Bexleyheath Line

Bexleyheath Line

Stations (Stations from Charing Cross, Cannon Street and Victoria) Lewisham (for North Kent Line, Hayes Line and Dartford Loop) Blackheath Kidbrooke Eltham Falconwood Welling Bexleyheath Barnehurst Dartford (for North Kent Line and Dartford Loop)

The Bexleyheath Line is last of the three rail routes created between the outskirts of London and Dartford in Kent.

History

The Bexleyheath Line leaves the North Kent Line immediately on the Down side of Blackheath railway station and travels due east for 8 miles (13 km) to a junction with the same line south of Slade Green. There was a line to the south (the Dartford Loop Line) but, in spite of public pressure in the 1880s, the South Eastern Railway (SER) refused to build a line to serve the area between the two lines.

It was therefore another company – the Bexley Heath Railway (BHR), led by railway engineer Alfred Bean (owner of Danson House) – who put forward a scheme for this line, securing the necessary Act of Parliament in 1883. But it took a further twelve years for the scheme to be realised, and it was not until 1 May 1895 that the Bexleyheath Line was finally opened. The BHR soon went into bankruptcy, and the SER were forced to take over the line.

Stations

There were originally six stations on the line; one was added subsequently with the growth of the suburban area served by the line.

The stations, starting at the North Kent line, and with notable features listed underneath, are:

• Blackheath

— junction with the North Kent Line east of Blackheath

— near Kidbrooke Tunnel (c. 400 yd / 360 m)

• Kidbrooke
• Eltham, which was built to replace both:
  • Well Hall (subsequently renamed Eltham Well Hall before later closure)
  • Shooters Hill & Eltham Park (subsequently renamed Eltham Park before later closure)
• Falconwood

— opened in 1936

• Welling
• Bexleyheath
• Barnehurst

— triangular junction with the North Kent Line linking trains with Slade Green carriage sidings and Dartford

• Dartford

Electrification

The line was electrified with the other SECR local routes to Dartford on 6 June 1926 by Southern Railway.

Present services

Most trains using the line call at all stations (apart from weekday busy periods) and terminate at Dartford.

See also

• Eltham Well Hall rail crash

External links

• Report on the Derailment that occurred on 11th June 1972 at Eltham (Well Hall) Station

Railway lines in South-East England:
Main lines:		Arun Valley Line   Ashford via Maidstone East Line   Ashford-Ramsgate via Canterbury Line   Brighton Main Line   Chatham Main Line   East Coastway   Hastings Line   Channel Tunnel Rail Link   Kent Coast Line   London–Ashford–Dover Line   North Downs Line   Portsmouth Direct Line   South Western Main Line   Thameslink   West Coastway   West of England Main Line
Commuter lines:		Alton Line   Ascot-Guildford Line   Bexleyheath Line   Caterham Line   Catford Loop   Chessington Branch   Dartford Loop   Eastleigh-Fareham Line   Eastleigh-Romsey Line   Greenwich Line   Hayes Line   Hounslow Loop   Mid-Kent Line   New Guildford Line   North Kent Line   Oxted Line   Sheerness Line   Slough-Windsor & Eton Line   South London Line   Staines-Windsor & Eton Line   Staines to Weybridge Line   Sutton Mole Valley Line   Tattenham Corner Line   Waterloo-Reading Line   West London Line
Rural lines:		Brockenhurst-Lymington Line   Henley Branch Line   Island Line   Marlow Branch Line   Marshlink Line   Medway Valley Line   Redhill-Tonbridge Line