Birchington-on-Sea railway station

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Birchington-on-Sea
General information
Location	Birchington-on-Sea, District of Thanet England
Coordinates	51°22′37″N 1°18′04″E / 51.377°N 1.301°E / 51.377; 1.301
Grid reference	TR298694
Managed by	Southeastern
Platforms	2
Other information
Station code	BCH
Classification	DfT category E
History
Original company	Kent Coast Railway
Pre-grouping	South Eastern & Chatham Railway
Post-grouping	Southern Railway
Key dates
5 October 1863 (1863-10-05)	Opened as Birchington
October 1878	Renamed Birchington-on-Sea
Passengers
2018/19	0.411 million
2019/20	0.406 million
2020/21	0.122 million
2021/22	0.283 million
2022/23	0.308 million
Notes Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road

Birchington-on-Sea railway station is on the Chatham Main Line in England, serving the village of Birchington-on-Sea, Kent. It is 70 miles 56 chains (113.8 km) down the line from London Victoria and is situated between Herne Bay and Westgate-on-Sea.

The station and all trains that serve the station are operated by Southeastern.

The station is located at one end of the high street and a short distance from the village square. Buses operate from the station to Minnis Bay and Margate on weekdays during peak hours; at other times buses can be caught from the village square.

The station was opened on 5 October 1863 by the Kent Coast Railway (KCR).^[1] The KCR was operated by the London, Chatham & Dover Railway (LCDR), which absorbed the KCR on 1 July 1871,^[2] and the station was renamed Birchington-on-Sea by the LCDR in October 1878.^[1] From the start of 1899, the LCDR's services were operated by the newly formed South Eastern & Chatham Railway, which the LCDR co-owned with the South Eastern Railway (SER). At the start of 1923, the LCDR amalgamated with other railways (including the SER) to form the Southern Railway. Two Pullman camping coaches were positioned here by the Southern Region from 1963 to 1967.^[3]

A small goods yard was situated on the Up London bound side of the station which closed in the 1970s and operated by the signalbox located midway on the down platform closed about the same time during a resignalling programme. The wire and rod cutout can still be seen within the brick face of the down platform. The 2007 Budget plan of Network Rail allows for the removal of the remaining manual turnround and it is believed short residual siding occasionally used for storing tamping track maintenance units, 'tampers'.

A junction existed to the west of the station to serve RAF Manston^[4] until the 1930s operated from a Ground Frame Birchington B located some 440 yards (400 m) upside of the station - a plan of which can be seen in the RAF Manston Museum.

All services at Birchington-on-Sea are operated by Southeastern using Class 375 and 395 EMUs.

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

• 1 tph to London St Pancras International
• 1 tph to London Victoria
• 2 tph to Ramsgate

Additional services including trains to and from London Bridge and London Cannon Street call at the station in the peak hours.

Preceding station	National Rail			Following station
Herne Bay		Southeastern Chatham Main Line - Ramsgate Branch		Westgate-on-Sea
		Southeastern High Speed 1		Margate

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Birchington-on-Sea railway station.

• Train times and station information for Birchington-on-Sea railway station from National Rail