Advance tickets

• Weekday bookings for Advance tickets are available until Monday 4 August 2025
• Weekend bookings for Advance tickets are available until Sunday 3 August 2025
• Services departing between 23:00 and 02:00 will only open 8 weeks in advance when timetables have been confirmed

Details last updated 12 May 2025

Advance tickets can be purchased online, through our app, and at our station ticket offices, but not through our Ticket Vending Machines.

They're available as paper and eTickets, but not on our contactless smartcard, The Key.

Advance tickets are only valid for travel on the specific date and time of the train selected when booked. The ticket will not be valid on other trains and you may be required to buy a new ticket if you travel on a different train than the one booked.

Advance tickets are available on selected routes, including some highspeed services. Unfortunately, Advance Tickets are not available for journeys entirely within the London Travelcard area (zones 1-6) or from selected stations close to London. 

Advance tickets are non-refundable.

However, fee-free refunds may be available if the service an Advance ticket was booked on has been cancelled due to industrial action, or if you abandon your journey due to service disruption. You can apply for this refund for Advance tickets bought through Southeastern at Customer Services. For Advance tickets not bought through Southeastern, please contact your original retalier.

Advance tickets are amendable, but there will be a £10 admin fee applied for each ticket changed. Advance tickets can only have their date and journey time changed, not the route or direction of travel. They can be amended right up to the time your journey is due to begin if your Advance ticket was purchased at a station, or up to the day before travel if your Advance ticket was purchased online.

If there is a difference between the price of your original Advance ticket and the cost of your new Advance ticket, you will need to pay the difference. If you change to a train on which a cheaper fare is available, the difference will not be refunded.

You can change your Advance tickets in a few easy ways:

• If you purchased your Advance tickets through your Southeastern account, you can log in and amend the date and time.
• If you purchased your Advance tickets online and you don’t have a Southeastern account, or it's the date of travel, you’ll need to visit a ticket office and ask for the changes to be made. We're unable to amend Advance eTickets at a ticket office.
• If you purchased your Advance tickets at a Southeastern station, you can take your ticket back to a station and request your changes.

Orders purchased as a guest can be registered to a Southeastern account using the link in the confirmation email. This will then allow for Advance eTickets to be amended.

We're unable to amend Advance tickets that have been purchased via PayPal, due to technology limitations. Please contact Customer Services if you wish to amend an Advance ticket purchased via PayPal.

Child discounts are available for all Advance fares. You can also combine adult Advance tickets with Kids for a Quid.

Whilst GroupSave discounts aren't available, you can still get 1/3 off Advance tickets with a Railcard, subject to its terms and conditions.