Dover Priory railway station

Dover Priory
The station entrance
General information
Location	Dover, District of Dover England
Grid reference	TR313415
Managed by	Southeastern
Platforms	3
Other information
Station code	DVP
Classification	DfT category D
History
Opened	22 July 1861
Passengers
2018/19	0.995 million
Interchange	84,637
2019/20	0.975 million
Interchange	91,217
2020/21	0.345 million
Interchange	21,650
2021/22	0.732 million
Interchange	50,356
2022/23	0.896 million
Interchange	70,905
Notes Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road

Railways in Dover
Chatham Main Line Ramsgate Branch and Kent Coast Line to London Victoria and other London Terminals Charlton Tunnel Dover Priory Dover Harbour Tunnel Dover Harbour 1861–1927 Mileage Change ↑ 77 mi 76 ch (Victoria) ↓ 76 mi 50 ch (Charing Cross) Hawkesbury Street Junction connection to train ferry Pier Junction Admiralty Pier 1860–1909 Dover Marine/Western Docks 1909–1994 Dover Town 1844–1914 Archcliffe Junction South Eastern Main Line to London Charing Cross and other London Terminals

Dover Priory railway station is the southern terminus of the South Eastern Main Line in England, and is the main station serving the town of Dover, Kent, the other open station being Kearsney, on the outskirts. It is 77 miles 26 chains (124.4 km) down the line from London Victoria. The station and all trains that serve the station are operated by Southeastern. This station is a 25 min walk away from the Ferry Port.

History

Dover Priory opened on 22 July 1861 as the temporary terminus of the London, Chatham & Dover Railway (LCDR). It became a through station on 1 November 1861, with the completion of a tunnel through the Western Heights to gain access to the Western Docks area, where LCDR created Dover Harbour station The station was known as Dover Town but was renamed in July 1863 (leading to rival SER to adopt the name for one of its Dover stations).

In 1868 stationmaster Edward Walsh(e) was murdered by 18-year-old Thomas Wells, a porter for the LCDR, after having rebuked him for poor work. Wells was convicted and hanged.

The Southern Railway consolidated passenger services at Priory in 1927 and modernised the station between 1930 and 1932 at a cost of £135,000 (equivalent to £11,840,000 in 2023). The new station re-opened on 8 May 1932.

The Chatham Main Line into Priory was electrified under British Railways in 1959 as part of Stage 1 of Kent Coast Electrification, under the BR 1955 Modernisation Plan. The line up to Ramsgate, via Deal, was subsequently electrified under stage two of Kent Coast electrification in January 1961. The line from Folkestone into Priory was electrified in June 1961.

The high-speed service to London St Pancras started in 2009, after the track in the tunnels to the south was realigned to allow for emergency evacuation from rolling stock without end doors.

Services to and from Folkestone Central were suspended on 24 December 2015 due to major damage to the track and sea wall near Dover harbour caused by strong winds and tidal surges. A replacement bus service was in operation between the two stations, along with a modified timetable whilst repair work was carried out. This was expected to continue throughout 2016, whilst a new £44.5 million viaduct was constructed to replace the present rail embankment and sea wall. The project was scheduled for completion in December 2016, but progressed faster than originally anticipated – the line reopened on 5 September 2016.

Services

A 1908 Railway Clearing House map of lines around Dover (right)

A high speed service to St Pancras

All services at Dover Priory are operated by Southeastern using Class 375 and 395 EMUs.

The typical off-peak service in trains per hour is:

• 1 tph to London Charing Cross via Tonbridge
• 1 tph to London Victoria via Chatham
• 1 tph to London St Pancras International
• 1 tph to Ramsgate

Additional services, including trains to and from London Cannon Street call at the station during the peak hours.

Preceding station	National Rail			Following station
Folkestone Central		Southeastern High Speed 1 Kent Coast Line		Martin Mill
		Southeastern South Eastern Main Line		Terminus
Kearsney		Southeastern Chatham Main Line - Dover Branch
	Disused railways
Kearsney Line and station open		British Rail Southern Region Chatham Main Line - Dover Branch		Dover Marine Line and station closed
		British Rail Southern Region Chatham Main Line - Dover Branch		Dover Harbour Line open, station closed

See also

• List of railway stations in Dover
• Port of Dover
• Port of Calais

External links

• Train times and station information for Dover Priory railway station from National Rail