It is 38 miles 3 chains (61.2 km) down the line from London Charing Cross via Strood and is situated between Snodland and Aylesford.

The APTIS-equipped ticket office, in a 1930s building on the northbound platform, closed in September 1989 and subsequently became derelict.

In 2007, a PERTIS (Permit to Travel) ticket machine was installed at the entrance to the northbound platform.

Although the line between Strood and Maidstone, on which New Hythe lies, was completed in 1856, the station was not opened until 9 December 1929, when New Hythe Halt, a timber-built halt, was opened to serve the huge paper mill complex which had been established beside the line.

The typical off-peak service in trains per hour is:[2] A small number of morning, mid afternoon and late evening trains continue beyond Paddock Wood to Tonbridge.