Sheerness Line

Sheerness Line
Overview
Type	Suburban rail, Heavy rail
System	National Rail
Status	Operational
Locale	Kent South East England
Termini	Sheerness Sittingbourne
Operation
Owner	Network Rail
Operator(s)	Southeastern
Rolling stock	Class 466 Class 465 (Occasional) Class 375 (Occasional)
Technical
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8 ^1⁄2 in) standard gauge
Operating speed	75 mph (121 km/h)

Sheerness Line
Legend
Sheerness Dockyard Sheerness Docks Sheerness Steel Works Sheerness-on-Sea Queenborough Pier Sheppey Light Railway Queenborough Rushenden Pier Kings Ferry Bridge North Halt Kingsferry Bridge over The Swale Swale Ridham Dock Kemsley Sittingbourne Chatham Main Line

The Sheerness Line, shown with other railway lines in Kent

Sheerness-on-Sea railway station

The Kingsferry Bridge

The Sheerness Line connects Sheerness on the Isle of Sheppey in Kent with Sittingbourne on the mainland, and with the Chatham Main Line for trains towards London Victoria, St Pancras International, Ramsgate or Dover Priory. It opened on 19 July 1860.

History

Electrification

The line was electrified by British Railways on 15 June 1959 as part of the "Kent Coast electrification" in the 1955 Modernisation Plan. In conjunction with electrification double track was introduced between the junction with the main line and near Swale Halt. In 1960 the bridge over the Swale estuary was rebuilt when a slight deviation of the line was built requiring a new platform at Swale Halt on a different alignment.

Accidents and incidents

• On 17 December 1922, the Norwegian cargo ship Gyp collided with the Kingsferry Bridge, rendering it unfit to carry rail traffic.^[1] The bridge was eventually repaired, and through rail services were restored on 1 November 1923.^[2]
• On 26 February 1971, a train formed of five 2HAP electric multiple units overran the buffers and demolished the station building at Sheerness-on-Sea. One person was killed and ten were injured.^[3]

Train services

The connection to Sittingbourne faces away from London (Coast Bound), and most trains on the line run as shuttles between the station and Sheerness - there are, however, a few through trains which run directly between Newington station and Kemsley via a connecting loop.

Swale station was earmarked for closure, with the Strategic Rail Authority proposing either a Parliamentary train or complete closure. This plan was eventually rejected, and the station retains a regular service.

Train services on the line are operated by Southeastern. There is only a Standard Class Service on this line. The typical trains that run on the line are 2-car Class 466 Networker EMUs which replaced the old 3-car Class 508 EMUs introduced as a stop gap to replace the Mk1 Slam Door EMUs. In the case of bad winter weather or operational problems the Class 466 units can sometimes be doubled up, or a Class 465 is used instead. Over the summer holidays or during engineering works between Sittingbourne and Rainham at the weekend, Southeastern have been known to increase the capacity of one or both units by replacing them with a Class 465 Networker or a Class 375 Electrostar.

Off-peak service:

2tph |Sheerness on sea.

2tph Sittingbourne.

From the January 2015 timetable change, from Monday to Friday, Southeastern operate two direct services from Sheerness-On-Sea to London Victoria in the morning peak, formed of 6 or 8 car trains. There are also two return services from London Victoria to Sheerness On Sea in the evening peak, formed of 4 or 6 car trains. These services do not stop at Sittingbourne, but use the third side of a triangle junction (Western Junction) that links the Sheerness Line to the Chatham Mainline. These are normally operated by British Rail Class 465 and 466 Networker trains in multiple. Although trains normally use Platform 1, due to the shorter length of Platform 2, some Sittingbourne bound 2-car services use Platform 2 as some of the Victoria Services can only fit into Platform 1.

150th anniversary

During July 2010 there were events celebrating 150 years of trains to Sheppey, with a plaque on display at Queenborough Station.

Sheppey Light Railway

There was a branch line from Queenborough to Leysdown, opened in 1901 and closed 1950 - see the Sheppey Light Railway.

References

1. "King's Ferry Bridge seriously damaged" The Times (London). Monday, 18 December 1922. (43217), col A, p. 9.
2. Kidner, R. W. (1985). Southern Railway Halts. Survey and Gazetteer. Headington, Oxford: The Oakwood Press. p. 56. ISBN 0-85361-321-4.
3. Moody, G. T. (1979) [1957]. Southern Electric 1909-1979 (Fifth ed.). Shepperton: Ian Allan Ltd. p. 212. ISBN 0 7110 0924 4.