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Southeastern

Southeastern operates trains around the South East of England, including between London and Kent. They also have the fastest domestic train in Great Britain!

Southeastern runs trains out of London Bridge, Charing Cross, Cannon Street, Waterloo East and Victoria towards Kent and the wider South East of England. They have a fleet of 385 trains that stop at 180 stations, of which they operate 164.

Looking for cheap fares? If you’re travelling from Dover, Ramsgate and Faversham to London, it’s worth remembering that trains to St Pancras will be more expensive. This is because they use the High Speed line. Services that use the ‘classic’ route to Victoria, Charing Cross and Cannon Street will be cheaper.

If you travel at weekends and Bank Holidays or after 10am on weekdays, then you’ll find that some routes have the option of a Super Off-Peak Day Return. For example, it’s £29.20 from Dover Priory to London (avoiding High Speed services), versus £44.30 for the Off-Peak equivalent (in this case, valid after 07:29 weekdays).

Some routes do have cheaper Advance tickets. If you want to buy these, you’ll need to book before 6pm the day before travel.

On board services

Bikes

You can bring your bike on Southeastern trains at most times of the day without the need to make a reservation. The only exception is that you can’t bring non-folding bikes onto services in/out of London (in the peak travel direction) during peak times. There’s more information in our dedicated guide to travelling with bikes.

Pets

Up to two dogs, cats or other small domestic animals can travel free in both Standard and 1st Class.

Special Assistance

You can find out more about Passenger Assist on our dedicated page.

Standard Class

Southeastern operates multiple types of train on their services. You’ll find Networker trains on most short-distance and suburban services. These have four coaches (though they’ll often have a two-coach version attached) and can run at a variety of lengths up to 12 coaches.

Electrostar trains operate services to Tunbridge Wells, Dover, Ramsgate and Hastings, as well as Sheerness-on-Sea and the line between Strood and Paddock Wood. They have three or four coaches and can operate in combinations all the way up to 12 coaches.

Finally, Javelin trains run on the high-speed line from St Pancras to Ashford and Dover. They have six coaches but can run in pairs as 12 coach trains. They’re Britain’s fastest domestic train and run at speeds of up to 140mph.

You’ll find power sockets on the Javelin fleet under the seats. There aren’t any power sockets on Electrostar and Networker trains.

More recently, Southeastern have also introduced newer Citybeam trains on their Metro services. These have five carriages and power sockets under every pair of seats.

Can I upgrade to First Class?

As of December 2022, Southeastern no longer offers First Class. If you find a section on a train that looks like First Class, feel free to sit in it, as the trains haven’t been reconfigured.

Information about routes

  • High-Speed services from London St Pancras to Ashford, Dover, Ramsgate and Faversham
  • Gillingham, Dover and Ramsgate to London Victoria via Bromley South (Chatham Mainline)
  • Maidstone East to London Charing Cross and Ashford International to London Victoria via Maidstone East (Maidstone Line)
  • Dover and Ramsgate to London Charing Cross via Tonbridge (South Eastern Mainline)
  • Hastings to London Charing Cross
  • Strood to Paddock Wood
  • Sittingbourne to Sheerness-on-Sea.

They also operate an extensive network of Metro services around London. These trains serve Hayes, Bromley North, Sevenoaks and Orpington, and also go to Dartford via either Sidcup, Bexleyheath or Woolwich Arsenal.