A new year has dawned, and one which we can only hope will – eventually – be better than 2020. Southeastern is greeting it with yet another new timetable, this time starting on Monday 4 January. Perhaps surprisingly, given the state of the pandemic in Kent, this restores some of the services withdrawn in November and December.
Here are some points to note for passengers using Tonbridge, Paddock Wood and Hildenborough stations:
- The full off-peak mainline timetable is restored, with six trains an hour between Tonbridge and Charing Cross (up from four trains an hour). This means that there will once again be two trains an hour between Hildenborough and Charing Cross (up from one an hour).
- The number of Cannon Street trains in the peak has been increased. This includes three trains arriving in London between 07:45 and 09:00, all of which serve Paddock Wood, Tonbridge and Hildenborough. In the evening there are three similar trains in the opposite direction (leaving Cannon Street at 17:30, 18:02 and 18:30) as well as a couple of Cannon Street to Hastings services that call at Tonbridge – including an 18:00 departure from Cannon Street which runs fast between London Bridge and Tonbridge!
- Some rush hours trains resume calling at Chelsfield. The reverses an earlier decision to omit these calls in order to avoid potential crowding. The restoration of these stops is bad news for Hildenborough and Tonbridge passengers, as it is likely to make social distancing more difficult on the services affected.
- The last train of the day is restored, running from Cannon Street at 00:20 (Monday and Tuesday nights) or Charing Cross at 00:15 (Wednesday, Thursday and Friday nights).
- Sadly, there is no improvement on the Medway Valley line, with the vast majority of services continuing to turn around at Paddock Wood rather than running through to Tonbridge. We will carry on fighting against the curtailment of these services at Paddock Wood.
Overall, this the timetable contains many positives for those passengers who still need to travel during the Tier 4 restrictions. We would welcome feedback from any members or supporters who do continue to travel.