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Tonbridge railway station is a station serving the town of Tonbridge in Kent, England. It is a junction between two important commuter routes; the South Eastern Main Line serving Ashford, Ramsgate and Dover and the Hastings Main Line serving Tunbridge Wells and Hastings, as well as a branch to Redhill. The station is operated by Southeastern, and is serviced by trains operated by Southeastern and Southern. There are four platforms; however, platform 4 is only used occasionally in peak times. == History == The South Eastern Railway (SER) first reached Tonbridge (then known as ''Tunbridge'') in May 1842. The site of the original station was on the east side of the road bridge over the railway, opposite its current location to the west of the bridge. The building of the station obliterated the last remains of Tonbridge Priory.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=The Priory )〕 At the time, the line ran to London Bridge via Croydon and Redhill using the Brighton Main Line. It served as a temporary terminus until December 1842, when the line reached Ashford. A couple of years later the through line to Dover opened. A small engine shed was built; the date of opening is uncertain but it is presumed to date from the opening of the line. On 20 September 1845, a branch to opened and the station was renamed ''Tunbridge Junction''. Over the next five years the branch was extended to Hastings. Access to the line to Hastings was via an indirect link which required a reverse. This arrangement lasted until 1857 when a steeply climbing direct route was opened. However, being forced to share tracks with its rival, the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway, as well as competition from the London, Chatham and Dover Railway meant that the SER decided to build a new route from London Bridge, which ran via and . The cut-off joined the main line at Tonbridge. This prompted a rebuild of the station, and in 1864 it was rebuilt on its current site with four platforms. The original station was demolished in 1865〔http://www.tonbridgehistory.org.uk/history/timeline.htm〕 after closure but the entrance gateways are still in situ. The down side entrance is in Vale Road opposite Sainsbury's, and the up side entrance is in Priory Road forming the entrance to the car park. The cut-off opened in 1868. Soon after, a larger engine shed was built, but still on the opposite side of the bridge to the main part of the station.〔http://kentrail.org.uk/tonbridge%203.htm〕 In May 1893, the station changed its name to ''Tonbridge Junction'', following the change in the town's name to avoid confusion with the larger Tunbridge Wells. At this time, there were two through platforms, two through roads, and two bay platforms at the west end of the station. These bay platforms served the lines to Redhill and . The indirect line to Tunbridge Wells remained in use until ''c.'' 1913, after which it was closed and the track dismantled. By November 1919, the up platform station roof bore the name ''TONBRIDGE'' in white letters. This feature was a navigational aid for airliners of the time. Under the Southern Railway, the station was renamed ''Tonbridge'' in July 1929. It was rebuilt in 1935, with the bay on the south side of the station converted to a through platform. This entailed the construction of a new section of bridge under the road outside the station. By May 1958, the brick station building fronting the main road had been rebuilt with a tiled facade. The Sevenoaks to Dover line via Tonbridge was electrified in 1961 when improved train frequencies and faster journey times were introduced.〔Southern Electric Group Feature Kent Coast Electrification Scheme - http://www.southernelectric.org.uk/features/historical-features/kentcoast.html〕 The line south to Tunbridge Wells and Hastings was electrified in 1986,〔Per this souvenir ticket from the first day of electric services 20px (click to view).〕 and finally the line to Redhill was electrified in 1993 as part of the Eurostar/Channel Tunnel route improvement works. Eurostar services ran through Tonbridge station until the first section of the High Speed line was built through Kent, to cut down journey times from London to the Channel Tunnel. The transfer happened on 28 September 2003. The station was refurbished in 2011-2012.} In 2015, the station gained a resident cat, Saffie. The 8-year-old animal needed a new home when her owners moved house. Staff at the station adopted her. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Tonbridge railway station」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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