Tonbridge Named Kent’s Busiest Commuter Station as Rail Season Ticket Use Rises

Tonbridge has been named Kent’s busiest commuter hub after new figures revealed a sharp rise in rail season ticket journeys across the county.

New data released by Southeastern shows commuter travel is continuing to rebound, with season ticket journeys across Kent increasing by more than 1.4 million trips in a single year.

Tonbridge station recorded more than 1.35 million season ticket entries and exits between 2024 and 2025, placing it ahead of Ashford International railway station and Sevenoaks railway station, which completed the county’s top three commuter stations.

Together, the three stations accounted for more than 3.2 million commuter journeys over the year.

The figures suggest more people are returning to office-based working patterns, despite the continued growth of hybrid working since the pandemic. Across Kent overall, season ticket travel increased by more than 10%, rising from 13.35 million to 14.76 million journeys.

Other busy commuter locations included Sittingbourne railway station, Gillingham railway station and Gravesend railway station, all of which saw double-digit percentage increases in season ticket use.

Interestingly, some of Kent’s smaller towns also showed strong commuter habits. Birchington-on-Sea railway station recorded the highest proportion of season ticket travel in the county, with more than half of all journeys made using commuter tickets.

Southeastern says the growth reflects increasing confidence in rail travel and highlighted that many commuters could save money by switching from daily tickets to flexible or monthly season ticket options, particularly for those travelling to London several times per week.

The rise in commuter journeys also comes shortly after rail fares were frozen until 2027, giving regular passengers more certainty around travel costs during a period where many households are still managing higher living expenses.

The full commuter station rankings and season ticket calculator can be found here: Southeastern Season Ticket Calculator