From the Network Rail website:
"A Memorandum of Understanding has been signed between the South Eastern Railway (SER) and the East Kent Railway (EKR), a heritage line, sharing redundant railway assets from the mainline railway, facilities and volunteer time – and working towards re-establishing freight trains on the EKR for the first time since 1987.
At a short ceremony at Shepherds Well station on Friday 5 September, the South Eastern Railway confirmed its intention to donate railway materials including rails and sleepers, as well as other items no longer needed for the mainline railway to help the East Kent Railway maintain its own infrastructure and develop its services.
In return, the East Kent Railway will provide the South Eastern Railway with the use of its facilities, which are already used from time to time when spaces are needed off the mainline network, such as for training.
Under the agreement, both organisations will also work together to explore opportunities for the re-establishment of commercial freight traffic over the East Kent Railway, helping to deliver ‘modal shift’ in the East Kent area to address Government rail freight growth targets.
With local support, the agreement will aim to secure third-party funding to reconnect the East Kent Railway to the national network for the first time since 1987, using the South Eastern Railway’s own engineering expertise to make it a reality."
"A Memorandum of Understanding has been signed between the South Eastern Railway (SER) and the East Kent Railway (EKR), a heritage line, sharing redundant railway assets from the mainline railway, facilities and volunteer time – and working towards re-establishing freight trains on the EKR for the first time since 1987.
At a short ceremony at Shepherds Well station on Friday 5 September, the South Eastern Railway confirmed its intention to donate railway materials including rails and sleepers, as well as other items no longer needed for the mainline railway to help the East Kent Railway maintain its own infrastructure and develop its services.
In return, the East Kent Railway will provide the South Eastern Railway with the use of its facilities, which are already used from time to time when spaces are needed off the mainline network, such as for training.
Under the agreement, both organisations will also work together to explore opportunities for the re-establishment of commercial freight traffic over the East Kent Railway, helping to deliver ‘modal shift’ in the East Kent area to address Government rail freight growth targets.
With local support, the agreement will aim to secure third-party funding to reconnect the East Kent Railway to the national network for the first time since 1987, using the South Eastern Railway’s own engineering expertise to make it a reality."
