page_title: Canterbury
section_title: Railway
hierarchical_section_title: Canterbury / Public transport / Railway
caption_attribution_description: English: Canterbury West railway station building
context_page_description: Canterbury is a cathedral city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, situated in the heart of the City of Canterbury, a local government district of Kent, England. It lies on the River Stour.
  The Archbishop of Canterbury is the primate of the Church of England and the worldwide Anglican Communion owing to the importance of St Augustine, who served as the apostle to the pagan Kingdom of Kent around the turn of the 7th century. The city's cathedral became a major focus of pilgrimage following the 1170 martyrdom of Thomas Becket, although it had already been a well-trodden pilgrim destination since the murder of St Alphege by the men of King Canute in 1012. A journey of pilgrims to Becket's shrine served as the frame for Geoffrey Chaucer's 14th century classic The Canterbury Tales.
  Canterbury is a popular tourist destination: consistently one of the most-visited cities in the United Kingdom, the city's economy is heavily reliant upon tourism. The city has been occupied since Paleolithic times and served as the capital of the Celtic Cantiaci and Jute Kingdom of Kent.
context_section_description: Canterbury was the terminus of the Canterbury & Whitstable Railway (known locally as the Crab and Winkle line) which was a pioneer line, opened on 3 May 1830, and closed in 1953. The Canterbury & Whitstable was the first regular passenger steam railway in the world. The first station in Canterbury was at North Lane.
  Canterbury has two railway stations, called Canterbury West and Canterbury East (despite both stations being west of the city centre: Canterbury West is to the northwest and Canterbury East is to the southwest). Both stations are operated by Southeastern. Canterbury West station, on the South Eastern Railway from Ashford, was opened on 6 February 1846, and on 13 April the line to Ramsgate was completed. Canterbury West is served by High Speed 1 trains to London St Pancras, slower stopping services to London Charing Cross and London Victoria as well as by trains to Ramsgate and Margate. Canterbury East, the more central of the two stations, was opened by the London, Chatham & Dover Railway on 9 July 1860. Services from London Victoria stop at Canterbury East and continue to Dover.
  Canterbury used to be served by two other stations. North Lane station was the southern terminus of the Canterbury & Whitstable Railway between 1830 and 1846. Canterbury South was on the Elham Valley Railway, which opened in 1890 and closed in 1947.
caption: Canterbury West railway station. The world's first regular passenger railway ran from this site, and it was here that the world's first season ticket was issued. Today, the railway station connects with "High Speed 1", on which trains run to London at up to 140 miles per hour (225 km/h).
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