Kent & East Sussex Railway

England's Finest Rural Light Railway

 

1 2 3 4 5 6

10th Anniversary Celebrations at the K&ESR's Hoppers Weekend

image

On the 11th and 12th September, visitors to Bodiam station can enjoy a whole weekend of "opping nostalgia" as the Kent & East Sussex Railway hosts its tenth annual Hop Pickers Weekend. The event is open from 10.30am to 6:00pm each day. Saturday's evening entertainment is free to enter and the beer tent and BBQ will be open.

Carriage Maintenance Building Extension Appeal - click here for more information

image

The Kent & East Sussex Railway in Tenterden has launched an appeal to raise £200,000 to double the capacity of its main carriage maintenance building at Tenterden station. The expansion is needed to provide sufficient high quality trains to operate the current train time table which currently carries 90,000 passengers annually.

Pensioner's treat, £7.50 a seat at the Kent & East Sussex Railway!

From 14 to 16 September 2010 anyone over 60 years of age can enjoy a great value day out when they visit The Kent & East Sussex Railway, as all Senior Rover tickets will cost just £7.50 each! (Usually £11.80). Visitors can enjoy a 21-mile nostalgic steam train ride in beautifully restored carriages on a journey through picturesque countryside between Tenterden and Bodiam Stations.

Cavell Van Restoration Appeal - Latest Progress Report - click here for more information

image

We need to raise £35,000 to restore the van in time for the National Service of Remembrance on 11 November 2010. The ‘Cavell Van’, built in 1919, is important in the railway preservation movement for being the prototype of a class of vans used for mail and luggage on express passenger trains from the 1920s.

Visit Our Kent & East Sussex Railway Photo Albums - Updated 13th August

image

Our Photo Album contains 100's of images taken by Lewis Brockway in several collections including our Steam & Diesel Gala's, 1940's & 70's weekends and Thomas & Friends 65th Anniversary. We also have a Volunteers Photo Album available for viewing from the main menu link.

NEW DVD - Available From The K&ESR Online Store

image

Now available - Kent and East Sussex Railway on Parade 2002-2009. All the events on the railway between 2002 and 2009 are recalled on this 90 minute DVD. Features galas, visiting engines, events, behind the scenes and much more. £13.00 inc VAT, Click on the title to purchase online.

<< >> Play > Stop

Visitor info for the Kent & East Sussex Railway PDF Print E-mail

A Great Value Day Out

Multi-Lingual leaflet front cover

Our all day hop-on, hop-off Rover fares allow unlimited travel along the full 10 ½ miles (16.8 km) of the railway. You can stop off to explore at any station - to visit Bodiam Castle for example, or to look over the loco yard at Rolvenden.

If you plan to make a day of it why not call 01580 765155 to book one of our terrific picnic hampers.

We like our trains to depart on time and our visitors can help by arriving early to purchase tickets. It can help that just one person queues to puchase tickets and other family members make their way to find seats.

Contact Details

Address: Tenterden Town Station
Station Road, Tenterden, Kent, TN30 6HE, UK
Telephone: 01580 765155
Fax: 01580 765654
24hr talking timetable: 01580 762943

Multi-Lingual Leaflet

↓↓ Visitor information in English, French, Dutch and German is available to download in PDF format using the links below

↓↓ Les renseignements sur les visiteurs en anglais, français, néerlandais et allemand est disponible pour téléchargement en format PDF à l'aide des liens ci-dessous

↓↓ Bezoeker informatie in het Engels, Frans, Nederlands en Duits beschikbaar is voor downloaden in PDF-formaat met behulp van de onderstaande links

↓↓ Besucher-Infos in Deutsch, Englisch, Französisch, Niederländisch und Deutsch zur Verfügung steht zum Download im PDF-Format über die Links unten

Outside Leaflet (2 MB) • • Inside Leaflet (3 MB)

2010 timetable front cover

Fares - held from 2009!

