Background
Maidstone, the county town of Kent, had been reached by the railway in 1846, when the South Eastern Railway built a branch from Paddock Wood. In 1856 a branch was built from Strood to make an end-on junction with the branch from Paddock Wood at what is now Maidstone West station.
Headcorn had been reached by the railway in 1842, on the main line between Tonbridge and Ashford.
This situation left Maidstone in a position where there was no direct access to either London or the Channel Ports by rail. In 1874 a branch was built by the London, Chatham and Dover Railway from Swanley to the current Maidstone East station. This line was extended in 1884 to Ashford.
There were various railways proposed to link Maidstone and Headcorn:
- Maidstone and Loose Valley (1856–57)
- Loose Valley (1877)
- Lydd Railway (Various Powers) (1877)
- Tenterden (1894–95)
- Headcorn Junction and Maidstone Light Railway (1904–05).
Read more about this topic: Headcorn And Maidstone Junction Light Railway
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