page_title: Transport in Ashford, Kent
section_title: Railways
hierarchical_section_title: Transport in Ashford, Kent / National and international / Railways
caption_attribution_description: (none)Ashford Station
context_page_description: Ashford is a town in Kent, England, which lies on several major transport routes.
context_section_description: The South Eastern Railway (SER) opened its main line from London to the town on 1 December 1842, and by 7 February 1844 trains were running through to Dover.  The importance to the town of the railway, however, was when the company established its locomotive works here.  The railway community had its own shops, schools, pubs and bathhouse, and much of the area retains the look of a "railway town" (like Swindon or Crewe), however the works closed in 1981.  Ashford became a junction with a line to Margate that was opened in 1846 and in 1851 the Marshlink Line to Hastings was opened.  On 1 July 1884 SER's rival in Kent London, Chatham and Dover Railway (LCDR) opened its second main line via Maidstone to its own terminus in Ashford.  On 1 January 1899 SER and LCDR merged to form the South Eastern and Chatham Railway (SECR) and soon after the LCDR Maidstone terminus was closed and a connection established from the SER station to the LCDR line.  The LCDR's works at Battersea were closed in 1911 with work shifting to Ashford.
  When the Channel Tunnel was opened on 6 May 1994, the new Ashford International station began operating.  It now serves the high-speed rail link that began service in 2003 carrying the Eurostar from England to the continent, with stops in London, Ashford and then on to Brussels, Lille, Paris and connections to the rest of Europe.  Ashford has direct trains services to Brussels, frequent services to Lille and Paris via Ebbsfleet International railway station and St Pancras International railway station.  Local firms, residents and politicians are amongst those seeking a less drastic change in the Eurostar timetable.
  With the introduction of domestic train services along High Speed 1 between St Pancras railway station, Stratford International station in east London and Ashford, it is expected to pull the outer limits of the London commuter belt to the town and beyond, as travel time from Ashford to London is reduced from 83 to about 37 minutes.  Currently there are off peak services to London that only take 63 minutes and 60 minutes from London to Ashford.
caption: Ashford International
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