Our town’s ever-evolving railway station

There have been numerous changes to the town’s railway station since it originally opened back in 1842, and this month sees work to allow the new generation of international trains to use the station. Since international services started at Ashford in January 1996 and until now, only the 1990’s Class 373 Eurostar E300 sets built by GEC Alsthom have been able to stop in the town as the new generation Class 374 Eurostar E320 Siemens Velaro carriage variant sets are slightly too wide for platforms 3 and 4 at Ashford International.

When the station was rebuilt as an international station in the 1990s, its operational infrastructure such as track width was not built to full European specification, hence the new generation Eurostars have only been able to stop at Ebbsfleet International and London’s St Pancras International.

Once the work to alter the platforms has been completed, it is estimated that the first E320 will use Ashford International from April. The long-overdue works – largely the responsibility of Network Rail – will also open up the line to other European operators in the future.

The work also demonstrates the longstanding investment that the rail operator and lines owner have in the town.

This week, Remember When goes back to 1962 and shows images of the first modernisation of the station and the updated track layout at that time and also a Class 373 Eurostar E300 pulling into platform 4 at Ashford International in 2006 – 10 years after international services started in the town.

Do you have you any photographs or slides that you would be willing to lend me, to be scanned and featured in the Kentish Express? Write to me: Steve Salter, Kentish Express Remember When, Unit 4, Park Mall Shopping Centre, Ashford TN24 8RY, email me at rememberwhen_kmash@ hotmail.co.uk, or find me on Twitter @SteveKMAshford. Or you can also leave a telephone message for me with brief details by calling 01233 623232. Please supply a return address for the return of originals. A Class 373 Eurostar E300 No (3022) arriving on platform 4 at Ashford International in October 2006 – destination Paris Gare du Nord