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Dartford railway station

Coordinates: 51°26′51″N 0°13′09″E / 51.4475°N 0.2193°E / 51.4475; 0.2193
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Dartford National Rail
Dartford is located in Kent
Dartford
Dartford
Location of Dartford in Kent
LocationDartford
Local authorityBorough of Dartford
Grid referenceTQ543743
Managed bySoutheastern
Station code(s)DFD
DfT categoryC1
Number of platforms4
AccessibleYes
Fare zone8
National Rail annual entry and exit
2017–18Increase 4.164 million[1]
– interchange Decrease 0.430 million[1]
2018–19Increase 4.623 million[1]
– interchange Decrease 0.402 million[1]
2019–20Increase 4.659 million[1]
– interchange Decrease 0.333 million[1]
2020–21Decrease 1.485 million[1]
– interchange Decrease 0.105 million[1]
2021–22Increase 3.153 million[1]
– interchange Increase 0.210 million[1]
Key dates
30 July 1849Station opened
Other information
External links
Coordinates51°26′51″N 0°13′09″E / 51.4475°N 0.2193°E / 51.4475; 0.2193
London transport portal
Station clock of Dartford's 19th century station building (1895)

Dartford railway station serves the town of Dartford in Kent, England. It is 17 miles 12 chains (27.6 km) down the line from London Charing Cross. Train services from the station are operated by Southeastern and Thameslink. Southeastern also manages the station. Dartford is a major interchange station in the North Kent region of the Southeastern network. Ticket barriers control access to the platforms.

Dartford Railway Station has become the busiest station in Kent with an annual passenger usage of 4.62 million in 2018/19. Between 2018 and 2019, use of the station increased by 11%, a much higher rate than other stations across Kent. More people use Dartford railway station than Ebbsfleet International and all the other stations in the Borough put together.

The station is where three lines from London meet:

Westbound services normally terminate at London Charing Cross, London Cannon Street (both via London Bridge), London Victoria and, for Thameslink trains, Luton and Bedford. Services from London also continue through Dartford to Greenhithe (for Bluewater) to terminate at Gravesend, Strood, Rochester or Gillingham. Thameslink trains terminate at Rainham.

Many of the terminating services at Dartford form London bound services, but the remainder will be stabled and maintained at Slade Green Depot approximately two miles west on the North Kent Line. There are several sidings to the east of the station where terminating trains can be stabled until such time as needed to return to Dartford to form London bound services or until drivers are available to return the train to Slade Green Depot.

History

The first station was opened here by the South Eastern Railway it extended its North Kent Line from Gravesend on 30 July 1849, taking the line from there to London. The original station building had an Italianate design; this was replaced by a glass and metal ticket office complex in 1972. A footbridge leads across the line to the two island platforms.

Replacement of the 1972 station building was approved in 2011,[2] with enabling works started late that year, and major works commenced in mid-2012. The new building was completed in November 2013.[3]

Future development

In the future, Dartford station may form part of a Crossrail extension line, linking to Canary Wharf, London Paddington station, Heathrow Airport and Reading.[4]

Trivia

In 1961, Mick Jagger and Keith Richards met by chance at the station, going on to be the core writing team of the Rolling Stones. There is a plaque on the London-bound platform to commemorate this fact.[5][6][7]

Dartford railway station gained a lot of attention due to the high numbers of people travelling using this line, mistakenly not knowing that Oyster cards were not valid, and there was evidence of being approached by staff and receiving penalty fares.[8] In September 2015 Transport for London extended the London fare zones to add Dartford to zone 8, thus allowing Oyster and Contactless payment methods to be used there.[9]

Services

Services at Dartford are operated by Southeastern and Thameslink using Class 376, 465, 466, 700 and 707 EMUs.

The typical off-peak service in trains per hour is:[10]

During the peak hours, the service to and from London Charing Cross via Bexleyheath is increased to 2 tph.

Preceding station National Rail National Rail Following station
Crayford   Southeastern
  Stone Crossing
or
Terminus
Thameslink
Southeastern
SoutheasternTerminus

Connections

The station is served by the following bus services:

Concessionary and electronic ticketing

Oyster and contactless bank cards

Dartford entered the TfL zonal Oyster/contactless system on Sunday 6 September 2015, in Zone 8. Whilst season tickets, daily capping and contactless weekly capping are set at standard Zone 8 levels, single fares from Dartford are lower than "standard" Zone 8 fares.[14]

This followed Southeastern agreement to seek to bring Oyster/Contactless PAYG to Dartford by 31 January 2016 as part of the 2014–2018 franchise extension.[15]

Passenger representation

Dartford Rail Travellers' Association[16] campaigns for improvements across the seven railway stations in the Dartford area - Dartford, Stone Crossing, Greenhithe for Bluewater, Swanscombe, Ebbsfleet International, Longfield and Farningham Road. The group operates through social media on Facebook and Twitter.

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j "Estimates of station usage". Rail statistics. Office of Rail Regulation. Please note: Some methodology may vary year on year.
  2. ^ "Dartford station upgrade plans revealed : Southeastern". Archived from the original on 5 January 2014. Retrieved 29 July 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  3. ^ "Dartford Station, UK investment delivers a better railway for passengers | News | Breaking Travel News". breakingtravelnews.com. Retrieved 29 July 2016.
  4. ^ "Abbey Wood to Hoo Junction - Crossrail". crossrail.co.uk. Retrieved 29 July 2016.
  5. ^ "Rolling Stones plaque 'disgusts' Bill Wyman - BBC News". BBC News. 25 June 2015. Retrieved 29 July 2016.
  6. ^ Victor Bockris, Keith Richards: The Unauthorised Biography - Page 21, 2002, Omnibus Press, ISBN 0-7119-8868-4
  7. ^ Christopher Sandford, Keith Richards: Satisfaction - Page 174, 2004, Carroll & Graf Publishers, ISBN 0-7867-1368-2
  8. ^ "Passenger angry at fine for not knowing he could not use Oyster card at Dartford station (From News Shopper)". newsshopper.co.uk. 30 May 2012. Retrieved 29 July 2016.
  9. ^ "Oyster cards and contactless payment now work in Dartford train station". kentonline.co.uk. 7 September 2015. Retrieved 29 July 2016.
  10. ^ Table 52, 200, 201, 212 National Rail timetable, December 2022
  11. ^ "Dartford and Thameside Network Map". Arriva Southern Counties. Retrieved 22 March 2021.
  12. ^ "Fastrack Network Map: August 2020". Arriva Southern Counties. Retrieved 22 March 2021.
  13. ^ "Fastrack AZ: Dartford to Gravesend via Amazon LCY3". Go-Coach. Retrieved 23 August 2021.
  14. ^ "National Rail Adult fares" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 18 September 2015. Retrieved 19 September 2015.
  15. ^ "FRANCHISE AGREEMENT – SOUTH EASTERN" (PDF). 10 September 2014. Archived (PDF) from the original on 6 August 2021. Retrieved 6 August 2021.
  16. ^ "Dartford Rail Travellers' Association - Campaigning for improvements to rail transport serving the 7 stations in the borough of Dartford". Archived from the original on 5 February 2016. Retrieved 29 July 2016.
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