Rail Safety sessions with Leigh Academy at Paddock Wood station, Thursday 15th May We were delighted to join Daniel Rushbrook, station manager, to welcome three groups of Year 3 young learners from Leigh Academy to Paddock Wood station. Year 3 are learning about the key features of their community and how it has changed…
Celebrating Strood Station’s 169th Birthday On Wednesday 18th June we’re joining Southeastern to celebrate Strood station’s 169th birthday, 2:00-4:00pm. Pop along to find out more about Community Rail along our lines and some great Days Out By Rail for you to enjoy.
Celebrating Tonbridge Station’s 183rd Birthday On Thursday 22nd May, we’re joining Southeastern, Southeast Communities CRP and The Oaks Specialist College to celebrate Tonbridge station’s 183rd birthday, 10am-4pm. Pop along to find out more about Community Rail along our lines and some great Days Out By Rail for you to enjoy. Tonbridge station’s official birthday is on Monday…
Southeastern’s new lost property scheme sees 144% boost in reunited items A set of church keys, a trumpet, and even an insulin pen were among nearly 5,000 lost items successfully returned to their rightful owners, thanks to the success of Southeastern’s new Lost and Found scheme. With more than 138 million journeys made on…
New Station Adopters For Maidstone West We are delighted to announce that Maidstone CAN (Climate Action Network) have signed up to adopt Maidstone West station under Southeastern’s station adoption scheme and will be joining Community Rail Network as a station adoption group. This will build upon the legacy of Ian Paterson and his family, who…
Annual Stakeholder Event, 30th April 2025 We were delighted to welcome our stakeholders, partners, members and volunteers to our Annual Stakeholder Event, on Wednesday 30th April at Maidstone Town Hall. The event provides an opportunity to showcase our achievements to our stakeholders, and to celebrate the contributions of our volunteers. People Powered Movement and…
19th July 2025 Queenborough Station & Castle Connections We look forward to celebrating Queenborough Station’s 165th Birthday, and the 200th Anniversary of passenger rail travel, on the 19th July 2025, at Queenborough. We are planning a day filled with fantastic events, workshops and a community procession. More information will be updated on this page,…
28th September 2025 The Heritage Centre, Bluetown, Sheerness We’re excited to be organising this event to celebrate the 200th Anniversary of rail passenger travel. There will a selection of talks in the morning of Sunday 28th September 2025, at The Criterion Heritage Centre in Blue Town, Sheerness, with a bus tour visiting all the…
Snodland Allotment – May 2025 Update Last Thursday we met with Five Acre Wood (Snodland) and Network Rail for the official hand-over of keys to access the Snodland station allotment site. Network Rail have offered to undertake some further site clearance work and to look into other ways they can to help Five Acre…
Southeastern in Bloom 2025 Southeastern in Bloom is an annual gardening competition, giving Southeastern staff the chance to transform stations, depots, and offices into vibrant green spaces. It’s an opportunity to cultivate plants and flowers that not only enhance the visual appeal of Southeastern’s network but also support local biodiversity and create wildlife-friendly environments. Each…
Railway 200 Celebrations Station Birthday Celebrations Led Walks and Cycle Rides Other Events and Activites Kent Community Rail Partnership, Southeastern and our station adopters are planning to celebrate the birthdays of many of the larger stations along our lines. Event planning is still in progress to hold a celebration on or around the date…
When did East Malling station open? As we approach the 151st anniversary of the opening of the line between Otford and Maidstone East, we are trying to find the “Birthday” of East Malling station. All online sources agree it opened in 1913 but there’s no mention of a date. Please contact us and share your…
Annual Stakeholder Event Please book your place at our Annual Stakeholder Meeting on Wednesday 30th April 2025, 1:00-4:00pm. An opportunity to showcase our achievements to our stakeholders and celebrate the contributions of our volunteers. We hope you will be able to join us, an agenda for the afternoon will follow shortly. Email Gary Outram to…
Guided walk on the Oasts and Orchards Rail Trail, Thursday 20th February. Working in collaboration with Visit Maidstone, Explore Kent and North Downs Way National Trail, Kent Community Rail Partnership are guiding walks from our stations to explore the Kent countryside. Together we aim to bring more sustainable tourism to the area and extend the typical…
New Welcome Point trial at Tonbridge station. Rail Delivery Group in conjunction with participating train operators have started to trial Welcome Points to help improve customer service and accessibility across the rail network. A ‘Welcome Point’ is a touch screen unit featuring technology that will give customers station and journey planning information. A unique feature…
Kent Downs Line Cycle Rails Celebration, Tuesday 18th February On Tuesday 18th February, members and guests met at Hollingbourne station to celebrate the installation of cycle rails at stations along our Kent Downs Line. Kent Community Rail Partnership has worked with Southeastern to lay cycle rails on the footbridge steps of stations along the Kent…
Rededication of our Swale Rail station planters. Picture – Dominic Noades Whenever we make improvements to our station environments we feel it is important to acknowledge the contribution of those who have helped community rail to flourish in their area. Last month we revisited planters at Queenborough and Sittingbourne to refresh dedication plaques that had…
25th January 2025 – Sittingbourne Station Birthday Celebrations On Saturday 25th January, Kent Community Rail Partnership and Southeastern celebrated the 167th birthday of Sittingbourne Train Station. Gathering at 11am, with our station adopters, the 4th Milton Regis Cub Pack, and volunteers, we got the party started, with a happy birthday announcement over the Tanoy, followed…
Guided rail ramble on the North Downs Way National Trail, Friday 21 March 2025 Starting at Charing Railway Station, this guided walk will take us through the historic and picturesque village of Charing, located at the foot of the Kent Downs. We will stop to consider some of the features and buildings that date from…
EKC Sheppey College – Faversham Travel Training Trip On the 26th November 2024, a group of 10 students from the Level 2 Business Course at EKC Sheppey College, their Tutor Tania Rea, Student Mentor Nadine Havill and Kent Community Rail Partnership Officer Vicky Wright, travelled from Sheerness to Faversham to visit the Abbey Physic Garden…