Hastings station on Havelock Road: the way down to the pier and the Old Town, the ticket office, toilets, lifts, taxis and the station car park.
Hastings station stands at the top of the town centre, on Station Approach off Havelock Road, with the shopping streets between it and the sea. Southeastern manages the station, and both Southeastern and Southern trains arrive here: the journeys are on the pages for London, Brighton, Ashford International and Gatwick Airport.
The concourse holds the ticket barriers, the ticket office and the machines, with a WH Smith and a Costa alongside. Outside is the forecourt on Station Approach. Southeastern puts the taxi rank outside the station front, and rail replacement buses leave from the front of the station too. National Rail lists a cash machine at the front of the building.
The sea is downhill from here. Station Approach joins Havelock Road, which runs down to Harold Place and the seafront. Southeastern’s own guide to the town says the America Ground, a cluster of independent shops, street food and venues, lies en route from the station to the seafront.
At the front, turn right for the pier. Southeastern places Source Park, the skatepark in the old Victorian baths, on the seafront close to the pier, and the True Crime Museum is on the same stretch. The station panel times the walk from the entrance to the seafront at the pier.
For the Old Town, turn left. Visit 1066 Country describes the three-mile seafront as running from the fishing fleet at its eastern end, past the arcades and funfair rides, to the pier, so the Old Town lies beyond the arcades. Hastings Contemporary stands there among the net huts on the fishing beach, and the Old Town’s lanes climb inland between the East and West Hills. The guide to the Old Town and the fishing fleet picks up from there.
National Rail’s onward-travel poster for Hastings, linked from its station page, names the buses that serve the Old Town and the lettered stop each one leaves from. Hastings is a PlusBus area: PlusBus added to a rail ticket gives unlimited bus travel in the town’s PlusBus zone. The taxi rank is uncovered, and Southeastern says accessible taxis can be booked.
The ticket office is on the way in to the trains. When checked in October 2026 it was open from 05:50 to 20:30 every day, with a low-level counter and induction loops at both counter heights. The machines in the concourse leave room in front for a wheelchair, and tickets bought online are collected from the machines, not the office. Southeastern’s Key smartcard can be issued and topped up here.
The toilets, including an accessible toilet and baby changing, are in the booking hall and open from 07:00 to 19:00; outside those hours staff open them on request. There is no Changing Places toilet. National Rail lists no public Wi-Fi and no luggage storage. Waiting rooms are in the concourse and on platforms 1-2 and 3-4, and the platform ones are heated only while staff are on duty.
National Rail places Hastings in step-free category A, which it explains as step-free access to all platforms. A ramp leading off the ticket hall goes straight to platforms 1 and 2; platforms 3 and 4 are reached by lifts on the footbridge, which also has stairs. Both lifts have clear doors 1.1 m wide, and the station keeps ramps for getting on and off trains.
Staff are on duty from 04:45 to 01:40 Monday to Saturday and from 06:20 to 01:25 on Sunday. Help through the station and on and off trains is available all the time trains are running. Assistance can be booked up to two hours before travelling, or arranged on the day by making yourself known to staff; Southeastern recommends at least 20 minutes before the train. The meeting point is the gateline in the booking hall, and the help points on the platforms have an assistance button that reaches a Southeastern colleague. The assistance helpline runs around the clock and closes only on Christmas Day.
The station car park is run by APCOA and has 75 spaces, none of them marked as accessible bays. Blue Badge holders can park free in any space, but must register the vehicle with APCOA in advance. National Rail lists daily, evening, weekend and season rates; they change, so check the tariff board before paying, and the parking guide covers the town car parks nearer the sea. The drop-off and pick-up point has room for three vehicles. Cycle parking, 50 spaces in stands, is sheltered, covered by CCTV and on platforms 1 and 2.
Each route has its own page with the day's trains, the changes and a link to times and fares.