51°25′36.12″N0°27′58.71″E / 51.4267000°N 0.4663083°E /51.4267000; 0.4663083
Higham  | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | |||||
| General information | |||||
| Location | Higham,Borough of Gravesham England | ||||
| Grid reference | TQ715726 | ||||
| Managed by | Southeastern | ||||
| Platforms | 2 | ||||
| Other information | |||||
| Station code | HGM | ||||
| Classification | DfT category E | ||||
| History | |||||
| Original company | Gravesend and Rochester Railway[1] South Eastern Railway | ||||
| Pre-grouping | South Eastern and Chatham Railway | ||||
| Post-grouping | Southern Railway | ||||
| Key dates | |||||
| 8 Feb 1845 | Opened[1] | ||||
| 13 December 1846[2] | Closed (G & R) | ||||
| 23 Aug 1847 | Reopened (SE) | ||||
| Passengers | |||||
| 2019/20 |  0.173 million | ||||
| Interchange |  5 | ||||
| 2020/21 | 48,460 | ||||
| Interchange | 1 | ||||
| 2021/22 |  95,064 | ||||
| Interchange | 3 | ||||
| 2022/23 | 0.108 million | ||||
| 2023/24 | 0.115 million | ||||
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Higham railway station is in the hamlet of Lower Higham in northKent. The village ofHigham is about 1 mile (1.6 km) to the south.
It is 28 miles 42 chains (45.9 km) down the line fromLondon Charing Cross. Train services have been operated byThameslink since May 2018. Before that time, the services were operated bySoutheastern and its predecessors, although the station is still managed by Southeastern.
The ticket office, on the 'up' side, is situated in the substantial station building. This is staffed only during part of the day; at other times a TVM passenger-operated ticket machine issues tickets - and is located at the entrance to the up platform, at the foot of the staircase.
From Higham toStrood, the railway passes through a tunnel built for theThames and Medway Canal, and the station building was converted from the home of the canal towing contractor. The waiting room was heated by the original open fire until as recently as the 1980s.
One of the more unusual pieces of freight handled by the station was a Swiss chalet, in 94 separate pieces, packed into 58 boxes. It arrived over Christmas 1864 as a gift forCharles Dickens at nearby Gad's Hill.[3]
According to theOfficial Handbook of Stations the followingclasses of traffic were being handled at this station in 1956: G, P, L, H, C and there was a 1-ton 2 cwt crane.[4]
Off-peak, all services at Higham are operated byThameslink usingClass 700EMUs.
The typical off-peak service in trains per hour is:[5]
Additional services, including a small number ofSoutheastern operated trains to and fromLondon Charing Cross viaSidcup call at the station during the peak hours.
| Preceding station |  National Rail | Following station | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thameslink | ||||
| Southeastern Peak Hours Only | ||||
| Historical railways | ||||
| Denton Halt Line open, station closed | British Rail Southern Region | Strood Line and station open | ||
| Milton Range Halt Line open, station closed | British Rail Southern Region | |||
| Disused railways | ||||
| Gravesend Line and station open | South Eastern Railway | Strood (1st) Line and station closed | ||
