Charing
Main building, platform 2 and road bridge in 2012
General information
Location	Charing, Ashford England
Grid reference	TQ950491
Managed by	Southeastern
Platforms	2
Other information
Station code	CHG
Classification	DfT category E
Key dates
1 July 1884	Opened
9 October 1961	Electrified
14 April 1984	Signal box closed
Passengers
2018/19	86,140
2019/20	89,554
2020/21	26,234
2021/22	60,508
2022/23	75,588
Notes
Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road

Charing railway station serves the village of Charing in Kent, England. It is 53 miles 11 chains (85.5 km) down the line from London Victoria. The station, and all trains serving it, is operated by Southeastern.

The ticket office is staffed only during part of the day; at other times a PERTIS 'permit to travel' machine, located outside the station building on the 'down' side, suffices.

The next station eastwards (towards Ashford) used to be Hothfield; however, it was closed in 1959, although it remained a 'request' stop for railway staff throughout the 1960s.^[1]

History

The station was opened on 1 July 1884,^[2] as part of the London, Chatham and Dover Railway (LCDR) extension to Ashford West of the 1874 line to Maidstone, which itself was a branch off the LCDR's Sevenoaks branch of 1862, which joined the LCDR mainline of 1840 at Swanley.^[3] In the wake of 1955 British Rail Modernisation plan, the "Kent Coast Electrification" scheme saw the suburban electrification of the previous Southern Railway extended from Maidstone East through to Ashford.^[1] The goods yard comprised five sidings on the down side and one on the up side. It was taken over for military use during World War II. Electrification also saw the addition of a footbridge, but by 16 May 1964 freight operations ceased. Charing's signal box closed on 14 April 1984, when the upgraded Maidstone East Panel took control of the whole line.^[4]

Services

All services at Charing are operated by Southeastern using Class 375 and 377 EMUs.

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

• 1 tph to London Victoria via Maidstone East
• 1 tph to Ashford International

During the peak hours, the station is served by an additional hourly service between London Victoria and Ashford International, increasing the service to 2 tph in each direction.

Preceding station	National Rail			Following station
Lenham		Southeastern Maidstone East Line		Ashford International
	Disused railways
Lenham		British Rail Southern Region Maidstone East Line		Hothfield