Higham railway station (Kent)

51°25′36.12″N 0°27′58.71″E

Higham
General information
Location	Higham, Borough of Gravesham England
Grid reference	TQ715726
Managed by	Southeastern
Platforms	2
Other information
Station code	HGM
Classification	DfT category E
History
Original company	Gravesend and Rochester Railway[1] South Eastern Railway
Pre-grouping	South Eastern and Chatham Railway
Post-grouping	Southern Railway
Key dates
8 Feb 1845	Opened[1]
13 December 1846[2]	Closed (G & R)
23 Aug 1847	Reopened (SE)
Passengers
2019/20	0.173 million
Interchange	5
2020/21	48,460
Interchange	1
2021/22	95,064
Interchange	3
2022/23	0.108 million
2023/24	0.115 million
Location
Notes Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road

Higham railway station is in the hamlet of Lower Higham in north Kent. The village of Higham is about 1 mile (1.6 km) to the south.

It is 28 miles 42 chains (45.9 km) down the line from London Charing Cross. Train services have been operated by Thameslink since May 2018. Before that time, the services were operated by Southeastern and its predecessors, although the station is still managed by Southeastern.

The ticket office, on the 'up' side, is situated in the substantial station building. This is staffed only during part of the day; at other times a TVM passenger-operated ticket machine issues tickets - and is located at the entrance to the up platform, at the foot of the staircase.

From Higham to Strood, the railway passes through a tunnel built for the Thames and Medway Canal, and the station building was converted from the home of the canal towing contractor. The waiting room was heated by the original open fire until as recently as the 1980s.

History

One of the more unusual pieces of freight handled by the station was a Swiss chalet, in 94 separate pieces, packed into 58 boxes. It arrived over Christmas 1864 as a gift for Charles Dickens at nearby Gad's Hill.^[3]

According to the Official Handbook of Stations the following classes of traffic were being handled at this station in 1956: G, P, L, H, C and there was a 1-ton 2 cwt crane. ^[4]

Services

Off-peak, all services at Higham are operated by Thameslink using Class 700 EMUs.

The typical off-peak service in trains per hour is:^[5]

• 2 tph to Luton via Dartford and Greenwich
• 2 tph to Rainham

Additional services, including a small number of Southeastern operated trains to and from London Charing Cross via Sidcup call at the station during the peak hours.

Preceding station	National Rail			Following station
Gravesend		Thameslink North Kent Line		Strood
		Southeastern North Kent Line Peak Hours Only
	Historical railways
Denton Halt Line open, station closed		British Rail Southern Region North Kent Line		Strood Line and station open
Milton Range Halt Line open, station closed		British Rail Southern Region North Kent Line
	Disused railways
Gravesend Line and station open		South Eastern Railway North Kent Line		Strood (1st) Line and station closed