Singlewell IMD
Infrastructure Maintenance Depot
Singlewell became a
specific part of the original CTRL Bill of 1996 when, on 20th July 1995, the
House of Commons Select Committee confirmed that freight loops should be
installed at both here and Charing Heath. In November of the same year, it was
announced in the Commons that the Government had formally accepted the proposal.
The motive behind this was that of making the CTRL as much a freight-carrying
railway as it was an international passenger service line. The loops would allow
the slower freights to clear the way for the faster express services.
In 2003, London & Continental Railways (L&CR) indicated a requirement for an
infrastructure maintenance depot alongside the CTRL. The facility proposed would
incorporate:
In total, eight potential sites for the depot were put on the shortlist:
A depot at Church
Path Pit was seen as having the advantage of placing maintenance crews in close
proximity of Ebbsfleet International, where much of the route’s most complex
track work and catenary arrangements could be found. Rolling stock berthing
sidings had also been planned for here. However, L&CR preferred the area at
Singlewell, on the southern fringes of Gravesend, where a site immediately to
the north of the line could feed off the ‘’down’’ freight loop present there.
Nevertheless, this area had its complications: firstly, it was on Green Belt land;
secondly, the whole of the adjacent A2 trunk road was to be shifted southwards
in a major upgrading programme, which would see the road run much closer
alongside the CTRL. Part of the Green Belt land in the immediate vicinity was
formed by ‘’Singlewell Linear Park’’. This had been created as a result of CTRL
building work, and was sandwiched in-between the high speed line and the A2 as a
long stretch of undeveloped land. Designated as a public open space, plans
suggested that the maintenance depot would eat into this parkland. The full
specification for the depot required a total area of 30 acres, the vast majority
of which resided immediately north of the line (there were small plots of land
south of the line which were also to be acquired).
In September 2005, the Singlewell Depot plans were approved. The Highways Agency
had given the green light, indicating that there was no conflict between the
site of the proposed depot and the realigned A2 trunk road. It was also
suggested that any park land lost by this project could be replaced by a new
grassy area on the old site of the A2, after the opening of the realigned road.
L&CR enlisted architects Broadway Malyan to advise on the design of the depot’s
buildings, and construction work, which began in June 2006, was subcontracted to
''Provian Construction'', a division of the aggregate, concrete and construction
firm ''Brett''. The
onsite buildings were divided into two main blocks: offices/workshop, and
rolling stock maintenance shed. The structures are approximately 300 foot and
135 foot long respectively, and together, operate 24 hours a day, providing
145 full time jobs. The depot has been built to accommodate maintenance vehicles
designed for UIC (Union Internationale des Chemins de Fer: International
Union of Railways) ‘’B’’ Gauge, which permits vehicle heights of up to 4.13
metres above rail, with a width of 2.5 metres. The depot was deemed complete in
April 2007, at a price of £3.2 million.
A westward view from Henhurst Road bridge on 21st July 2007 shows the depot area and its associated
buildings on the right, amongst the multitude of catenary wires. On the left can be seen the ''up'' Singlewell
freight loop. David Glasspool
A head-on view of the buildings on 21st July 2007 shows, in the foreground, the 135-foot long rolling
stock maintenance shed. A multiple purpose vehicle (MPV) can already be seen emerging from behind
this structure. Beyond this structure, on the right, is the office accommodation/repair shed, which comes
complete with a lifting hoist. The car park alongside this building can accommodate 150 vehicles. Finally,
in the foreground, can be seen the permanent way training area. David Glasspool
This view from the A2 trunk road on 19th April 2007 reveals just how long the office/repair shed building
actually is. The maintenance shed is out of view, to the left, and is further away from the repair building
than the previous pictures make out. David Glasspool
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