Southeastern and Thameslink Trains at Chatham on September 26th 2024
1st visit to Chatham on the Chatham Main Line
Featuring services from Southeastern and Thameslink
Chatham station is situated in between two tunnels with Fort Pitt Tunnel being the direction towards Rochester next station in the London direction whilst the other end is the Chatham Tunnel in the direction towards Gillingham
It was first opened in January 1858 by the East Kent Railway when it was single line route was opened to Faversham although 2 months later a connecting line from Strood by the North Kent Railway was next to open although it wasn't until 1861 when the railway reached Dover Priory.
At the time of opening the station buildings had to be located on the down London Platform which according to the drawings had to be visible from the Fort Pitt
The station has been changed several times since firstly in 1881 rebuilt into 2 island platforms and the station buildings moved onto road bridges.
The present electrification system of 750DC 3rd Rail dates from 1938
The present 2 platform layout dates from 1958 when the inner platforms were extended to accommodate 12 car trains result the outer platforms being abandoned.
Other alterations to the station included the entrance and booking hall by BR in 1981, remodelling of the platform layout in the 1990s and 2000s resulting the ticket office being moved twice.
The most recent change the was the footbridge which was replaced in 2021 to enable step free access to both platforms.
At one time there were also connecting lines to the former Chatham Central station opened in 1892 by the former South Eastern Railway however only lasted 19 years until it closed in 1911 however today little remains as housing in the area has built up overtime on the former route.
Another branch use to diverge from Gillingham towards Chatham Dockyard opened in 1877 however link was severed in the 1980s although reconnected again and saw some use until closing for good in 2016.
Today services at Chatham Station served by Southeastern to and from London Victoria mainly operated by Class 375 Electrostars which operate 2 of the 3 services to and from London Victoria run to and from Ramsgate and Dover Priory although at peak times those services join up or divide at Faversham
The other service to and from London Victoria provided by Class 377s and occasional Class 465s originates to and from Gillingham which calls additionally at Denmark Hill
High speed services began operating in December 2009 provided by Class 395 Javelins built by Hitachi which operate half hourly services to and from London St Pancras via Ebbsfleet Intl and Strood to Faversham and Ramsgate which at the time of filming were undergoing mid life refurbishment.
Half Hourly Thameslink services operated by 8 car Class 700 Desiro Citys that operate to and from Rainham (Kent) began in May 2018 mainly originate to and from Luton and operate via London Blackfriars, London Bridge, Greenwich and Dartford which also took over the former London Charing Cross - Gillingham Southeastern workings via the same route which join via the North Kent Line after Strood.
Music used:
JJD - Adventure
Music provided by NCS
Video link:
NoCopyrightSounds
• JJD - Adventure | Glitch Hop | NCS - Copyr...
Filmed on Thursday September 26th 2024 on iPhone 15 Pro and edited on iMovie
#southeastern #class375 #class377 #class395 #thameslink #class700 #siemens #hitachi #chatham #kent