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 down the line from London Charing Cross. The station and all trains serving it are operated by Southeastern.
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 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 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.

Services

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