Tickets
Got a question about Southeastern train tickets or season tickets? Find the answers here…
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Our busiest times are on weekdays, arriving in London before 10am and leaving between 4pm and 7pm. Peak fares generally apply before 10am and there are no evening restrictions on off-peak tickets.
At all other times – including during weekends and bank holidays – off-peak fares apply.
Sometimes there may be more than one off-peak ticket available for your journey. The cheapest fare you can buy on the day of travel is called Super Off-Peak. These tickets will have more restrictions on how and when you can travel and are only valid for travel after 10am.
Below is a list of our available daily tickets and the times they’re valid:
| Morning peak | Evening peak | |
| Anytime | Valid all day | Valid all day |
| Off-Peak (Kent Mainline & High Speed) |
Travelling from Kent or East Sussex towards London ? - Off Peak tickets are valid if your train arrives into London at or after 10am Travelling within Kent or East Sussex only ? - Off Peak times vary. Please check before you travel |
No evening peak restriction |
| Off-Peak (London Zones 1-6) | Travelling from London to Kent or East Sussex; or within the Travelcard zones ? - Off Peak tickets are valid if your train leaves at or after 09.30am | No evening peak restriction |
| Super Off-Peak | Valid on trains timed to depart after 10am | No evening peak restriction |
| Advance | Valid on specific trains only | Valid on specific trains only |
*Please always check the restrictions on the ticket you buy.
We sell tickets for rail journeys throughout Great Britain. You can buy regular tickets, saver train tickets and Southeastern season tickets. We often have special deals too.
Yes, if you make the same peak time journey three times a week or more. How much will a Season Ticket save me?
You can choose from a Weekly, Monthly or Annual Season Ticket. Annual Ticket holders get extra rewards and discounts too with a Gold Card. Find out more about Southeastern Season Tickets.
Ideally you’ll be served within three minutes, or five minutes at peak times.
Waits may be a bit longer at busy times, such as the beginning of the week. There’s a poster in every staffed station showing the times to avoid if you can, so you don’t have to queue for long.
The fastest way may be to use the Ticket Vending Machines or buy your train tickets online.
You can renew Season Tickets online too.
If you forgot to travel with your railcard and couldn’t get a discount on your ticket, you can apply for a refund of the difference on the first occasion. You can upload a copy of your ticket and railcard to our ‘contact us’ webform. We’ll be happy to consider a refund for you.
- National Rail routes within London after 9.30am on weekdays, and at weekends and public holidays
You can use your 60+ Oyster Card between Denmark Hill and Peckham Rye, after 09:30.
The card is only available to people who live in London.
Yes, if you work for a PLC or Limited company.
If your employer is providing a Season Ticket loan, ask them to make the cheque payable to “Southeastern” and write "for and on behalf of "(name of company). The company name must end with PLC, Limited, Ltd, LLC, LP, or LLP.
Buying a Season Ticket with a company cheque for the first time? Bring the following with you:
- Proof of identification, such as a utility bill or your driving licence
- A letter of authority from your employer, such as a letter on headed paper or a payslip showing they have issued the cheque for your Season Ticket
Although we don’t accept customer cheques, we still accept:
- Banker’s drafts
- Payment from non-limited organisations, charities and societies
- Cheques pre-printed with the words ‘trading as’, ‘TA’ or similar
If you bought your Season Ticket directly from us, we can generally give you a refund if there is:
- Seven weeks (or more) left on an annual Season Ticket
- Seven days (or more) left on a Season Ticket valid between one and ten months
- Three days (or more) left on a weekly Season Ticket
Please note a £10 admin fee is charged for all Season ticket refunds.
For your refund, come along to a staffed ticket office or apply to Customer Services. Refunds are made in the same way you paid. We can only arrange refunds on tickets that were originally bought from a Southeastern outlet. If you bought it somewhere else, then you should go directly to the supplier for the refund.
Refunds are calculated from the first to the last date of travel and is the difference between what you originally paid and what you would have paid for a Season Ticket (or combination of tickets) covering that period. Refunds are NOT calculated on a pro rata basis.
So you won’t get a complete refund for the period of time left on your ticket. To explain, an annual season ticket gives 52 weeks’ worth of travel for the cost of 40, so refunds are calculated on the basis of what you paid rather than period left on the ticket. To find out what your refund might be, please check the National Rail Enquiries Season ticket calculator.
We can’t give you a refund if you don’t use your Season Ticket for a period of time then start using it again, unless you have been ill.
What if I’ve been too ill to travel regularly on my Season Ticket?
We’ll consider a refund if you’ve been unable to travel due to illness for a minimum of four continuous unbroken weeks. We’ll calculate your refund by multiplying half the weekly Season Ticket cost by the number of weeks you were unable to travel – known as an intermediate period of sickness.
An intermediate period of sickness can be refunded if it started after your Season Ticket began and ended before your Season Ticket expired. During this time you need to keep hold of your ticket.
If you know you won’t need your Season Ticket again, we can give you a refund on the length of time remaining.
