Medway Valley Line

The Medway Valley line is a railway line in Kent linking Strood and the Medway Towns with Maidstone West and on to Paddock Wood, Tonbridge and London St Pancras International (peak only). The section from Maidstone West to Tonbridge passes through some of Kent's most picturesque countryside along the narrower sections of the River Medway.

Medway Valley line
The line being crossed by the Maidstone East line near Maidstone Barracks. There is no direct rail connection between them. Foot interchange exists between the two lines.
Overview
Status	Operational
Owner	Network Rail
Locale	Kent South East England
Termini	Strood Paddock Wood
Stations	13
Service
Type	Suburban rail, Heavy rail
System	National Rail
Route number	01
Operator(s)	SE Trains
Rolling stock	Class 375 "Electrostar" Class 395 "Javelin"
History
Opened	1856
Technical
Line length	21 miles 19 chains (34.18 km)
Number of tracks	2
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in) standard gauge
Electrification	Third rail, 750 V DC
Operating speed	70 mph (110 km/h)
Route map (Click to expand)

Medway Valley Line
North Kent Line to London Bridge and other London Termini Strood Docks Strood( original station later goods depot ) Strood line joins North Kent Line at North Kent Junction Rochester Bridge Junction to Chatham Main Line former alignment to Rochester Chatham Main Line to Swanley and London Victoria High Speed 1 Cuxton Cement works Halling   Cement works to quarry Cement works Cement works 2-foot line to River Medway Snodland New Hythe Aylesford newsprint Aylesford M20 motorway Lafarge Aggregates sidings Maidstone Line via Maidstone East Maidstone Barracks London Road Tunnel ( 55 yd 50 m ) Maidstone West Lockmeadow Tovil Goods Yard Tovil East Farleigh Teston Crossing Halt Wateringbury Yalding Gravel pit River Medway Beltring Transfesa Depot South Eastern Main Line Hawkhurst Branch closed 10 June 1961 Paddock Wood South Eastern Main Line

Stations

The line serves the following stations: Strood, Cuxton, Halling, Snodland, New Hythe, Aylesford, Maidstone Barracks, Maidstone West, East Farleigh, Wateringbury, Yalding, Beltring, Paddock Wood and Tonbridge

Trains

The main trains used on the line is Class 375 Electrostars. Before the May 2012 Timetable changes Class 465 and Class 466 Networkers were used, Class 395s was introduced on the Medway Valley line, operating a high speed service between Maidstone West and St. Pancras International via Strood.

Class	Image	Type	Cars per set	Top speed		Number	Operator	Notes	Built
				mph	km/h
Class 395 Javelin		EMU	6	140 (HS1) 100 (Mainline)	225 (HS1) 160 (Mainline)	29	Southeastern	Peak time high speed services between Maidstone West and St.Pancras International	2007–2009
Class 375			3 or 4	100	160	140		All services usually operated by 375/3s but 375/6/7/8/9s may occasionally appear.	1999–2005

Further reading

• R.V.J.Butt (1995). The Directory of Railway Stations. Patrick Stephens Ltd. ISBN 1-85260-508-1.
• John Glover (2001). Southern Electric. Ian Allan Ltd. ISBN 0-7110-2807-9.

Other websites

• Media related to Medway Valley Line at Wikimedia Commons
• http://www.kentrail.org.uk/medway_valley_line.htm – Map of the Medway Valley line (Strood to Paddock Wood)
• https://web.archive.org/web/20081112101428/http://www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/oswebsite/ – Ordnance Survey website