Southeastern Railway Avis 

usually on time for me. when my southeastern train was a bit late recently (just enough for delay repay, not enough to make me moan about it directly here). I did the delay repay thing, and was pleasantly surprised how quickly they sorted it out, despite me doing the form wrong apparently, where I know other companies would use this as an excuse to not pay or make me jump through hoops. a rare triumph of customer service deserves praise.

Im from Spain and for some reason we are 40 years ahead of the UK in terms of trains . What is going on? Why do people get on with this? Delays everywhere, DIRTY trains , NO air con when temperature outside is 34 degrees , NOT enough space and extortionate prices what’s happening ?

I purchased a valid ticket for my journey and was able to provide proof of purchase afterwards, yet still received and was forced to pay an £80 penalty fare because my phone battery died during a ticket inspection.

What’s most disappointing is not the fine itself, but the complete lack of discretion or common sense shown towards genuine paying customers acting in good faith. At no point was there any dispute that I had bought and paid for the correct ticket. The issue was purely that I could not display it at that exact moment due to a dead phone battery.

The appeals process felt entirely procedural and impersonal, with little consideration given to proportionality or genuine circumstances. The system appears designed to prioritise revenue collection over fairness or customer experience.

Passengers are increasingly encouraged to rely on digital tickets, yet when technology fails, customers are treated the same as deliberate fare evaders. That simply does not feel reasonable.

I understand rules need to exist, but there should also be room for judgement and discretion where there is clear evidence of honest payment and no intent whatsoever to avoid the fare.

I travelled on Southeastern Highspeed services between Stratford International and Broadstairs on 24 May 2026 and unfortunately experienced extremely poor conditions in both directions, particularly relating to overcrowding, accessibility, and passenger safety.

On the outward journey (11:48 departure), the train was heavily overcrowded to the point where boarding was chaotic. We initially attempted to board an earlier service (10:48) but were unable to do so due to extreme crowding at the platform. At Stratford International we were advised to move towards the front, but even there the situation was extremely congested and it was very difficult to board safely.

On the return journey (17:55 from Broadstairs), conditions were again very overcrowded. The platform was already full before arrival of the train, and boarding was disorganised with passengers pushing to enter. Once on board, there was very limited space to move through the train, and many passengers were standing in vestibules and door areas.

The most serious issue throughout both journeys was the lack of available seating and the impact this had on vulnerable passengers. My father (70+ with sciatica) and mother (nearly 70 with mobility difficulties following a foot operation) were both required to stand for long periods. I also have cerebral palsy, mobility difficulties, knee pain and previous operations on both feet, and I was unable to obtain a seat on either journey.

Priority seating did not appear to be effectively observed or enforced. At one point, I observed an elderly passenger struggling significantly while younger passengers occupied multiple seats, and assistance only came after a delay.

There also appeared to be minimal visible crowd control or ticket enforcement, which contributed to the perception of overcrowding and lack of order during boarding. Passengers were repeatedly told to “move down” even when there was very limited space available to do so.

While the train itself did eventually move and the journey completed, the level of overcrowding and lack of effective passenger management made the experience uncomfortable and concerning from a safety and accessibility perspective.

Given the cost of approximately £100 for three passengers, the experience was also very poor in terms of value for money.

I believe Southeastern should consider improved crowd management during peak leisure travel periods, better enforcement of priority seating, and more effective platform and boarding control to ensure passenger safety and accessibility are not compromised during extreme demand periods.

Overall, while the service technically ran, the conditions experienced were unacceptable for passengers with mobility needs and raise serious concerns about capacity management on busy coastal routes.

It is a scam. I literally changed none of my details and the website added 61 pounds to the price. The pricings also feel stupendously high. The website has probably averted me from ever going with Southeastern Railway to Brighton and Hove.

I could give less I would. Money hungry pigs whose power tripping staff let any inch of authority go straight to their tiny heads. Don’t travel with SE.

