Car parking

Q: I'm a Season ticket permit holder, what if I can't find a space at one of your car parks?

We’re sorry, but a vacant parking space cannot always be guaranteed.

Q: I am a Blue Badge holder. Where can I park?

Blue Badge holders can park free of charge in the disabled bays, or in standard bays if there are no disabled bays available. Blue Badge holders can register on APCOA's Blue Badge website .

Q: I am a motorcyclist. Where can I park?

Motorcyclists can park free of charge in the designated motorcycle bays. If you park your motorcycle in a car bay, you will need to pay for a parking ticket.

Q: I want a refund on my Parking Permit bought through APCOA. How do I get one?

Please contact APCOA’s customer services team .

Q: How do I pay my Penalty Notice issued to me by APCOA?

You can pay your Penalty Notice by using APCOA’s secure online portal , or by sending a cheque or postal order made out to APCOA Parking (UK) Ltd to PO Box 1010 Uxbridge Middlesex UB8 9NT Please note that in order to pay for your Penalty Notice, you will need the Penalty Notice reference number and your vehicle registration number to hand.

Q: What happens if my appeal has been rejected by APCOA?

You can make a further appeal to Parking On Private Land Appeal service (POPLA) within 28 days of receiving your rejection letter. Details of this are available at www.popla.co.uk . APCOA should have issued you with a 10-digit verification code, which you must use with your appeal to POPLA. This will be shown on your rejection letter.

Car parks at Southeastern stations

At Southeastern, we manage 165 railway stations across our network. These stations range from smaller stations in rural areas through to larger stations in towns and cities. 95 of these stations provide car parking for customer use.

We work with APCOA Parking UK who manage the car parks on our behalf.

These car parks help make our rail services more convenient and accessible for customers and provide a range of facilities, including free parking for Blue Badge holders and allocated spaces for cycles and motorbikes.

The exceptions are Ebbsfleet International and Thanet Parkway which are not Southeastern car parks. You can find out more information and online bookings for these stations below.

Using APCOA Connect, you can make payments by credit or debit card via your mobile phone, so you won’t have to display a paper ticket.

At present, you can also pay at the ticket office. Please remember to return to your vehicle and to display the ticket on your dashboard.

However, this will be changing from Monday 24 February. More details are below.

To get the latest Southeastern car park tariffs, please download below.

Download Southeastern Car Park prices 2024 PDF

For parking at Ebbsfleet International please visit Ebbsfleet International Parking for information and online booking.

The car park at Thanet Parkway station is managed by Kent County Council. You can register for parking at the station on the Ring Go website or on the my ringgo app.

If you regularly park at the station, a car park season ticket may be a suitable and convenient option. You can find out more on the APCOA season ticket section of their website.

Download the APCOA Connect app and register for an account:

From Monday 24 February – changes to car parking payments

From Monday 24 February 2025, we are changing the way some customers pay for their parking.

We are switching on a new parking payment system at 42 stations which means you will no longer have to ‘pay and display’ a ticket in your vehicle.

The new Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) system is more convenient and more secure for customers as it will recognise your number plate as you enter the car park. It will also help to ensure all customers pay for their parking – contributing towards reducing our subsidy. It can also provide more data on car park usage, helping to tailor and fine tune our parking offers to customers.

You then have a choice of payment options to pay for your parking.

To enable this change, we will no longer be accepting payment for parking at our ticket offices.

However, payment by cash at most stations alongside card and digital options will remain in place – the full range of options is below:

Using the Ticket Vending Machine (TVM) at the station – you can pay by cash at most machines alongside card, Apple Pay or Google Pay
Calling 01895 262122 or texting 07860 006000 quoting the Location Code which can be found on the signs within the car park
Visiting apcoaconnect.com
Scanning the QR code located on the signs within the car park
Downloading the APCOA Connect app

You do not need to buy a ticket if you’re picking up or dropping off for less than 20 minutes.

Blue Badge Holders can continue to park for free but must register their vehicle in advance by visiting: https://bluebadge.apcoa.co.uk/

ANPR technology is already widely used by other parking providers across the country and records registrations when vehicles arrive and leave a car park. The station car parks which are included in the ANPR roll out are listed below.

Stations which are not listed below will not be using ANPR but in order to provide a standard and consistent approach across our network, the same changes to payment options will apply. Enforcement at these car parks will continue to be provided by patrols, as it is today.

Taxis at Southeastern stations

A new APCOA Taxi Permit Portal is available where taxi drivers will be able to register and apply for a new annual permit. The full terms and conditions are available to be viewed on the portal.

How I can pay for a parking permit with APCOA?

You can pay for a parking permit via:

APCOA Connect contactless payment (via App, Web, SMS and Phone)
Our Ticket Vending Machines (TVMs) via cash or card. You can buy Daily or Weekly Parking Permits using our TVMs. Please remember that you need to clearly display your Parking Permit.
Our Ticket Offices via cash or card. You can buy Daily or Weekly Parking Permits at our Ticket Offices. Please remember that you need to clearly display your Parking Permit.
City Centre Pre-Book – Pre-book your parking online in advance.
Season Tickets Portal – a convenient choice if you regularly park in one of our Southeastern car parks.

