Place Ashford Station code AFK DfT category B Address Ashford, United Kingdom Number of platforms 6 | Grid reference TR011421 Managed by Southeastern 2011/12 3.311 million Opened 28 February 1996 | |
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Similar Ebbsfleet International railway st, Canterbury West railway st, Stratford International station, St Pancras railway station, Maidstone East railway st | ||
Ashford International railway station (IATA: QDH) is on the South Eastern Main Line in England, serving the town of Ashford, Kent. It is 56 miles 9 chains (90.3 km) down-line from London Charing Cross and is situated between Pluckley and Westenhanger stations on the main line. Domestic trains that call at Ashford are operated by Southeastern and Southern, and international services by Eurostar.
Contents
Eurostar trains use platforms 3 and 4, while domestic trains use the original platforms 1 and 2, and a new island platform (numbered 5 and 6) built by British Rail when the Channel Tunnel opened. While all tracks are electrified with 750 V DC third rail, platforms 3 to 6 are also electrified with 25 kV 50 Hz AC overhead lines.
The domestic terminal to the north of the tracks and the international terminal to the south are connected by a subway which has access to the platforms; access to the international trains on platforms 3 and 4 is only possible through an overbridge from the international terminal. The local bus stops are located at the entrance to the domestic terminal. The international terminal is connected to a multi-storey car park via a footbridge and also to the nearby Ashford Designer Outlet by a signposted footpath.
History
The present station was opened by the South Eastern Railway (SER) on 1 December 1842, and became part of the Southern Railway during the grouping of 1923. The station then passed on to the Southern Region of British Railways on nationalisation in 1948.
Another station (Ashford West) was opened by the London, Chatham and Dover Railway on 1 July 1884 for services via Maidstone East to London. This only lasted 15 years until 1 January 1899 when passenger services were diverted to the former South Eastern Railway station. Remarkably the complete station (buildings and platforms) survived for handling freight and engineering trains until it was closed and demolished around 1999 for construction of the Channel Tunnel Rail Link.
When sectorisation was introduced in the 1980s by British Rail, the present station was served by Network SouthEast until the privatisation of British Rail.
Ashford station has been rebuilt on two occasions in recent history. The station layout up until the early 1960s consisted of two through tracks, two through platform loops and two bay platforms accessible from the east for terminating services.
For phase two of the Kent electrification scheme in 1962, the two bay platforms were converted into through platforms whilst the main station buildings on either side of the line were replaced by an overbridge including a booking hall, newsagent and catering facilities.
Although most of the original station was swept away during the early 1960s rebuild, two substantial platform canopies dating from the South Eastern & Chatham Railway (SECR) era were retained, albeit without their original wooden valence until the later rebuild of the 1990s. The supporting columns of these canopies were stamped with the date 1908.
The station was rebuilt as Ashford International during the early 1990s for international services from mainland Europe; this included the addition of two platforms to the north of station (the original down island platform had been taken over by international services).
The majority of the overbridge and platform buildings from the early 1960s rebuild were destroyed during the rebuild of the early 1990s. A small section of the 1960s overbridge does remain however, as an emergency exit between the up island platform (platforms 1 and 2) and the up side car park.
Ticket vending facilities
There are ticket office windows in the domestic booking hall, as well as ticket vending machines. There is a domestic ticket office window in the Eurostar station, staffed during morning peak only. The international ticket counter in the Eurostar station is only manned for part of the day.
International services
International services started on 8 January 1996. Before the completion of High Speed 1 in November 2007, twelve Eurostar trains a day called, heading to Paris (7 trains) or Brussels (5). However this number was reduced because of the opening of Ebbsfleet International station to 3 trains to Paris and a daily service to Disneyland Paris. A direct train for Brussels was reinstated in 2009. From May 2015 a new all-year service to Marseille runs up to five times a week. Seasonal Ski trains also run in the winter months to Bourg-Saint-Maurice in the French Alps. It is not permitted to use Eurostar services for domestic journeys to and from London; however, a high-speed domestic service operated by Southeastern to London St Pancras began on 29 June 2009.
Services
As of 16 September 2015, the typical off-peak timetable is: