Ebbsfleet International railway station

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Revision as of 23:38, 27 June 2009

Ebbsfleet International
Location
Place	Ebbsfleet Valley
Local authority	Dartford
Operations
Managed by	London and Continental Railways
Platforms in use	6
History
Opened 19 November 2007 (19 November 2007)
National Rail - UK railway stations
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Ebbsfleet International railway station is a railway station in Ebbsfleet Valley, in the borough of Dartford, Kent, just outside the eastern boundary of Greater London, England. It is currently only served by Eurostar Trains and it is not possible to travel by rail to a destination within the United Kingdom from the station ^[1]. It is situated between Swanscombe in Dartford Borough and Northfleet in Gravesham. It is near the Bluewater shopping centre to the west and Gravesend to the east. Ebbsfleet International station is a part of the Thames Gateway urban regeneration, a project of national priority. It is sited on High Speed 1, just 400 yards east of Northfleet railway station. The station lies off the A2(T), close to its junction with the M25 and Bluewater out-of-town retail centre.

Opening

The station opened to the public on 19 November 2007, later than St. Pancras International because the security equipment was transported from Waterloo. The station was formally opened and dedicated in a ceremony by Dame Kelly Holmes on 29 January 2008.^[2]

Layout

Two platforms on the High Speed 1 serve Eurostar and four platforms available for high speed domestic services. There are avoiding lines in each direction. Future North Kent Line domestic services will use the junction to the north of the station. Northfleet Station is 400 yards to the East, although the walking distance between the two is longer, as there is no direct connection.

Facilities

v • d • e Eurostar services

Legend 0:00 London St Pancras Stratford International To open in 2010 0:15 Ebbsfleet International 0:30 Ashford International Channel Tunnel (GB-FR border) 0:54 Calais-Fréthun 1:20 Lille-Europe FR-BE border 1:51 Brussels-South railway station 2:15 Paris Gare du Nord 2:33 Marne la Vallée-Chessy (Disneyland) 5:40 Avignon Centre (summer only) 6:27 Moûtiers (winter) 6:59 Aime-La Plagne (winter, set down only) 7:17 Bourg Saint Maurice (winter) Times shown are fastest timetabled journey from St Pancras.

The CTRL Act allows a total of 9,000 car parking spaces to be constructed, with an initial 6,000 built. The car parks are in a number of geographical areas around the station - north of the North Kent Line, between the North Kent Line and CTRL, south of the CTRL and south-west of the station building. The station is served by National Express coach services running between London and Dover, and by Fastrack buses operated by Arriva, which connect it to Dartford, Bluewater, Greenhithe, Swanscombe and Gravesend.^[3] Taxis are located at a Taxi rank directly outside the station entrance/exit. Car rental services for both leisure and business are located in the concourse. The interchange facilities lie at either end of the main station box - taxis, buses and set down at the northern end (to also serve the NKL platforms) and coaches to the south of the station box. It was formerly planned that Crossrail would terminate at the station, but under the current plan, Abbey Wood further west will be the eastern terminus.

Naming

"Ebbsfleet International Station" was the name originally proposed for the station, but "Dartford International Station" was later proposed at the urging of Eurostar, who felt that Dartford was a name with greater national recognition. Opposition to Eurostar’s ‘Dartford International’ proposal came from Gravesham Borough Council, whose administrative centre (Gravesend), is just 2 miles away, Southfleet Parish Council and Swanscombe and Greenhithe Town Council, ironically both in Dartford Borough.^[4] The similarity of its name to that of Dartford's existing station was of concern, being some 6 miles away.

Services

Daily there are six (seven on Fridays) Eurostar services to Paris, and three to Brussels, and the same number arriving from the mainland. It is not permitted to use Eurostar services for domestic journeys.

From 29 June 2009 Southeastern will provide a domestic service. Initially it is planned to run a week day preview service between London St Pancras and Ebbsfleet, extending to Ashford International during peak hours.^[5] A full service is planned from 13 December 2009.

The planned typical off-peak service is:

• 4tph (trains per hour) to St Pancras International (taking 17 minutes)^[6]
• 2tph to Faversham
• 1tph to Margate via Ashford International and Canterbury West
• 1tph to Dover Priory via Ashford International ^[7]

The planned peak hour service is 12 trains arriving at St Pancras between 07:00 and 09:59.^[8]

References

1. ^ http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/stations_destinations/eurostar_through_tickets.html
2. ^ Kelly Holmes opens Eurostar’s Ebbsfleet station | New Consumer
3. ^ Fastrack A/B Map
4. ^ "Row over Euro-link station name". BBC News. 2004-10-29. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/kent/3963589.stm. 
5. ^ "Preview timetable". http://www.southeasternrailway.co.uk/app/webroot/files/cache/Preview%20Timetable.pdf. Retrieved 1 June 2009. 
6. ^ "Journey Map (Southeastern)". http://www.southeastern2009.co.uk/index.php/journey_map. Retrieved 5 February 2009. 
7. ^ "High Speed Off Peak Services Route Map". http://www.southeastern2009.co.uk/app/webroot/files/cache/High%20speed%20off%20peak%20services%20route%20map.pdf. Retrieved 8 December 2008. 
8. ^ "High Speed Peak Services Route Map". http://www.southeastern2009.co.uk/app/webroot/files/cache/High%20speed%20peak%20services%20route%20map.pdf. Retrieved 8 December 2008. 

External links

• Always touch out project details
• BBC picture gallery
• Kent Rail page on the station and related works on CTRL phase 2
• Ebbsfleet Gateway

Gallery

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Ebbsfleet International railway station

Departures

The track towards the Medway Viaduct.

Details of the track, looking west, showing descending link from the North Kent Line.

Showing the North Kent link line with a 12 car unit on the North Kent Line approaching the junction.

Coordinates: 51°26′34.94″N 0°19′15.18″E / 51.4430389°N 0.3208833°E / 51.4430389; 0.3208833