Charing railway station serves the village of Charing in Kent, England. It is down the line from . The station, and all trains serving it, is operated by Southeastern. The ticket office is staffed only during part of the day; at other times a PERTIS 'permit to travel' machine, located outside the station building on the 'down' side, suffices. The next station eastwards (towards Ashford) used to be Hothfield, however it was closed in 1959, although it remained a 'request' stop for railway staff throughout the 1960s. History The station was opened on 1 July 1884, as part of the London, Chatham and Dover Railway (LCDR) extension to of the 1874 line to Maidstone, which itself was a branch off the LCDR's Sevenoaks branch of 1862, which joined the LCDR mainline of 1840 at Swanley. In the wake of 1955 British Rail Modernisation plan, the "Kent Coast Electrification" scheme saw the suburban electrification of the previous Southern Railway extended from Maidstone East through to Ashford. The goods yard comprised five sidings on the down side and one on the up side. It was taken over for military use during World War II. Electrification also saw the addition of a footbridge, but by 16 May 1964 freight operations ceased. Charing's signal box closed on 14 April 1984, when the upgraded Maidstone East Panel took control of the whole line. Services All services at Charing are operated by Southeastern using and EMUs. The typical off-peak service in trains per hour is: 1 tph to via 1 tph to During the peak hours, the station is served by an additional hourly service between London Victoria and Ashford International, increasing the service to 2 tph in each direction. References Sources External links Transport in the Borough of Ashford Railway stations in Kent DfT Category E stations Former London, Chatham and Dover Railway stations Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1884 Railway stations served by Southeastern 1884 establishments in England