Canterbury West railway station is a Grade II listed railway station, and the busier of the two stations in Canterbury in Kent, England. The station as well as all services are operated by Southeastern with both main line and high speed trains serving the station. The station and its line was built by the South Eastern Railway and opened in 1846. It was the first mainline station in Canterbury, while the later Canterbury East was built by the London, Chatham & Dover Railway. There was also a connection to the Canterbury and Whitstable Railway, the first railway in Kent, and later to the Elham Valley Railway; these have both since closed. Location The station is to the northwest of Canterbury Cathedral and north of Westgate and St Dunstans level crossing. Canterbury West is approximately to the north of Canterbury’s other station, . Both stations are located due west of Canterbury’s city centre; in fact, despite their names, the two stations lie on the same line of longitude. History South Eastern Railway The South Eastern Railway (SER) was authorised by an Act of Parliament to construct a railway to Canterbury in June 1836. Local residents were generally opposed to the plan as the SER's lines did not go in the direction that they wanted, and the city was not central to the company's overall aims. They were ignored and construction started anyway, but the rival London, Chatham & Dover Railway (LCDR) decided to promote a line from Chatham to Margate and Ramsgate in response. The station opened on 6 February 1846 when the SER began services to Ashford. It was originally called Canterbury as it was the only mainline station in the city at that time. A special excursion train ran on the opening date, but was delayed owing to a breakdown at . Following the opening of another Canterbury station by the LCDR on 9 July 1860, it was renamed to Canterbury West on 1 July 1889 to avoid confusion. Two months later on 13 April 1846, services were extended to Ramsgate, and to Whitstable after conversion of the Canterbury and Whitstable Railway and closure of the terminus. The station was built with two central through tracks and three platforms, one for the Whitstable branch. The signalling was upgraded in 1874 at a cost of £1,350 as part of general upgrades along the line. The subway was added in April