Renamed Minster Junction (Thanet) |
| 7 May 1945 | Renamed Minster (Thanet) |
| 1952 | Renamed Minster (Thanet), Junction for Sandwich, Deal and Walmer |
| 1971 | Renamed Minster |
| Passengers | |
| 2015/16 |  61,952 |
| Interchange |  1,890 |
| 2016/17 | 66,796 |
| Interchange | 2,517 |
| 2017/18 | 75,968 |
| Interchange | 3,111 |
| 2018/19 | 78,422 |
| Interchange | 2,719 |
| 2019/20 | 72,806 |
| Interchange | 1,522 |
| Notes | |
Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road | |
Facilities
The station, and all trains serving it, are operated by Southeastern. On the Ramsgate-bound platform, there is a ticket machine offering a full range of tickets. The former booking office is still standing but no longer in use.[2]
History
The station was opened on 13 April 1846 by the South Eastern Railway (SER) on the Ashford to Ramsgate (via Canterbury West) line.[1] To the east is the junction station for the SER branch line to Deal via Sandwich - itself opened on 1 July 1847.[3][4]
Originally there was no connection for trains running from Ramsgate SER Station to Deal and services were provided from a bay platform. Services from Sandwich and Deal terminated at Minster, where passengers then had to change trains for services towards Ramsgate. A connecting spur opened in October 1858 to resolve this issue.[5]
Along with other stations along the line, electrification took place in 1962, with services beginning on 18 June. Goods services were withdrawn on 9 September 1963. A set of refuge sidings were retained, which closed later.[6]
The station has had a number of names over its lifetime. It was renamed Minster Junction on 1 January 1852, then Minster Junction (Thanet) on 1 August 1901, Minster (Thanet) on 7 May 1945, and reverting to Minster around 1971.[1]
Services
As of December 2019, the typical off-peak service in trains per hour is:[7]
- 1 tph to London Charing Cross via Tonbridge
- 1 tph to Ramsgate
During the peak hours, a small number of services on the Kent Coast Line double run to serve and reverse at Minster between Ramsgate and Sandwich and vice versa.
| Preceding station | National Rail |
Following station | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Southeastern | ||||
| Southeastern Kent Coast Line Limited Service | ||||
| Disused railways | ||||
| Grove Ferry and Upstreet | Southern Railway Kent Coast line |
Richborough Castle Halt | ||
| Grove Ferry and Upstreet | British Rail Southern Region Ashford to Ramsgate (via Canterbury West) line |
Ebbsfleet and Cliffsend Halt | ||
References
Citations
- Butt 1995, p. 161.
- "Minster". National Rail. Retrieved 8 March 2020.
- "Opening of the Minster and Deal Railway". London Evening Standard. England. 1 July 1847. Retrieved 26 June 2017 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- McCarthy & McCarthy 2007, p. 53.
- Gray 1990, p. 252.
- McCarthy & McCarthy 2007, pp. 53,128.
- "Timetable 1: London to Ashford, Dover and Ramsgate" (PDF). Southeastern, May 2020.
Sources
- Butt, R. V. J. (1995). The Directory of Railway Stations: details every public and private passenger station, halt, platform and stopping place, past and present (1st ed.). Sparkford: Patrick Stephens Ltd. ISBN 978-1-85260-508-7. OCLC 60251199.
- Gray, Adrian (1990). South Eastern Railway. Middleton Press. ISBN 978-0-906520-85-7.
- McCarthy, Colin; McCarthy, David (2007). Railways of Britain : Kent and Sussex. Ian Allan. ISBN 978-0-7110-3222-4.