hexagon789
Veteran Member
To Dover I think there were two trains and hour to Charing Cross via Folkestone and two trains and hour from Victoria via Chatham and Canterbury East.
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Was Kent Coast services actually that bad pre HS1?
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To Dover I think there were two trains and hour to Charing Cross via Folkestone and two trains and hour from Victoria via Chatham and Canterbury East.
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frodshamfella
Established Member
Both Stations had regular services, just different routes.
telstarbox
Established Member
These are the 2008-09 timetables - http://web.archive.org/web/20090215001941/http://southeasternrailway.co.uk/timetables.php
The off-peak services were:
xx00 Charing X ... Tonbridge - all stations to Ashford Intl
xx03 Victoria ... Faversham - Canterbury East - Dover Priory
xx15 Charing X ... Tonbridge - High Brooms - Tun Wells - all stations to Hastings
xx18 Victoria ... Maidstone East - Ashford Intl - Canterbury West
xx23 Charing X ... Tonbridge - Paddock Wood - Staplehurst - Ashford Intl where train divides:
xx33 Victoria ... Faversham - Canterbury East - Dover Priory
xx15 Charing X ... Tonbridge - High Brooms - Tun Wells - SEMI FAST to Hastings
xx53 Charing X, Waterloo East, FAST TO Tonbridge, FAST TO Ashford Intl where train divides:
The off-peak services were:
xx00 Charing X ... Tonbridge - all stations to Ashford Intl
xx03 Victoria ... Faversham - Canterbury East - Dover Priory
xx15 Charing X ... Tonbridge - High Brooms - Tun Wells - all stations to Hastings
xx18 Victoria ... Maidstone East - Ashford Intl - Canterbury West
xx23 Charing X ... Tonbridge - Paddock Wood - Staplehurst - Ashford Intl where train divides:
Front half Canterbury West - Ramsgate
Rear half Dover Priory
xx30 Charing X ... Tonbridge - Paddock Wood - Staplehurst - Headcorn - Ashford IntlRear half Dover Priory
xx33 Victoria ... Faversham - Canterbury East - Dover Priory
xx15 Charing X ... Tonbridge - High Brooms - Tun Wells - SEMI FAST to Hastings
xx53 Charing X, Waterloo East, FAST TO Tonbridge, FAST TO Ashford Intl where train divides:
Front half Canterbury West - Ramsgate - Margate
Rear half Dover Priory - Ramsgate
Rear half Dover Priory - Ramsgate
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telstarbox
Established Member
I think that unlike in Hampshire and Sussex, there have never recently been pure 'coastway' services e.g. Faversham - Ramsgate or Margate - Dover, and the coastal stations have been served by trains starting or terminating in London.
There was an hourly off-peak service from Charing Cross, non-stop Waterloo East to Ashford, from electrification in 1962 until the late 1980s/early 1990s. For most of this period, it left Charing Cross at xx.00, and divided at Ashford with one portion running via Canterbury West to Margate, and the other via Dover and Deal to Ramsgate. Until the 4-CEP and 4-BEP units were refurbished in the early 1980s, some of these services had buffet cars. The current service on the Kent 'classic' lines is a shadow of what it was.
For Thanet, the main route would have been Victoria via Chatham. Dover, half and half.
Sadly true
Sadly true
The folks of Sevenoaks, Tonbridge and Tunbridge Wells probably disagree with that.
I'm not "the folks of Sevenoaks, Tonbridge and Tunbridge Wells".
BluePenguin
On Moderation
The usual way really depended on where you were travelling from. Victoria to Dover/Ramsgate was 1 hour 40 minutes which was faster than getting to another terminal.
The quickest way to get to Thanet was from Charing Cross, calling at Waterloo East, Tonbridge, Ashford International, Canterbury West, Ramsgate Broadstairs Margate (took 1 hour 40 to Ramsgate)
To Dover the fastest route was also from Charing Cross, calling at Waterloo East, Tonbridge, Ashford International, Folkestone Central and Dover Priory (took 1 hours 28 minutes).
urpert
Member
When I was commuting to Canterbury in 2005, East/Victoria was definitely seen as the “main” London route.
This is the service I recall connecting to the Hovercraft at Dover Priory, via a shuttle bus from there. It was a decidedly speedy nonstop run from Waterloo, presumably to the same timings as the boat trains, and as an hourly service we felt that East Kent had a good service.
Coming back the Hovercraft were a bit random with their arrivals, and on being deposited at Dover Priory the staff there seemed to send people away on the first service that said "London" (as they all did), regardless. I seem to recall that there wasn't a lot of difference in the time taken, compared to waiting for the express.
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