Coronavirus Travel Advice

From Monday the 23rd of March 2020, all National Rail operators will be operating a reduced level of service that reflects not only the reduced number of staff available, but also the severely reduced number of passengers.

We aim to summarise the changes in our area here, but we would also advise checking before you travel using journey planners as it is possible that there will be some late-notice cancellations due to staff sickness. Please also follow guidance from train operators as to what journeys should be made – although previously only essential journeys were encouraged, as of July this is starting to partly, but not fully, ease.

Face Coverings

From Monday the 15th of June, it will be mandatory to wear a face covering when travelling by public transport – including buses and trains. Passengers do not need to wear a medical-grade face mask – just a face covering, which could be a disposable mask or a reusable cloth mask. You can make your own one, or a number of local shops are selling both disposable masks and reusable cloth masks made by members of the local community.

Network Rail managed stations in London (e.g. Charing Cross, London Bridge and Cannon Street) will have free coverings available on request for passengers without one. TfL will also be providing free face coverings at certain stations for the first few weeks. At stations on the Southeastern and Southern networks, some stations now have vending machines selling disposable masks and hand sanitiser.

Face coverings are not suitable for everyone – including those with respiratory conditions (e.g. Asthma), neurodiversities (e.g. Autism) and other disabilities. You will still be able to travel without a face covering if they are not suitable for you, but you may need to mention to staff that you have a condition that makes wearing a covering unsuitable if you are challenged by staff. You do not need to display any proof that this is the case – staff should take you at your word. If wearing a covering is unsuitable for you and you encounter issues when travelling as a result, please contact us so we can help escalate the issue.

Useful Links

• Government Guidance on Face Coverings when Travelling
• Instructions on how to make a Face Covering – including sew and no-sew methods

Southeastern (Hildenborough, Tonbridge and Paddock Wood)

Services will be reduced and you may need to change trains. The typical service pattern is as follows;

• 1 train per hour between Hastings and Tonbridge, all stations. Change at Tonbridge for services towards London.
• 2 Trains per Hour between Tunbridge Wells and London Charing Cross, normal stopping pattern including High Brooms, Tonbridge, Hildenborough, Sevenoaks and Orpington.
• 2 Trains per Hour between Ashford International and London Charing Cross, revised stopping pattern including Tonbridge, Sevenoaks and Orpington. Change at Ashford for services towards Folkestone, Dover and Canterbury.
• 1 Train per Hour between Tonbridge and Strood, normal stopping pattern.

These services are not evenly spaced, and at Tonbridge there are gaps of up to 24 minutes towards London and 20 minutes from London. During the week, there are three direct trains to Cannon Street, and two from Cannon Street, as timed below. Outside this time, passengers to and from Cannon Street will need to change at London Bridge.

Station	Departure Time Origin: Ashford International	Departure Time Origin: Ashford International	Departure Time Origin: Hastings
Paddock Wood	07:07	07:35
Tonbridge	07:14	07:43	08:21
Hildenborough	Does not stop	07:48	Does not stop
London Bridge	07:51	08:22	08:53
Cannon Street	07:58	08:30	09:01

Station	Departure Time Destination: Ashford International	Departure time Destination: Ashford International
Cannon Street	17:30	18:30
London Bridge	17:35	18:35
Hildenborough	18:07	19:07
Tonbridge	18:12	19:12
Paddock Wood	18:19	19:19

Some early and late trains will not run. The first train towards London is the 04:45 Tonbridge to London Charing Cross service, following a normal stopping pattern including Hildenborough. The last trains from London are the 23:30 London Charing Cross to Tunbridge Wells (calls at Hildenborough and Tonbridge) and the 23:40 London Charing Cross to Ashford International (calls at Tonbridge and Paddock Wood).

From Tuesday the 14th of April, there will be additional early-morning and late-night services between Tonbridge and Strood – some of which run semi-fast. These are;

• 04:19 Gillingham to Tonbridge (all stops, arriving Tonbridge at 05:27).
• 05:06 Tonbridge to Strood (calling at Paddock Wood and Maidstone West only, arriving Strood at 05:44).
• 22:53 Strood to Tonbridge (calling at Paddock Wood and Maidstone West only, arriving Tonbridge at 23:30).
• 22:50 Tonbridge to Gillingham (calling at Paddock Wood, Maidstone West, Strood, Rochester and Chatham only, arriving at Gillingham 23:44).

For an alternative version using high-contrast colours, please click here.

