The Rural Community Council For Kent and Medway
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SwaleRail
The branch line from Sittingbourne to Sheerness-on-Sea is an unusual community rail line in that it provides a basic half-hourly service to passengers, but also has a significant quantity of freight traffic.
Sittingbourne and Kemsley are both famous for the paper production and while the mill at Sittingbourne has recently closed, that at Kemsley continues to flourish.
Close to Sittingbourne station is the Sittingbourne & Kemsley Light Railway, a preserved 2ft 6" steam railway that used to connect the mills at the two communities to Ridham Dock on the Swale Estuary. There is unlikely to be a service operated during 2010. Check out the latest news by visiting the S&KL website at www.sklr.net.
The line passes through a mix of residential, industrial and salt marsh landscapes before reaching the historic town of Queenborough, once site of a royal castle and ferry services to Holland. The line terminates at Sheerness-on-Sea, once a naval dockyard and now home to a busy commercial port. Sheerness has also been a favourite destination for holidaymakers from London who could easily reach the Isle of Sheppey by train. Click here for the current timetable.
Local Attractions
Sittingbourne - Sittingbourne & Kemsley Light Railway and Saxon Shore Way.
Swale Halt - Saxon Shore Way and Elmley Marshes Nature Reserve.
Queenborough - Guildhall Museum and Town trail.
Sheerness-on-Sea - Bluetown Heritage Centre.
For more information on where to go and what to see in Swale, go to the Swale Tourism website.
And don’t forget – with Group Travel, 3 or 4 people travelling together go for the price of two! (Terms and Conditions apply)
150 Years of Sheppey Rail
A series of events commemorating the opening of the railway from Sittingbourne to Queenborough and Sheerness in July 1860.
You can download the commemorative booklet by clicking on the image of the front cover (below).
Queenborough Festival
In and around Queenborough Harbour.
August 14th & 15th.
Contact Lionel Robbins on 01795 668509 for more details.
Queenborough Beer Festival
"The Aviator", Queenborough Corner (5 minutes walk from station)
Saturday August 14th.
A large variety of real ales, plus food and music. Contact Dave Sarjeant on 01795 877684.
Sheppey Carnival and Sheppey Show.
In and around Sheerness Town Centre.
Saturday August 21st.
If you are arranging an event accessible from Swalerail, let us know and we can feature it on our site.
SwaleRail Newsletters
Download copies of our newsletters as "pdf" files by clicking on the dates.
- December 2005 - Kemsley CCTV; New Faces; Possible use for Queenborough Station building.
- April 2005 - Integrated Kent Franchise; Achievements so far.
- August 2004 - Sheerness Gateway; Hanging baskets.
- June 2004 - First newsletter; Introduction.
For more information about SwaleRail, please contact Nigel Whitburn on 01303 813790.