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The first East Kent Railway (EKR) was an early railway operating between Strood and Faversham in Kent, England, during 1858 and 1859. In the latter year it changed its name to the London, Chatham and Dover Railway to reflect its ambitions to build a rival line from London to Dover via Chatham and Canterbury. The line as far as Canterbury was opened in 1860 and the extension to Dover Priory on 22 July 1861. The route to London Victoria station via the Mid-Kent line and the West End of London and Crystal Palace Railway opened on 1 November 1861.
The second East Kent Railway was built between 1911 and 1917 to serve the growth of the East Kent Coalfield. The consortium of Kent colliery and landowners envisaged a line that would link the collieries with the mainline and a new port at Richborough, an important port during WWI. The line did not cross the River Stour until after the war, by which time the port was in decline.
The line was built to light railway standards by the engineer, Colonel H .F. Stephens. The first passengers were carried in 1916. Passenger services between Eastry and Sandwich Road Halts were withdrawn on 31st October 1928. When the railways were Nationalised, the line became part of the British Railways Southern Region and all passenger services were completely withdrawn on 1st November 1948.