Higham & Strood tunnel speed restriction impact

[brad465]

The former canal tunnels, having been carved out of chalk but not fully brick-lined, were subject to a 20mph speed restriction for around 5 years until January 2004, when the line was shut for a whole year so all the exposed walls could be reinforced with concrete, preventing chalk falls and allowing the line speed to be raised to 70mph, in line with the rest of the North Kent line.

While I have memories of going through the tunnel when the restriction was in place, what I wasn't old enough to understand was the timetable impact at the time. This must have been significant, given the tunnel section is over 2 miles long, including the cutting gap between the two tunnels, and 20mph all the way along must have deterred passengers. Does anyone know how long trains took back then to go between Higham and Strood (compared to the 5 minutes allocated today), and if a notable surge in passengers followed the repairs, particularly above any average increase nationally?

 

[topydre]

I think I remember the replacement buses took something like 45 minutes, at least at some times, to go between Higham and Strood during the closure period. Trains from London were terminating at Higham at that time on half hourly frequency I think. Anyone wanting London would presumably have been better off getting the ex-LCDR line from Medway to London, even if it meant double-backing from Strood.

Local papers were full of speculation when the chalk falls first happened e.g. Strood Tunnel "may never reopen", according to my childhood memories. The local newsagent in Frindsbury was very happy with how quickly such newspapers left the shelves, given how many people in the area commuted into London.