Notes: The South Eastern Railway opened their terminus at Dover Town on 7.2.1844. The station consisted of a single platform and a bay. In 1861 the line was extended the short distance on to Dover Admiralty Pier where there was interchange with continental ferries

Construction of the pier started in April 1848 as part of a new 'harbour of refuge' for the Royal Navy with railway owned cross channel ferries using the pier from 1851.

From the 1.11.1861 the London Chatham and Dover railway opened their terminus at Dover Harbour and on 30.8.1864 Chatham trains also ran on to the Admiralty Pier.

There was only just room for a double line on the pier with two narrow platforms, one behind the other against the rear wall. In rough weather waves broke over the pier and the transshipment of passengers and luggage became a nightmare.

Continuous growth of traffic in the later years of the 19th Century underlined the need for improving the Admiralty Pier and in the early 1900's work started on a new Dover Marine Station on reclaimed land on the north side of the pier. This station opened as Dover Admiralty Pier for military use only on 2.2.1915. The original Admiralty Pier station had closed with the withdrawal of continental ferries in August 1914 after the start of WW1. With the restoration of continental services after the war the new station was renamed Dover Marine in 1918 and opened for passenger traffic on 18.1.1919.

For further information on Dover's railways and the Admiralty Pier see Dover - Lock and key of the Kingdom web site and East Kent Local History Pages for pictures of railway remains at Admiralty Pier.

See also Dover Harbour Station & Dover Marine (Western Docks) Station