Chatham Central was the terminus of the Chatham Extension from Strood serving the towns of Chatham and Rochester. The station was opened by the South Eastern Railway which merged with the London, Chatham and Dover Railway to form the South Eastern and Chatham Railway in 1899. After the merger the SE & CR deemed that the Chatham Extension was an unnecessary duplication of the line and stations that it inherited from the LC & DR, and therefore the Extension and its stations, including Chatham Central, was closed in 1911.