The Bexleyheath line runs for from to Dartford in Kent. It separates from the North Kent Line just to the east of Blackheath Station, and rejoins the same line just south of Slade Green near Dartford.
History
The line was first proposed in 1881, when Squire Jones, of East Wickham, organised a petition to persuade South Eastern Railway to build a railway to Bexleyheath. composed of local land-owners seeking to raise the value of their land for housing development. However, this was followed by disputes between the two companies, and disagreements over the final route, and the (50 & 51 Vict. c. lxxx) was passed authorising the construction of a line along a new route, via Blackheath, including the construction of a 1-mile (1.6 km) tunnel at the eastern entrance to Blackheath station. running 12 trains per day to and from Charing Cross.
The line originally included five stations: Kidbrooke, Eltham Well Hall, Welling, Bexleyheath and Barnehurst, all rudimentary wooden structures. Having initially been built to serve very rural areas, Well Hall, Welling, Bexleyheath and Barnehurst were rebuilt in 1932 to cater for the huge suburban expansion into the area of the 1930s,
Kidbrooke station was rebuilt in 1972 as a CLASP prefabricated structure. The changes coincided with the opening of the new Rochester Way Relief Road, which forms part of the A2 road.
In the 2010s, there were multiple landslips on the line, including one which closed the line for at least a week from 11 February 2019. The Bexleyheath line was temporarily closed between 15 and 23 February 2020, to allow for rail improvement works to prevent further landslips in the Barnehurst area of the line.
Service patterns
Train services are operated by Southeastern. Services run to London Charing Cross, London Cannon Street or .
The Monday-Sunday off-peak service is:
- 2 tph between and calling Denmark Hill, Peckham Rye, Nunhead, Lewisham then all stations to Dartford via Bexleyheath
- 2 tph between and calling at all stations. This service returns to Cannon Street calling at all stations via and . This service also operates in the anticlockwise direction with the same frequency