Darent Valley line

The Darent Valley line is a railway line between Swanley and Sevenoaks in Kent, England. It adopted its current name in 2020, by the Kent Rail Partnership.^[3]

Darent Valley line
The line crossing the River Darent at Eynsford Viaduct
Overview
Status	Operational
Owner	Network Rail
Locale	Kent South East England
Termini	Swanley Sevenoaks
Service
Type	Suburban rail, Heavy rail
System	National Rail
Operator(s)	Southeastern Thameslink
Rolling stock	Class 375 "Electrostar" Class 377 "Electrostar" Class 465 "Networker" Class 466 "Networker" Class 700 "Desiro City"
Technical
Line length	9 mi 24 ch (15.0 km) [1][2]
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) standard gauge
Electrification	750 V DC third rail

v t e Maidstone line
Legend
Chatham Main Line to London Victoria Swanley Swanley Junction Chatham Main Line to Faversham A20 M25 18 mi 60 ch 30.18 km Eynsford Tunnel ( 828 yd 757 m ) Lullingstone (never opened) 19 mi 39 ch 31.36 km Lullingstone Airfield (never built) Eynsford Viaduct over River Darent Eynsford 20 mi 32 ch 32.83 km Shoreham 22 mi 52 ch 36.45 km Otford 24 mi 06 ch 38.74 km M26 24 mi 53 ch 39.69 km South Eastern Main Line to London Charing Cross Otford (1874–1880) Bat & Ball Sevenoaks South Eastern Main Line to Tonbridge Kemsing 26 mi 79 ch 43.43 km Borough Green & Wrotham 29 mi 52 ch 47.72 km Offham Siding West Malling 34 mi 61 ch 55.94 km East Malling 35 mi 64 ch 57.61 km Barming 37 mi 43 ch 60.41 km former Preston Hall Tunnels ( 33 yd 30 m & 54 yd 49 m ) Medway Valley Line River Medway Maidstone East 39 mi 76 ch 64.29 km Week Street Tunnel ( 98 yd 90 m ) Wheeler Street Tunnel ( 358 yd 327 m ) Bearsted 42 mi 59 ch 68.78 km M20 High Speed 1 Hollingbourne 45 mi 02 ch 72.46 km Harrietsham 47 mi 36 ch 76.36 km Lenham 49 mi 11 ch 79.08 km Charing 53 mi 11 ch 85.52 km M20 Hothfield Halt 55 mi 61 ch 89.74 km Ashford West High Speed 1 South Eastern Main Line Ashford International 59 mi 19 ch 95.33 km Marshlink line Ashford to Ramsgate line Ashford Steam Centre High Speed 1 South Eastern Main Line
Mileage from London Victoria

It covers part of what was known as the Maidstone line which continued beyond Otford to Ashford International via Maidstone East.^[4][5] The line diverges from the Chatham Main Line at Swanley Junction and continues to Otford Junction, where it diverges from the Kent Downs line and meets the South Eastern Main Line at Sevenoaks.^[6][7][8]

History

The line was built by the London, Chatham and Dover Railway from their first line, the Chatham Main Line and was opened on 2 June 1862.^[9] The current stations at Eynsford and Otford opened later in July 1862 and August 1882 respectively. An additional station at Lullingstone was proposed to open in 1939 but work on the station was suspended following the outbreak of World War II and the station was never brought into use.^[10]

The line was electrified in 1935 (750 V DC third rail) by the Southern Railway prior to World War II.

In 2020, the line was adopted by the Kent Rail Partnership and was renamed the Darent Valley line. The section from Otford from Ashford International was renamed to the Kent Downs line at the same time.^[3]

Infrastructure

Traction current is supplied at 750 volts DC via the Third Rail. The supply for this is overseen by Paddock Wood Electrical Control Room.^[7] Signalling is Track Circuit Block with multiple aspect colour light signals throughout, controlled by Ashford IECC.^[7] The line is double track throughout.

Services

Services on the line are primarily operated by Thameslink. In the off-peak, there are two trains per hour between London Blackfriars and Sevenoaks via Catford which call at all stations. During the peak hours, services are extended beyond London Blackfriars to and from Welwyn Garden City via Finsbury Park. These services are operated using Class 700 EMUs.^[11]

Southeastern utilises the route for their semi-fast services between London Victoria, London Charing Cross, Maidstone East and Ashford International. These services run non-stop between Swanley and Otford before diverging down the Kent Downs line.^[12]