Minster railway station

Not to be confused with Minster, Swale.

Minster
265px
Location
Place	Minster-in-Thanet
Local authority	Thanet
Grid reference	TR311641
Operations
Station code	MSR
Managed by	Southeastern
Number of platforms	2
DfT category	F1
Live arrivals/departures, station information and onward connections from National Rail Enquiries
Annual rail passenger usage*
2004/05	50,433
2005/06	58,185
2006/07	65,264
2007/08	76,329
2008/09	81,076
2009/10	72,384
2010/11	71,636
2011/12	71,792
2012/13	63,156
2013/14	60,752
2014/15	60,464
History
13 April 1846	Opened as Minster
1 Jan 1852	Renamed Minster Junction
1 Aug 1901	Renamed Minster Junction (Thanet)
7 May 1945	Renamed Minster (Thanet)
1952	Renamed Minster (Thanet), Junction for Sandwich, Deal and Walmer
1971	Renamed Minster
National Rail – UK railway stations
* Annual estimated passenger usage based on sales of tickets in stated financial year(s) which end or originate at Minster from Office of Rail and Road statistics. Methodology may vary year on year.
UK Railways portal

Minster railway station serves Minster in Kent and surrounding villages. The station, and all trains serving it, are operated by Southeastern. On the Ramsgate-bound platform, there is a PERTIS passenger-operated self-service ticket machine issuing Permits to Travel, but the staffed booking office here closed in the 1990s.

History

Opened on 1 December 1846 by the South Eastern Railway (SER) on the Ashford to Ramsgate (via Canterbury West) line. To the east is the junction station for the SER branch line to Deal via Sandwich - itself opened on 7 July 1847. Originally there was no connection for trains running from Ramsgate SER Station to Deal and services were provided from a bay platform. Services from Sandwich and Deal terminated at Minster, where passengers then had to change trains for services towards Ramsgate. The station running boards up until the late 1970s read 'Minster - Junction for Sandwich, Deal and Dover'.

The Victorian Station Building was demolished in the late 1980s, replaced by British Rail with bus shelter design passenger areas. A Goods Yard was located on the downside with some refuge sidings adjacent to the Deal Branch. The late 19th century signalbox is still used.

Services

As of December 2011 the current typical off peak services from this station are:

• 1tph (trains per hour) to London Charing Cross
• 1tph to Ramsgate.
  There is a limited service to and from Sandwich.

Ticketing

Although there is not a ticket office or a ticket machine at the station, Minster still remains a Penalty fare zone. A Permit to Travel machine has been installed, so that customers can legally start their journey without incurring a penalty.

Preceding station	National Rail			Following station
Sturry		Southeastern Ashford to Ramsgate (via Canterbury West) line		Ramsgate
		Southeastern Kent Coast Line Restricted service		Sandwich
	Disused railways
Grove Ferry and Upstreet		British Rail Southern Region Ashford to Ramsgate (via Canterbury West) line		Ebbsfleet and Cliffsend Halt

External links

• Train times and station information for Minster railway station from National Rail