Tunbridge Wells railway station

Tunbridge Wells railway station is on the Hastings line in the south of England and serves Royal Tunbridge Wells in Kent. It is 34 miles 32 chains (55.4 km) down the line from London Charing Cross. The station and all trains serving it are operated by Southeastern.

Tunbridge Wells
The station building in 2006
Location	Royal Tunbridge Wells, Tunbridge Wells England
Grid reference	TQ584392
Managed by	Southeastern
Platforms	2
Other information
Station code	TBW
Classification	DfT category C1
Key dates
20 September 1845	first station opened[1]
25 November 1846	present station opened
Passengers
2015/16	3.811 million
2016/17	3.821 million
Interchange	90,095
2017/18	3.679 million
Interchange	50,605
2018/19	3.839 million
Interchange	41,681
2019/20	3.625 million
Interchange	40,320
Notes
Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road

Tunbridge Wells station, eastern approach (Mount Pleasant Road)

Southbound view towards Grove Tunnel

A 1908 Railway Clearing House map of lines around Tunbridge Wells railway station

The station is located in an open cut with tunnels at both ends of the station. The station has entrances on both sides. The ticket office and platform 1 can be accessed directly from street level on the west side of the station or by a footbridge from the east side; platform 2 is accessible from the street (Mount Pleasant Road) or footbridge by stairs and a staff-operated lift. Both platforms are signalled for reversible working and trains arrive/depart at either platform in either direction.

Just beyond Grove Tunnel at the south end of the station was Grove Junction, where trains took the single line branch to Tunbridge Wells West. The branch closed on 6 July 1985.

History

The first station was a temporary terminus opened on 20 September 1845 situated north of Wells Tunnel. This closed when the line was extended to the present station which opened on 25 November 1846. It became a through station in 1851 when the line opened to Robertsbridge and a year later opened through to Hastings. The LBSCR line from Grove Junction to Tunbridge Wells(West) opened in 1867 for goods and 1876 for passenger. Immediately after becoming part of the Southern Railway in 1923 the station was named Tunbridge Wells Central. In 1985 preparation for electrification the platforms were rebuilt and the tracks were resignalled. Electric trains started running in 1986. The station again became just Tunbridge Wells.

Since 1974, the up side of the station only has been Grade II listed.[2]

Services

All services at Tunbridge Wells are opetated by Southeastern. The current off-peak service in trains per hour is: [3]

• 4 tph to London Charing Cross via Tonbridge
• 2 tph to Hastings (1 semi-fast, 1 stopping)

2 tph from London Charing Cross terminate here during the off-peak period.

During the peak periods, the service is strengthened with additional services calling at the station including services to London Cannon Street and Ore.

References

1. Southern Region Record by R.H.Clark
2. Historic England. "Tunbridge Wells Central Railway Station Up Side (1357467)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 4 September 2019.
3. "Timetable 4: London to Tunbridge Wells and Hastings" (PDF). Southeastern, May 2020.

External links

• Train times and station information for Tunbridge Wells railway station from National Rail