Useful Links

• Southeastern’s Coronavirus Travel Advice page, including a frequency summary map and all revised timetables.
• Southeastern’s Journey Planner.
• Southeastern’s Twitter, which typically publishes information about changes first.

Southern (Redhill to Tonbridge Line)

A normal Sunday off-peak frequency is expected to run all day, with some additional earlier trains . The typical service pattern is as follows;

• 1 train per hour between Redhill and Tonbridge.

The first train from Tonbridge to Redhill will depart Tonbridge at 05:03, and the first train from Redhill to Tonbridge will depart Redhill at 06:00.

The last train from Tonbridge to Redhill will depart Tonbridge at 23:03, and the last train from Redhill to Tonbridge will depart Redhill at 00:24.

From the 18th of May, the 2-hour gap in services between 05:00 and 07:00 will be plugged – with an hourly service running on the line from the very first train until the very last train.

Useful Links

• Southern’s Coronavirus Travel Advice page.
• Southern’s Journey Planner.
• Southern’s Twitter, which typically publishes information about changes first.

Transport for London (Tube, Bus etc)

TfL is reducing frequencies across the network and closing up to 40 tube stations. These changes are too numerous to list in full, and so we would strongly recommend checking TfL’s Station Status page. However, for the station closures that affect interchange with Southeastern;

Southwark (Waterloo East)

The Jubilee Line will not be stopping at Southwark, which normally offers interchange with Waterloo East. This also means that it will not be possible to exit Waterloo East via Southwark if you normally use that shortcut. Use London Bridge instead for interchange with the Jubilee Line, and exit Waterloo East via the Wooton Street exit to get as close to Southwark as possible. Note however that this exit is not accessible and involves walking up a large number of stairs – exit via Waterloo station for a longer, but more accessible, route.

Charing Cross

Charing Cross will be closed – neither the Northern or Bakerloo lines will stop. Instead, use Embankment for the Northern and Bakerloo Lines. Embankment is a 2 minute walk from Charing Cross if you exit from the Viller’s Street exit by Platform 1, although this also involves some stairs.

What we’re doing

During this time, Tonbridge Line Commuters will continue to advocate for passengers, helping hold transport operators to account when it comes to keeping services moving for essential workers and making sure that any changes are communicated quickly, accurately and in an accessible manner. Through our stakeholder contacts at the transport operators, we’ve able to help surface any issues quickly and directly with those who can affect change. If you’re an essential worker and some of these changes are having a significant impact on you, please let us know and we’ll do our best to make the case for improvements on your behalf.

So far, we’ve already;

• Helped secure more early-morning services on the Redhill to Tonbridge line.
• Helped re-time some of Southeastern’s departures from Tonbridge towards London to better connect in with trains from Redhill and reduce gaps between services.
• Appealed to the Secretary of State for Transport to provide pro-rata Season Ticket refunds for those who are following Government advice not to travel.

Should I get a refund on my Season Ticket?

If you’re not travelling anymore it might be tempting to get a refund on your season ticket. Unfortunately, there’s no easy answer as to if you should or shouldn’t seek a refund due to how season ticket refunds are calculated.

• COVID-19 Refunds: Should you Claim?
• COVID-19 Refunds: How to Claim

A Final Thank You

During this time, we’re grateful for the services provided by those essential workers who continue to need to travel. This however also extends to the rail industry as a whole – every driver, guard, controller, signaller, engineer, dispatcher and more are all critical in keeping things moving, be that the movement of essential workers to and from work, or freight to stock our shelves and deliver vital equipment. So on behalf of us all, thank you for the vital work that you are doing!

Update History

We’re keeping this page up to date as things change. Here’s a (rough!) list of what has changed;

• Sunday 22/03/2020: First published.
• Thursday 26/03/2020: Updated to include information Southeastern’s new 04:45 departure from Tonbridge, and Southern’s expected new 05:29 Tonbridge to Redhill and 06:07 Redhill to Tonbridge departures.
• Sunday 29/03/2020: Updated to include confirmed information on new early-morning services.
• Tuesday 31/03/2020: Updated to include retimed departure of Southeastern’s xx:37 London Charing Cross service to xx:41 to enable better connections on the xx:37 arrival from Redhill.
• Monday 13/04/2020: Updated to include new Early Morning/Late Night services on the Medway Valley line.
• Sunday 17/05/2020: Updated to include changes from 18/05/2020, including direct Cannon Street services.
• Saturday 16/06/2020: Updated to include changes from 01/06/2020 and new requirements to wear a face covering on public transport.
• Thursday 02/07/2020: Updated information on essential journeys and TfL station closures.