Credit: Network Rail
On Friday 5 February I had the day off work and I decided to go to Dover. Although the line between Folkestone and Dover had been closed for over a month information from different rail industry sources was still poor and contradictory, and the rail replacement bus service was poor and unmanaged. I pity the poor Dover rail travellers who have to put up with this every day.
I decided to start my journey early from Bat & Ball early in case of problems. That turned out to be a good move: my first intended train of the day from Bat & Ball was cancelled and the next train to Sevenoaks was the 9.42 which did not arrive at Sevenoaks until 09.54, nine minutes late. The 10.12 service to Folkestone departed on time and also arrived at Folkestone West on time.
Due to the emergency engineering works to repair the sea wall between Folkestone and Dover you need to join a bus replacement service between these two towns. Information about this bus link is different depending on where you receive it from; the big issue is where to transfer between train and bus. Based on my experience l would recommend Folkestone West as the preferred interchange because the bus stops outside the station building that is on platform one. At Folkestone Central there is a long walk between the platforms and where the bus stops in the main road at the end of the station approach road.
The bus service between Folkestone and Dover Priory is inadequate. The vehicle had insufficient leg room between the seats to sit comfortably: perhaps they were using a “school bus”!
The return journey was not too good. To start with the replacement bus service which I intended to take to Folkestone West left Dover Priory on time but at the Folkestone Central Station stop the bus driver decided that socialising with her friends/colleagues was more important than driving to time. No-one was supervising the service to make sure it ran on time. We arrived at Folkestone West as the train was coming to a stand in the platform; just made it! I had visions of a delay repay claim being submitted with the reason for delay being attributed to “bus driver rabbiting”!
The train departed and on the approach to Paddock Wood came to a stand. Eventually an announcement was made over the P.A. system that signalling problems were delaying the train. The train continued on the journey towards Charing Cross but on arrival at Tonbridge passengers were informed that the service had been cancelled and there was another service to Charing Cross about ten minutes behind this one. I arrived at Sevenoaks at 17.54 having missed the connection to Bat & Ball at 17.30, I travelled on the 18.00 departure; another Delay Replay clam submitted.
If you do not want to use the replacement bus services National Rail Enquiries and Southeastern do not appear to be “singing form the same hymn sheet” concerning the current options for travelling to and from Dover Priory. Southeastern are suggesting that if you do not want to use the rail replacement bus service tickets are valid on services to/from London Victoria changing trains at Canterbury.
However National Rail Enquiries suggests that if travelling from our area to Dover to avoid the replacement bus service you could travel to Canterbury West Station and then walk to Canterbury East Station and then continue your journey by train to Dover. It does however state that two separate tickets will be required. I would have thought that the “valid on any reasonable route” that is printed on tickets should have applied to a route explicitly advised by National Rail Enquiries, and a Sevenoaks to Dover ticket for example should be valid throughout. For those tempted to use this alternative it is about a twenty minute walk between the two Canterbury stations.