Frant railway station lies on the Hastings Line

Hastings Line

The Hastings Line is a railway line in Kent and East Sussex linking Hastings with the main town of Tunbridge Wells, and from there into London via Sevenoaks.-Openings:The line was opened by the South Eastern Railway in main three stages: – :...

 in East Sussex

East Sussex

East Sussex is a county in South East England. It is bordered by the counties of Kent, Surrey and West Sussex, and to the south by the English Channel.-History:...

, England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

, 59 km (36.7 mi) from London Charing Cross

Charing Cross railway station

Charing Cross railway station, also known as London Charing Cross, is a central London railway terminus in the City of Westminster, England. It is one of 18 stations managed by Network Rail, and trains serving it are operated by Southeastern...

. Although situated within the civil parish

Civil parish

In England, a civil parish is a territorial designation and, where they are found, the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties...

 of Frant

Frant

-Demography:The population of Frant rose steadily from just under 1,100 in 1801 to a peak in 1891 of around 3,500. The records show a marked drop to 1,692 in 1901, but this is due to the transfer of the Broadwater Down parish to Tunbridge Wells that took place in 1894...

, the station is actually located some 2 km (1.2 mi) from the village of that name, in the hamlet of Bells Yew Green.

It is also the nearest station to the Kent

Kent

Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...

ish village of Lamberhurst

Lamberhurst

Lamberhurst is a village and civil parish in Kent although the latter parish was at first in both Kent and East Sussex. The line of the county border was adjusted following the Local Government Act 1894, which required that parish boundaries be aligned with counties...

, 7 km (4.3 mi) away: an infrequent bus service (four to five journeys each way on Mondays to Saturdays) links the village of Frant with Lamberhurst by way of Frant railway station.

History

The station was opened by the South Eastern Railway

South Eastern Railway (UK)

The South Eastern Railway was a railway company in south-eastern England from 1836 until 1922. The company was formed to construct a route from London to Dover. Branch lines were later opened to Tunbridge Wells, Hastings, Canterbury and other places in Kent...

 (SER) at the same time as the route, in 1851, and the original station building, which is situated on the Down (eastern) side of the line, remains in use. Designed by the company's architect, Wiliam Tress, and built of local ragstone in a Gothic lodge style, with a canopy added in 1905, it has been a Grade II listed building since 1982. The platforms are staggered: a common arrangement at early SER stations which allowed passengers to cross the line in relative safety behind two trains stopped at the station, although today the platforms are connected by a footbridge. From the 1960s until 1986, the station was served only at peak times on week days. However, since 1986, when the line was electrified, it has been served seven days a week.

Services

Train services are provided by Southeastern

Southeastern (train operating company)

London & South Eastern Railway Limited, trading as Southeastern is a train operating company in south-east England. On 1 April 2006 it became the franchisee for the new Integrated Kent Franchise , replacing the publicly owned South Eastern Trains on the former South East Franchise...

. The typical off-peak service is one train per hour to London Charing Cross via Tunbridge Wells

Tunbridge Wells railway station

Tunbridge Wells railway station serves Royal Tunbridge Wells in Kent, England. The station and all trains serving it are currently operated by Southeastern. It is located directly on the double-tracked electrified Hastings Line....

, and one train per hour to Hastings

Hastings railway station

Hastings railway station is in Hastings in East Sussex, England. It is situated on the Hastings Line to Tunbridge Wells, the East Coastway Line to Brighton and the Marshlink Line to Ashford International....

.

External links