I would like to leave a word of thanks to the gentleman (whose name I do not know ) working today and often in the booking office at Birchington-on-Sea railway station. He is always extremely helpful and patient , as today when I renewed the Senior Railcards for myself and my wife. We use them often and he is invariably most informative and patient. He is a credit to the company.

I travelled on the 21:10 service from London Victoria to Gillingham and was seated in the end carriage with a small number of passengers (fewer than 10). A ticket officer checked my ticket but did not appear to check others in the same carriage.

The manner of the interaction felt abrupt and not particularly polite. This made me feel singled out and raised concerns about possible profiling.

I have submitted a formal complaint and hope this is reviewed appropriately.

Absolutely awful. I've had the "pleasure" of using Southeastern for around 6 years, and I can (and do) tolerate a lot, but the latest round of guff from this lot is ENOUGH. Rather than invest anything in improving the service they just roll out hired security and revenue officers to protect the business - protecting staff or public, or allowing a pleasant journey (I mean, who would want that!) is a distant second. I feel like I'm a naughty kid travelling to a potential custodial sentence, rather than an adult in my 50s going to my job...the attitude? the respect? There is none. I know Southeastern don't give a s**t, so here's what I'm going to do...go back to my car before getting out of this dire sitch entirely. Miserable stuff.

After the government froze prices, they played with fares. A train from Dover to Stansted Airport used to cost me £45, with a month to return. Now it's over £140, with no way to change the fare. A 300 percent increase, with no increase, just fare manipulation. Thanks to you, I've decided to leave this stinking, moldy place on the sea.

Penalty at London Bridge because I bought my ticket on the train, before I boarded and I didn’t HOLD it for the entire journey? £115. Come on, get your act together South Eastern and focus on your service not penalising your long suffering customers. What a bunch of muppets.

I recently purchased a senior rail card from Blackheath station because I had been shopping there at the time. The experience at the ticket office was so positive, on that occasion, that I decided to go back to Blackheath station today, even though I live over four miles from there, to enquire about the best ticket deal for a return journey to Bath Spa station (leaving on April28th and returning the following day). The customer service I received today, from the member of staff Victoria, was equally as positive. She was extremely thorough (looking at all possible options) and with such a friendly and personable manner.
Well done at Blackheath station for a customer service that in my experience is second to none.

No shame delays after delays and not a single apology by the driver. Learn something from Japan.

I was on the 12:32 from Margaret to St Pancras today and the conductor that came around was incredibly helpful and polite. He was able to help me with my issue and was very understanding 10/10!

The ticket situation seems crazy. I had a hospital appointment in London and had no idea what time it would finish so conservatively booked my return ticket for 14.20. As things turned out my appointment didn’t take long so I went for the earlier 12.50 train but staff at St Pancras refused to let me travel. I’m 65 and disabled, for goodness sake. Would it have hurt for them to let me on the earlier train? It’s not as if it was peak time. The PA was broadcasting the fact that there were plenty of seats. Just bonkers.

Dear Southeastern Customer Services,
I am writing to report a recurring issue with my Southeastern Key smartcard.
Every time I purchase or load a ticket onto my Key card, it fails to work when I try to use it at ticket gates or validators. Although the payment is successful, the card does not allow me to travel, which causes delays and inconvenience on every journey.
This issue has happened repeatedly, and it appears there may be a fault either with the card itself or with how tickets are being loaded onto it.

what a load of incompetence
my train back home was cancelled because of a breakdown, what, they don,t have a standby train????
rather unhelpful staff said i would have to wait an hour for the next train!
PATHETIC SERVICE

When I left my bag at Ramsgate station, the staff (Nathan) helped us and called different people at the station to see if they could help us. Then they said to come to Charing Cross to get the bag amd now we got it. Thank you, Nathan! (By my son)

Frequently use this service and never get 100% from the company, for some greed reason they charge double during peak times with chances of standing for 30+ mins travel.

Delays and signal faults are very common, not something us customers who uses the transport for work wants to experience over and over again.

With the double charge of peak surely the company can fix the repeating issues, guess we shall never know in our live time because it is never ending