 It was authorised by Parliament (as the Elham Valley Railway) on 6 August 1866, but serious financial difficulties plagued the scheme due to the national financial crisis, and the project was cancelled.It was abandoned by a Board of Trade Order on 30 August 1873 because of to "failure to raise sufficient capital".The East Kent Railway had since been renamed as the London, Chatham and Dover Railway (LCDR), and developed ideas for a new line from Folkestone to Canterbury.