 The LCDR's chairman James Staats Forbes argued this would provide better connections between Folkestone and Canterbury as passengers would not need to change trains.The route would compete with the coastal SER line via Dover that passed by unstable chalk cliffs.On 14 November 1875, a severe storm damaged the SER line towards Dover, and in January 1877, a series of storms flooded the track, culminating in the collapse of the Martello Tunnel on 12 January.