Commuting from Tunbridge Wells

[mirkaH]

We're considering buying a house in Tunbridge Wells. We went over the weekend and loved the look and feel of it - the train journey into Charing Cross seemed to be decent as well.

However, would really appreciate if someone could tell me the reality of commuting on a daily basis during rush hours?

Is the service reliable and what's the chances of getting a seat? My job is a 5 minute walk from Charing Cross so on that end easy commute once off the train :)

Hi Mirka, bumping for you as my information would be out of date.
DH used to use this line to commute and it wasn't too bad, but Tunbridge Wells is a busy station and if they put short carriage train on it could be tricky to get a seat.

How far is that house from the station, as there's not much option for parking.

I live further along the line and sometimes commute from Tonbridge or Hildenborough. We always get a seat on all the trains from both the Dover and the Hastings line so you will be fine going into London. I believe you will also be fine in the evening rush hour as I normally get on at London Bridge and there are enough seats for most of us to get one so I reckon at Charing X you have more choice.

I do it every morning atm. its really quite good. no problems getting a seat, either in or out. the time table has just changed and there are a lot more trains. service is generally good, often a few mins delayed because of congestion around london bridge. when it does go down, it is a bit of a nightmare. my top tip would be to follow south eastern on twitter, its the best way to get info on the current running of the trains. plus the london bridge stuff will be fixed at some point in the next few years, so fingers crossed it will be even better.

Thanks guys for the information! Sounds like it may be less of a problem than I thought.

The house is a 20 minute walk from Tunbridge Wells station so not bad at all, reckon I would bike it most days.

Think we may just take the plunge and move out of London (finally!)

A 20 minute walk to the station is brilliant. Do you know much else about the town? It's fabulous for parks, restaurants and shopping.

my son used to commute into canary wharf on the 6.15am, no probs getting a seat. but he moved to london as found it too long a commute. there is also a bus that goes into the city each morning.

www.centaurtravel.co.uk/fares
cheaper than the train, has wifi , cafe and loo on board.
uses bus lanes so no delays
commuters say it preferable to the train into cannon st.

Just wondered if the recent train strikes etc has affected the commute from TW into London Bridge much? Is there a lot of work being done at London Bridge at the moment that is affecting the service?
OP did you move to TW in the end and if so how are you finding it?

It's Southern Trains that are striking currently, not Southeastern, so the TW to London Bridge trains are not affected.

Thanks very much Chalky