Letting the train take the strain

After eight days with my car still parked at the local Skoda dealer, and no update either as to what the fault might be, I remain car-less. It's like having your arm chopped off, but with the weather remaining quite mild and with not much rain either, it hasn't been that much of an issue. Having said that, I remain unimpressed with the service I’ve received from this main dealer, and whilst I won't embarrass them by naming and shaming, their current staffing issues must be similar to our own. This seems to be the way of the world at the moment.

These past six days I've been travelling to and from work either by train or by a mixture of lifts from son Matthew or from a colleague.  I've quiet enjoyed travelling in by train, and walking to and from the station at either end means I’ve easily clocked up 10,000 steps a day. The train ride itself is pleasant as well, although somewhat confusingly, the station at Chiddingstone Causeway where my company is based, is called Penshurst despite the village of that name being a couple of miles away.

Penshurst station is only two stops from Tonbridge on the line towards Redhill, and because I'm going against the flow of commuting traffic, the trains are not too crowded. When they pull in at Tonbridge station each morning, before making the return journey to Redhill, the sheer volume of school kids they disgorge onto the platform has to be seen to be believed.

This is because the town is a centre of educational excellence with two girls grammar schools (equivalent), one boy’s grammar, plus two other schools, one for each sex. One of those is Eileen’s old school, which had something of a reputation, back in the day, plus the comprehensive where Matthew spent six years of his life, getting up to mischief and not really learning as much as he should have done. 

So speaks the judgmental parent, but against this background, it’s small wonder that property prices in the area are so high. Trains on the Tonbridge-Redhill line operate on an hourly basis, although at morning and early evening peak times, there were two services every hour, in both directions. This works out fine for work, but even so, I'm looking forward to the return of my vehicle, when we return from holiday.  

Now for a few interesting facts about this rail line, which forms an important east-west, cross-country link.  The railway between Tonbridge and Redhill was part of the original line from London to the Channel coast and after following the course of a natural gap in the chalk hills, to the south of the capital as far as Redhill, departed from the mainline and turned east towards Tonbridge, Ashford and ultimately, Folkestone.  It wasn't until the 1870’s that the more direct route north-west, via Sevenoaks was opened, its construction prior to this having been hindered by lines of steep hills, namely the North Downs and the Greensand Ridge. Crossing these natural barriers necessitated building several tunnels as well as a number of deep cuttings.

When I first moved to Tonbridge in the mid 1980’s, the line towards Redhill was operated by diesel multiple units (DMU’s for the train anoraks out there), but a few years British Rail finally found the funds to electrify the line, a move which provided a seamless link into the rest of the South East rail network.  As well as a busy line in its own right, the link between Tonbridge and Redhill, serves as a useful diversionary route, which is particularly useful when engineering work is taking place on the line that runs through Sevenoaks.

Even before electrification I became quite familiar with this line, particularly during the early days of my involvement with West Kent CAMRA. The railway facilitated evening visits to pubs, such as Little Brown Jug, opposite Penshurst station, as well as for visits to pubs in small town of Edenbridge. If we were feeling really adventurous, we’d continue to the end of the line at Redhill, where the Home Cottage, a large Victorian pub belonging to Young's brewery, served as the ideal meeting point for joint socials between WK CAMRA and the local Reigate & Redhill branch.

I made a return visit to the Home Cottage last year, whilst waiting for a connection back to Tonbridge. This was after completing a section of the North Downs Way. The Tonbridge-Redhill line proved especially useful whilst walking other sections of this long-distance footpath, along with the western extension of the line towards Guildford.  

This section, known as the North Downs Line, is still awaiting electrification,
something that is unlikely to happen given the fragmented nature of the rail network, and the botched privatisation designed for the benefit of shareholders, at the expense of passengers and rail workers. Diesel, or not this section of line was very useful towards the end of my NDW, as it allowed me to access various stopping off points along the way, at remote stations such as Betsworth and Gomshall, as I walked towards the penultimate section of the walk, between Guildford and Farnham.

I’ve finished at work now until after our holiday, which means three weeks away from the office. I’ve had to work like a Trojan getting everything up to date before turning the expansion project I’m involved with, over to colleagues. They will then look after the next phase and take care of my responsibilities during my absence.  In the meantime, I’m off for some last minute shopping, before making a start on the packing, so that’s all for the time being.