Mid-Kent line

Mid-Kent line
A Southeastern class 465 at Hayes
Overview
Type	Commuter rail, Suburban rail
System	National Rail
Status	Operational
Locale	Greater London
Termini	Lewisham Hayes
Stations	10
Operation
Opened	1857
Owner	Network Rail
Operator(s)	Southeastern
Rolling stock	Class 376 "Electrostar" Class 465 "Networker" Class 466 "Networker"
Technical
Number of tracks	2
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in) standard gauge
Electrification	750 V Direct Current third rail
Operating speed	60 mph (97 km/h) maximum

The Mid-Kent line (referred to as the Hayes Line by train operators, official bodies and the general public) is a British railway line running from Courthill Loop North junction (just south of Lewisham station) to Hayes railway station in the London Borough of Bromley. Despite its name, none of the line is in the present-day county of Kent.

All services along the line are operated by Southeastern. The standard off-peak service is two trains per hour (tph) each way between London Charing Cross and Hayes, non-stop between London Bridge and Ladywell, and two tph between London Cannon Street and Hayes, calling at all stations via Lewisham. In addition, there is one train per day from Charing Cross to Beckenham Junction.

The existing Mid-Kent line consists of three sections built at different times. The Mid Kent Railway was built by the Mid-Kent and North Kent Junction Railway (MK&NKJR) and was opened on 1 January 1857 from Lewisham (where the existing station was closed and a new station re-opened at the junction) as far as Beckenham Junction (although it was not technically a junction as the West End of London and Crystal Palace Railway’s line did not open until 3 May 1858). From opening the line was worked by the South Eastern Railway (SER) and served new stations at Ladywell, Catford Bridge, Lower Sydenham and Beckenham (Junction).