Ramsgate developed as one of South East England's main seaside resorts in the 19th century.

It became a natural target during the "Railway Mania" period of the 1840s, and the South Eastern Railway company was the first to reach it when it built a route which branched off from the South Eastern Main Line at Ashford.

[1] On 2 July 1926, it opened a new line, 1.6 miles (2.6 km) long, to connect the previously separate routes to the Town and Harbour stations.

The route bypassed both stations, and two new stations—Dumpton Park and Ramsgate—were built on it to serve the town.

A stub end of the line remains as two carriage sidings adjacent to the south of the present station terminating at Wilfred Road.