If you’re able to, you can always call in at your local Southeastern station for advice or call Customer Services on 0345 322 7021.
For stolen or lost Season Tickets, please come along to a staffed Southeastern ticket office as soon as possible. If your ticket was stolen, please also let the police know.
We don’t offer duplicates for weekly tickets.
We’ll replace faded or damaged Season Tickets free of charge. If it's valid on Southeastern services, just bring it to any staffed Southeastern ticket office.
See our Code of Practice for dealing with duplicate Season Tickets.
Key smartcard
One of the benefits of switching to The Key is that you can buy or renew your Season Ticket up to one month before you want it to start. This is available both online and at stations, for all durations of season ticket, and for both new issues and renewals.
Paper season tickets
You can buy a new monthly or annual paper Season Ticket from 12pm the day before you want it to start. If you want your ticket to start on a Sunday or Monday, you can buy it from 12pm on the previous Friday.
You can buy a weekly Season Ticket on the first day of travel.
Renewing an existing monthly or annual Season Ticket? You can do this up to seven days before it runs out.
The National Rail Conditions of Travel are the agreement or contract between us and you when you buy a ticket to travel.
Find out more from the National Rail website.
Yes, in certain circumstances you can use a high speed service with a non-high speed ticket. We’ll let you know which tickets will be accepted and for how long.
Examples of when this might apply:
- All services are suspended, or there is a line closure on the Chatham mainline between Faversham and either Victoria, or Charing Cross and Cannon Street in either direction
- All services are suspended, or there is a line closure on one of the Ashford mainlines, affecting trains via Tonbridge or Maidstone East in either direction
- There is severe disruption to our network because of flooding, heavy snow, landslips, etc.
Yes, on our website you can buy train tickets for travel across the UK, with no booking fee.
We offer free delivery, or you can collect your tickets at any of our station Ticket Vending Machines. If you’re buying a Season Ticket you may wish to consider recorded or special delivery.
You can now buy Advance Tickets exclusively on our website up to 12 weeks in advance. These Standard Class Single (one way) tickets can save you money.
When you buy a Southeastern Season Ticket online you have two delivery options:
- Recorded delivery (£2) offers proof of postage, signature on delivery and online confirmation of delivery. It doesn’t guarantee next day delivery.
- Special delivery (£6 or £8) guarantees next day delivery* before 13:00. Your tickets must be signed for when they arrive.
If your ticket is worth between £500 and £2,499, special delivery costs £6 and you’ll be insured up to £500.
If your ticket is worth over £2,500, special delivery costs £8 and you’ll be insured up to £2,500.
Please remember, once we’ve posted your ticket we’re not obliged to change, cancel, replace or refund it.
*Remote areas and Islands of Scotland will take longer to reach. If you order over the weekend, your tickets will be dispatched on Monday and delivered on Tuesday; if you order on a bank holiday Monday, your tickets will be dispatched on Tuesday and delivered on Wednesday.
If your ticket hasn’t arrived, give us a call on 0345 322 7021 so we can find out what’s happened.
Just a note before you call – the only way to guarantee delivery is to choose recorded or special delivery when you check out. We can’t guarantee delivery if you choose 1st Class post. Once we’ve posted your ticket we’re not obliged to change, cancel, replace or refund it.
If your train ticket hasn’t arrived by your date of travel please buy another ticket, then send us:
- a copy of your confirmation email
- receipt or proof of purchase for your new ticket
- your contact details
Send this information to:
Southeastern Customer Services
PO Box 10422
Unit 16 Coalfield Way
Ashby de la Zouch
LE65 9EL
We may be able to refund your original tickets, as long as you ordered them to arrive in time.
Just a note before you get in touch – the only way to guarantee delivery is to choose recorded or special delivery when you check out. We can’t guarantee delivery if you choose 1st Class post for your tickets.
PLUSBUS is a discounted ticket that gives you unlimited bus travel at the start and/or end of your train journey.
PLUSBUS stations on our network include:
- Ashford
- Canterbury
- Deal & Sandwich
- Dover
- Folkestone
- Hastings & Bexhill
- Margate & Ramsgate
- Reigate
- Tonbridge
- Tunbridge Wells
PLUSBUS costs around £2 a day (often less) and this is added to the price of your train ticket.
Children (age 5-15) pay half price on PLUSBUS. If you have a railcard, you get a third off too.
When you buy your train ticket, ask for PLUSBUS for unlimited bus travel around town (on all participating services). You can use it at the start and/or end of your train journey.
PLUSBUS can be added to:
- Single Tickets
- Day Return Tickets
- Period Return Tickets (just tell us your return date to get PLUSBUS on the return part of your journey)
- Season Tickets (for set periods, to match your Season Ticket duration)
You can change between train and bus services at over 270 train stations in Britain.
Where possible please retain the additional ticket you’ve purchased, and apply for a refund at your local Southeastern ticket office. Alternatively, you can apply for your refund by contacting Customer Services.