Park Farm railway station, also known as Kingsnorth railway station was a proposal for a railway station in Kent on the Marshlink line between Ashford International and Ham Street stations. The station would serve the Park Farm and Cheeseman's Green development areas. [1] In December 2018 it was announced that the station would not be built.
The station's site has been reserved, and sits between the A2070, a main road shadowing the Marshlink line, and Bridgefield Park. [2] An access road was built off Finn Farm Rd south of Bridgefield Park.
The station has been proposed by Ashford Borough Council. It would be funded by estate developers, who could use the station site for local shops and retail units. The council did not plan to build the station until the Marshlink line was electrified between Ashford International and Ore, which was investigated as part of a multi modal study with the Highways Agency. [1]
The scheme was first announced in 2001. At a Joint Transportation Board meeting on 8 March 2016, the council announced there would be insufficient capital for the station to be built, and funding would need to be obtained from elsewhere. [3] The following year, engineering firm Peter Brett announced the station would probably cost between £6 and £10 million to build. The council still hoped that the project could go ahead. [4] [5]
In December 2018, it was announced that the station would not be built, as it would attract too many visitors using it as a "park and ride" facility to Ashford and disrupt existing services on the Marshlink line, which have already been criticised for being slow. [2] [6]
Two platforms are proposed, each catering for a 4-car train until with up to 300 seats. There would be a dedicated route for pedestrians to cross between platforms, probably via an accommodation bridge constructed as part of the Park Farm South development. Around 50 to 70 parking spaces would be provided, with additional drop-off points. [1]
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Appledore railway station is a Grade II listed station east of Appledore in Kent, England. It is on the Marshlink line, and train services are provided by Southern.
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The South Eastern main line is a major long-distance railway route in South East England, UK, one of the two main routes crossing the county of Kent, going via Sevenoaks, Tonbridge, Ashford and Folkestone to Dover. The other route is the Chatham main line which runs along the north Kent coast to Ramsgate and Dover via Chatham.
Kingsnorth is a mixed rural and urban village and relatively large civil parish adjoining Ashford in Kent, England. The civil parish includes the district of Park Farm.
Park Farm is a suburb of Ashford, adjacent to the Village of Kingsnorth in Kent, South East England, created as an area of new houses, started in the 1990s which mainly consists of brick built detached or semi-detached homes. At the 2011 Census the population of the suburb is included in the civil parish of Kingsnorth