Day Rover fares for 2010 are Adult £12.80, Senior Citizen £11.80, Child (3 - 15 years inc.) £7.80 and Family (2 adults + up to 3 children or 1 adult and up to 4 children) £34.00. Timetable and Fares

Car Park

Free parking is available at Tenterden (260 spaces) and Northiam. Visitors who would like to start their journey from Bodiam may park at the National Trust's Bodiam Castle car park for £2 per day. NT Members can park free.

How to get to The Kent & East Sussex Railway

View a Google Map and directions to Tenterden Town Station.

highways_agencyLive Traffic Information direct from the Highways Agency for SE England is available here

Facilities for Visitors with Disabilities
Please note that 'Petros' is not in traffic during 2010 but provison has been made to still convey wheelchair users.

All our facilities have been carefully designed with disabled and elderly passengers in mind. There are parking spaces for the disabled next to the platforms at Tenterden Town and Northiam Stations and toilets for the disabled at Tenterden, Northiam and Bodiam. We are proud to boast a specially designed disabled coach, Petros, which is fitted with ramped wheelchair access, wide aisles and moveable seating. Some of our other carriages have ramped access too. There is full wheelchair access to the shop and refreshment rooms at Tenterden Town, and the Colonel Stephens Railway Museum has level access with 42" aisles. The Tenterden ticket office is fitted with an induction loop.
The timetable is available in a Large Print version upon request in person, by telephone [01580 765155] or by email to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Site_Map_250x169Site Plan

Download a large aerial view of Tenterden Town Station, (file size 2MB).

Restaurant

Catering is available in the Station Refreshment Rooms at Tenterden. This building was formerly the Maidstone & District Motor Services waiting room at Palace Avenue, Maidstone - built in 1922 as Britain's first bus station. Today you can enjoy anything from an ice cream to a cooked lunch with desert seated inside the quaint 36-seater restaurant or al fresco in the dappled shade beneath surrounding trees. The children's play area is adjacent to the Refreshment Rooms and offers shaded picnic tables.

Souvenir & Gift Shop

You can purchase a selection of items, Special Event tickets (i.e. Santa Specials), Driver Experience Days and become a member of the railway from our online store, which is secured with a Thawte SSL certificate, for your peace of mind. All of these plus many other items can also be purchased from our Souvenir and Gift Shop at Tenterden which is open every day the trains are running.

Colonel Stephens Railway Museum

Colonel Holman Fred Stephens was an English eccentric, a brilliant railway engineer, and the man who built and ran the Kent & East Sussex Railway (and amazingly 16 other light railways!).

His legacy is commemorated in this intriguing award-winning museum next to Tenterden Town Station. Open every afternoon when trains are running. Entry £1.50 adult, 50p child.

Visit the Museum website

Dogs

Dogs are welcome to travel with their owners on normal operating days providing they are well behaved and kept under close control while remaining on a lead. Under no circunstances should they be allowed on the upholstery. The fare for a dog is £1.

In accordance with our conditions of carriage dogs are not permitted to travel during major special events. For example, the annual Gala, Thomas, Santa Specials, Halloween, 1940's.

Read our Conditions of carriage

Last Updated ( Tuesday, 20 April 2010 12:57 )
 

K&ESR Daily News

Thursday 2nd September

Today we are running our Green Service, 3 steam and 2 heritage diesel departures each day. First train (steam) leaves Tenterden at 10.40.

Next Special Event

Saturday 11 and
Sunday 12 September

Visitors to Bodiam station can enjoy a whole weekend of "opping nostalgia" as the Kent & East Sussex Railway hosts its tenth annual Hop Pickers Weekend.  More info

Monthly Competition

WIN FREE Tickets for the K&ESR

August WINNER .... 
Mrs Harwood from Sidcup - Congratulations!

Read more...
VAQAS is the Visitor Attraction Quality Assurance Scheme