Penshurst railway station

Penshurst railway station is on the Redhill to Tonbridge Line and is located approximately two miles north of Penshurst in Kent, in the village of Chiddingstone Causeway in England. It is 38 miles 3 chains (61.22 km) measured from London Charing Cross via Redhill.

For the station in Sydney, Australia, see Penshurst railway station, Sydney.

Penshurst
LocationPenshurst, Sevenoaks
England
Coordinates51.197°N 0.173°E / 51.197; 0.173
Grid referenceTQ519464
Managed bySouthern
Platforms2
Other information
Station codePHR
ClassificationDfT category F1
History
Original companySouth Eastern Railway
Pre-groupingSouth Eastern and Chatham Railway
Post-groupingSouthern Railway
Key dates
26 May 1842Opened
Passengers
2015/16 41,832
2016/17 31,894
2017/18 34,854
2018/19 41,408
2019/20 39,920
Notes
Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road

History

Penshurst station was opened by the South Eastern Railway on 26 May 1842.[1] Penshurst Airfield, which was in operation from 1916 to 1936, and again from 1940 to 1946 as RAF Penshurst, was within ¼ mile (400 m) of the station.

In 1967 the station became unstaffed following which the original station buildings were demolished. In 1993 the line was electrified and services started to run through to London rather than being an extension of the Reading to Tonbridge North Downs Line service. Prior to electrification a new down platform was constructed opposite the up platform. New signalling was installed when the signal box was closed.

In 2007, a PERTIS (Permit to Travel) machine was installed at the street entrance to the Tonbridge-bound platform (since replaced by a modern ticket machine). The station was until December 2008 operated by Southeastern before it transferred to Southern, whose green signage was installed before October 2008.

Facilities and Connections

Penshurst station is unstaffed and facilities are limited. Tickets can be purchased from the self-service ticket machine at the station and there are passenger help points located on each platforms. There is also a basic shelter located on each platform. The station has step free access available to both platforms.[2]

The station is served Monday-Saturday by the Metrobus routes 231 & 233 buses which provide connections to Edenbridge and Tunbridge Wells as well as the Autocar route 210 which provides connections to Tonbridge.[3][4]

Accidents and incidents
  • On 28 July 1845, a light engine was in a rear-end collision with a passenger train near Penshurst. Thirty people were injured.[5][6]
  • On 20 January 1846, a bridge over the River Medway between Tonbridge and Penshurst collapsed whilst a freight train was passing over it. The driver was killed.[7]

Services

All services at Penshurst are operated by Southern using Class 377 EMUs. The current off-peak service in trains per hour is: [8]

Services increase to 2 tph in each direction during the peak hours.

Preceding station   National Rail   Following station
Southern

References
  1. 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. p. 183. ISBN 978-1-85260-508-7. OCLC 60251199.
  2. "Penshurst Station Information". Southern, August 2020.
  3. "Routes 231/233 timetable: Edenbridge to Tunbridge Wells" (PDF). Metrobus, June 2020.
  4. "Route 210 timetable: Charcott to Tonbridge". Bustimes.org, August 2020.
  5. Kidner, R. W. (1977) [1963]. The South Eastern and Chatham Railway. Tarrant Hinton: The Oakwood Press. p. 48.
  6. "Accident on the Dover Railway". The Times (18988). London. 29 July 1845. col A, p. 5.
  7. "FEARFUL AND FATAL ACCIDENT ON THE SOUTH EASTERN RAILWAY". The Times (19139). London. 21 January 1846. col D, p. 5.
  8. "Timetable 30: Tonbridge to Redhill" (PDF). Southern, December 2019.
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