Folkestone Harbour station was one of four railway stations in Folkestone, Kent. It served Folkestone Harbour with connecting boat train services across the English Channel to Calais and Boulogne. The station was opened by the South Eastern Railway (SER) in 1849 as part of a project to redevelop the harbour and connect it to the wider railway network. The local geography prevented direct access from the South Eastern main line, so a 1-in-32 branch line was built from Folkestone Junction, which crossed the harbour on a viaduct, reaching the station at the pier. Originally designed for freight, the line also became popular with continental passenger services. The station was redeveloped in the early 20th century and it was an important destination for soldiers during World War I. The opening of the Channel Tunnel in 1994 made Folkestone Harbour uncompetitive, and the station began to decline, with regular passenger services ending in 2001. After this, the line saw occasional steam rail tours and Venice-Simplon Orient Express (VSOE) trains, with the final service running in 2009. The station was formally closed in 2014, and redeveloped into a market and restaurants along with the rest of the harbour complex. History 19th century Folkestone Harbour was in decline in the 1830s, as nearby Dover became an increasingly important cross-channel port. Ships had difficulty approaching because of drifting shingle blocking the entryway. The harbour was acquired by the South Eastern Railway (SER) in August 1843 for redevelopment, but the steep chalk downs around the town made it impractical to route a main railway line through it. Consequently, a branch line was proposed. Construction began in 1843, with the line intended mainly for freight. The route left the South Eastern main line at Folkestone Junction (by the then main station) and was double tracked, running at a gradient of 1-in-32 over . It reached the harbour on a viaduct designed by SER chief engineer William Cubitt. A swing bridge was added to the viaduct in 1847, which allowed trains to cross the harbour and reach the southern pier. The harbour was extended over reclaimed land by extended a stone groyne gradually southwards to catch drifting shingle, which built up and allowed the SER to build a longer pier that ferries could use irrespective of the height of the tide. For most of its life, the station's main traffic was passengers travelling on boat trains directly from