Swanley railway station

Swanley railway station is on the Chatham Main Line in England, serving the town of Swanley, Kent. It is 17 miles 31 chains (28.0 km) down the line from London Victoria and is situated between St Mary Cray and Farningham Road on the main line. The Maidstone Line branches from the main line east of Swanley and the next station on that route is Eynsford.

Swanley
Swanley Location of Swanley in Kent
Location	Swanley
Local authority	District of Sevenoaks
Grid reference	TQ509682
Managed by	Southeastern
Station code(s)	SAY
DfT category	C2
Number of platforms	4
Fare zone	8
National Rail annual entry and exit
2019–20	1.559 million[1]
– interchange	0.117 million[1]
2020–21	0.399 million[1]
– interchange	21,609[1]
2021–22	0.922 million[1]
– interchange	59,018[1]
2022–23	1.120 million[1]
– interchange	0.263 million[1]
2023–24	1.345 million[1]
– interchange	0.172 million[1]
Key dates
1 July 1862	Opened as Sevenoaks Junction
1 January 1871	Renamed Swanley Junction
16 April 1939	Resited and renamed Swanley
Other information
External links	Departures Facilities
Coordinates	51.3934°N 0.1690°E / 51.3934; 0.1690
London transport portal

The station and most trains that call are operated by Southeastern. The station has four platforms.

Since March 2016, Oyster cards have been accepted at Swanley, with the station being placed into London's fare zone 8.^[2]

History

The original location of the station was at grid reference TQ513684 at the junction with separate platforms for the main line and the Sevenoaks branch. It was first named Sevenoaks Junction and 1871 was changed to Swanley Junction. On 27 June 1937, there was a collision between two trains near the station, resulting in the deaths of four people and with 37 injured.^[3] In 1939 a new station called Swanley was constructed approximately 440 yards (400 m) further west and the original station was closed.

In May 2021, a new ticket office and station building was opened.^[4]

Location

The station is located at Station Approach, half a mile from Swanley Town Centre.

Facilities

The station has a staffed ticket office. The station has a self-service ticket machine and is also fitted with Oyster card readers. The station has passenger help points on its platforms and covered seating is available on all 4 platforms which are all fitted with passenger information screens. There are toilets located on platforms 1 and 2 as well as a passenger shop and buffet. The station has a chargeable car park (106 spaces) and a cycle rack at the station entrance. Step free access is available to all platforms from the Station Approach entrance.^[5]

Services

Services at Swanley are operated by Southeastern and Thameslink using Class 375, 377, 465, 466 and 700 EMUs.

The typical off-peak service in trains per hour is:^[6]

• 1 tph to London Charing Cross (non-stop to London Bridge)
• 2 tph to London Victoria (semi-fast)
• 2 tph to London Blackfriars via Catford
• 1 tph to Gillingham
• 2 tph to Sevenoaks
• 1 tph to Maidstone East (semi-fast)
• 1 tph to Ashford International (stopping)

Additional services call at the station during the peak hours. In addition, the service to London Blackfriars is extended to and from Welwyn Garden City via Finsbury Park.

On Sundays, the services between London Charing Cross and Maidstone East do not run.

Preceding station	National Rail			Following station
London Bridge		Southeastern South Eastern Main Line (via Chislehurst Junction)		Otford
St Mary Cray		Southeastern Kent Downs line
		Southeastern Chatham Main Line		Farningham Road
		Thameslink Darent Valley Line		Eynsford
	Historical railways
St Mary Cray Line and station open		Southern Railway Maidstone Line		Lullingstone Line open, station closed

Connections

Go-Coach route 429 and Arriva Kent Thameside route 477 serve the station.^[7][8]