I've reserved train seats from Charing Cross to Oxted (to see Chartwell). We're staying just 2 blocks from Charing Cross. However, now I see that we change trains at Victoria Station. Why does this show leaving Charing Cross and Victoria Station at the same time?
Depart 10:51 - London Charing Cross
Arrive 11:33 – Oxted
Duration 42m
Changes 1
London Charing Cross
London Underground
London Victoria
10:51 London Victoria
Southern
11:33 Oxted
That’s because trains to Oxted don’t leave from Charing Cross. They leave either from Victoria (the train you’ve booked on) or from London Bridge.
In booking from Charing Cross, what you’ve done is booked yourself the tube from Charing Cross to Victoria in order to catch the Oxted train. And because tubes run frequently, you can catch anyone you want that gets you to Victoria in time.
So just get to Victoria for the 10.51 train any way you choose.
For future reference, trains to towns outside of London only go from specific London termini. You can’t just catch a train to anywhere from Charing Cross - you first have to get to the correct terminus.
These are commuter routes so don’t come with reserved seats. Just turn up at the station and go.
Is this an off-peak single ticket? As an alternative, you could take a train from Charing Cross to London Bridge and then train to Oxted.
Regardless, Victoria or London Bridge are the starting points for trains to Oxted.
Thank you. So, even though the tickets show our leaving from Charing Cross, if we take a cab to Victoria instead and get on there, the train would honor our tickets, I suppose? That would probably be easier for our age:)
Yes, Marjie. Just get yourself to Victoria any way you like and get the train.
A tip for anyone booking trains trips from London to elsewhere: choose “London (all)” as your starting point and you’ll then see the correct terminus to start from.
Nearly every train that leaves from Charing Cross stops at London Bridge - it’s an eight minute journey. If you sit on the third or fourth carriage from the back and head up the stairs at London Bridge, there is a large destinations board at the top which will indicate which platform you need to head to. Alternatively, there are usually staff around who will point you in the right direction. It’s easier than taking a cab to Victoria.
It can't hurt for you to know the often-mentioned great source of train knowledge, whether now or in the future:
