Meopham railway station

Meopham railway station is on the Chatham Main Line in England, serving the village of Meopham, Kent. It is 25 miles 76 chains (41.8 km) down the line from London Victoria and is situated between Longfield and Sole Street. The station is managed by Southeastern.

Meopham
General information
Location	Meopham, Borough of Gravesham England
Grid reference	TQ640678
Managed by	Southeastern
Platforms	2
Other information
Station code	MEP
Classification	DfT category D
History
Original company	London, Chatham and Dover Railway
Pre-grouping	South Eastern and Chatham Railway
Post-grouping	Southern Railway
Key dates
3 December 1860	Line opened
6 May 1861 (1861-05-06)	Station opened
Passengers
2019/20	0.327 million
2020/21	79,426
2021/22	0.181 million
2022/23	0.216 million
2023/24	0.243 million
Notes Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road

History

The main line of the London, Chatham and Dover Railway was opened in stages. The section between Rochester Bridge (then named Strood) and Bickley was opened on 3 December 1860;^[1] but the station at Meopham opened later, on 6 May 1861.^[2][3]

The current station building is a prefabricated building erected in 1971 to British Rail's CLASP design.^[4]

Facilities and Connections

The station has a ticket office which is open during the morning only (06:15-12:45 Mon-Fri and 08:00-13:15 Sat). At other times, the station is unstaffed and tickets can be purchased from the self-service ticket machine at the station. The station is fitted with modern help points and covered seating is available on both platforms. The station also has toilets which are located on the London bound platform. There is also a chargeable car park located outside the main entrance to the station. There is a taxi rank as well as cycle racks located on the station forecourt. The station has step free access to the London bound platform however access to the Kent bound platform is via the stepped footbridge only so is not accessible.^[5]

The station is served Monday-Saturday by the Arriva Southern Counties routes 306 and 308 which provides hourly connections to Sevenoaks, Borough Green, Vigo Village and Gravesend (as well as Bluewater during the evenings).^[6]

Services

All services at Meopham are operated by Southeastern using Class 375, 465 and 466 EMUs.

The typical off-peak service in trains per hour is:^[7]

• 2 tph to London Victoria (1 of these runs non-stop from Bromley South and 1 calls at Denmark Hill)
• 1 tph to Gillingham
• 1 tph to Dover Priory via Canterbury East

During the peak hours, the station is served by an additional hourly service between London Victoria and Gillingham. The station is also served by a number of peak hour services to and from Ramsgate.

On Sundays, the station is served by an hourly service between Dover Priory and London Victoria via Denmark Hill.

Preceding station	National Rail			Following station
Longfield		Southeastern Chatham Main Line		Sole Street or Rochester

References

1. Dendy Marshall, C.F.; Kidner, R.W. (1963) [1937]. History of the Southern Railway (2nd ed.). Shepperton: Ian Allan. pp. 327, 502. ISBN 0-7110-0059-X.
2. Dendy Marshall & Kidner 1963, p. 524
3. Butt, R.V.J. (1995). The Directory of Railway Stations. Yeovil: Patrick Stephens Ltd. p. 158. ISBN 1-85260-508-1. R508.
4. "Meopham". Kent Rail website. David Glasspool. 2009. Retrieved 24 October 2009.
5. "Meopham Station Information". Southeastern, 2020.
6. "Routes 306/308: Sevenoaks to Gravesend (and Bluewater in the evening)". Arriva Southern Counties June 2020.
7. Table 212 National Rail timetable, December 2022

External links

• Train times and station information for Meopham railway station from National Rail

51°23′11.07″N 0°21′25.19″E