Trains at Ashford International, HS1 | 22/04/18

A busy and warm visit Ashford International situated on High Speed One after spending around 2 hours on Sunday 22nd April 2018. A varity of action is included in this video such as planes, buses and loads of different classed trains!

Ashford International info:

Ashford International railway station (IATA: QDH) is a National Rail international and regional station on the High Speed 1, South Eastern Main Line and Marshlink Line in England, United Kingdom, serving the town of Ashford, Kent. It is 56 miles 9 chains (90.3 km) down-line from London Charing Cross and is between Pluckley and Westenhanger stations on the main line. Domestic trains that call at Ashford are operated by Southeastern and Southern, and international services by Eurostar.

Eurostar trains use platforms 3 and 4, while domestic trains use the original platforms 1 and 2, and a new island platform (numbered 5 and 6) built by British Rail when the Channel Tunnel opened. While all tracks are electrified with 750 V DC third rail, platforms 3 to 6 are also electrified with 25 kV 50 Hz AC overhead lines.

The domestic terminal to the north of the tracks and the international terminal to the south are connected by a subway which has access to the platforms; access to the international trains on platforms 3 and 4 is only possible through an overbridge from the international terminal. The local bus stops are at the entrance to the domestic terminal.

History:

The present station was built by the South Eastern Railway (SER) and planned during the initial Railway Mania as a stop between Croydon and Dover. A special train from London Bridge ran on 28 November 1842, and the station formally opened on 1 December, along with the rest of the line from Redhill. The original station consisted of two platforms with two through lines, along with wooden buildings. The line ended at Ashford until the extension to Folkestone opened on 28 June 1843.

The station became part of the Southern Railway during the grouping of 1923. The station then passed on to the Southern Region of British Railways on nationalisation in 1948.

Another station (Ashford West) was opened by the London, Chatham and Dover Railway on 1 July 1884 for services via Maidstone East to London. This only lasted 15 years until 1 January 1899 when passenger services were diverted to the former South Eastern Railway station. Remarkably the complete station (buildings and platforms) survived for handling freight and engineering trains until it was closed and demolished around 1999 for construction of the Channel Tunnel Rail Link.

When sectorisation was introduced in the 1980s by British Rail, the present station was served by Network SouthEast until the privatisation of British Rail.

Ashford station has been rebuilt on two occasions in recent history. The station layout up until the early 1960s consisted of two through tracks, two through platform loops and two bay platforms accessible from the east for terminating services.

For phase two of the Kent electrification scheme in 1962, the two bay platforms were converted into through platforms whilst the main station buildings on either side of the line were replaced by an overbridge including a booking hall, newsagent and catering facilities.

Although most of the original station was swept away during the early 1960s rebuild, two substantial platform canopies dating from the South Eastern & Chatham Railway (SECR) era were retained, albeit without their original wooden valence until the later rebuild of the 1990s. The supporting columns of these canopies were stamped with the date 1908.

Ticket vending facilities:

There are ticket office windows in the domestic booking hall, as well as ticket vending machines. There is a domestic ticket office window in the Eurostar station, staffed during morning peak only. The international ticket counter in the Eurostar station is only manned for part of the day.

Services:

As of 16 September 2015, the typical off-peak timetable is:

Southeastern:

2 tph (trains per hour) to London St Pancras direct via Ebbsfleet International and Stratford International
2 tph to London Charing Cross, via Sevenoaks
2 tph to London Victoria via Maidstone East
2 tph to Dover Priory of which one continues to London St Pancras via Ramsgate and Faversham
3 tph to Canterbury West, of which two continue to Ramsgate and one of those continues to Margate
Southern:

1 tph to Brighton via the Marshlink Line

Eurostar:

4 to 6 tpd (trains per day) to London St Pancras (set down only)
3 tpd to Paris Nord (pick up only)
1 tpd to Brussels Midi (pick up only)
Up to 7 tpw (trains per week) to Marne-la-Vallée - Chessy (Disneyland Paris) (pick up only)
Up to 5 tpw to Marseille – Saint-Charles via Lyon and Avignon (pick up only)
up to 2 tpw to Bourg-Saint-Maurice in the French Alps - seasonal service from December to April (pick up only).

Видео Trains at Ashford International, HS1 | 22/04/18 канала Richard Chalklin