Thanet Parkway railway station

Thanet Parkway railway station is a railway station in Cliffsend, Kent, that serves Discovery Park Enterprise Zone and new housing developments. It opened on 31 July 2023.^[1]

Thanet Parkway
General information
Location	Cliffsend Thanet, Kent England
Grid reference	TR343645
Managed by	Southeastern
Platforms	2
Other information
Station code	THP
Key dates
31 July 2023	Opened
Passengers
2023/24	57,238
Interchange	289

History

Early proposal

In 2012, the developer Cogent announced a planned 800-home development at Manston Green, which would include a parkway station on the Ashford - Canterbury - Ramsgate Line. The new station would also serve Kent International Airport via a bus link.^[2] A planning application for this was due to be submitted before the end of 2013.^[2]

Revised proposal

The revised proposal by Kent County Council (KCC) was for a Thanet Parkway station on the same section of line but to the west of Cliffsend.^[3] This proposal by KCC underwent public consultation in 2015 and was granted planning permission in 2020.^[4] Preliminary ground clearance work started in early 2021.

The project is funded with £14 million from the South East Local Enterprise Partnership via the Local Growth Fund, £12 million from the UK Government Getting Building Fund, £3.4 million from the New Stations Fund, £2 million from Thanet District Council, £700,000 from the East Kent Spatial Development Company and £5.8 million from Kent County Council. £875,000 of extra UK Government funding was required in 2022.^[5]

As of April 2023^[update] construction was reported as substantially complete,^[1] although the originally targeted May 2023 opening date^[6][7] had been delayed to 31 July the same year.^[1]

Services

All services at Thanet Parkway are operated by Southeastern using Class 375 and 395 EMUs.

The typical off-peak service in trains per hour is:^[8]

• 1 tph to London St Pancras International
• 1 tph to London Charing Cross via Tonbridge
• 2 tph to Ramsgate of which 1 continues to Margate

Additional services, including trains to and from London Cannon Street call at the station during the peak hours.

Preceding station	National Rail			Following station
Minster		Southeastern Ashford to Ramsgate Line		Ramsgate
Canterbury West		Southeastern High Speed 1