Check your station Ticket Office opening times.

Please note that for smaller stations, sometimes Ticket Offices may be closed during staffed hours as our employees may be covering other duties.

I'm a Season ticket permit holder, what if I can't find a space at one of your car parks?

I am a Blue Badge holder. Where can I park?

I am a motorcyclist. Where can I park?

How do I get a Taxi Permit with APCOA?

I want a refund on my Parking Permit bought through APCOA. How do I get one?

How do I pay my Penalty Notice issued to me by APCOA?

How do I appeal/challenge my Penalty Notice issued to me by APCOA?

All appeals and representations must be made in writing to APCOA.

Please note that APCOA do not accept any appeals by phone or email.

All appeals against a Penalty Notice must be made either through APCOA’s secure online portal or by writing to the below address, within 28 days of the date your Parking Notice was issued to you.

PO Box 1010
Uxbridge
Middlesex
UB8 9NT

Please note that you will need to provide your Penalty Notice reference number and your vehicle registration with your appeal.

What happens if my appeal has been rejected by APCOA?

ANPR car parks FAQs

Which stations will be using ANPR?

Ashford International	Folkestone Central	Marden	Staplehurst
Barming	Gillingham	Meopham	Stonegate
Battle	Gravesend	Mottingham	Strood
Bexley	Hastings	Orpington	Tonbridge
Borough Green	Hayes	Otford	Tunbridge Wells
Canterbury East	Headcorn	Paddock Wood	Wadhurst
Chatham	Higham	Petts Wood	West Malling
Crayford	High Brooms	Rainham	West Wickham
Dartford	Hildenborough	Sevenoaks	Woolwich Arsenal
Eltham	Longfield	Sidcup
Faversham	Maidstone East	Sittingbourne

Stations which are not listed above will not be using ANPR, but in order to provide a standard and consistent approach across our network, the same changes to payment options will apply. Enforcement at these car parks will continue to be provided by patrols, as it is today.

How will it work for Blue Badge Holders?

As before, Blue Badge Holders do not need to pay for their parking. However, the vehicle(s) must be registered with the APCOA system in advance. This can be accessed in the following ways:

Website: https://bluebadge.apcoa.co.uk/
Telephone: 0345 222 7262
Email: general.enquiries@apcoa.com

We understand many customers use more than one vehicle to travel to and from the station and therefore customers can register up to 10 vehicles on the system and can register them at any time.

How many customers will affect?

Are these the same changes which were previously advertised and then paused last year?

Can I drop off and pick up for free?

If I am picking someone up and the train is delayed, will I be charged for exceeding the 20-minute free period?

Do I need to pay before travelling?

Do I need to display a ticket in my vehicle?

What if I forget to pay?

Which stations will not accept cash for paying for parking?

The Ticket Vending Machines (TVMs) at the following stations are not able to accept cash payments. Southeastern will shortly be starting a public tender process to replace TVMs across the network and therefore replacing a small number in order to accept cash is not cost effective. Particularly as the number of cash payments for parking at the ticket offices at these stations are all less than 10 per month.

Paying for your parking with cash is not possible at these locations, please use one of the other payment options available.

Barming
Charing (Kent)
Harrietsham
Knockholt
Lenham
Marden
Robertsbridge
Sandwich
Shortlands
Sole Street
West Malling
Whitstable

What if I don't have access to a phone or a signal on my mobile phone?

We recognise some stations have limited mobile phone signal but don’t worry – it’s still simple and easy to pay for your parking. You have two options:

You can use a ticket vending machine to buy your car park ticket in the same way you would pay for your train ticket. The vast majority of these machines accept cash, alongside card, Apple Pay or Google Pay.
You can pay later in the day by visiting the APCOA connect website and select ‘Late Pay’.

Why are you making these changes?

We are introducing Automatic Number Plate Recognition (known as ANPR) technology at 42 Southeastern stations.

This technology is already widely used by other parking providers across the country and removes the need for customers to return to their vehicles to display a parking ticket. It is also more secure for customers as it introduces 24/7 camera coverage at car parks, monitoring and recording entries and exits.

Why can ticket offices no longer accept parking payment?

Our ticket offices are not able to record and upload vehicle registrations and it is not cost effective to modify their systems. This brings Southeastern car parks in line with many other car parking providers, including councils and other transport providers.

For customers, it is simpler and more convenient and means no one will need to return to their car to show they have paid for their parking.

The technology also helps to ensure all customers pay for their parking – contributing towards reducing our subsidy while also reducing the costs of collecting car parking payment. In the medium term, it can also provide more data on car park usage, helping to improve future parking offers.

Are ANPR car parks more secure?

Are they more cost effective?

Did you carry out an Equality Impact Assessment for these changes?

Discover which stations have car parks, find out about parking tariffs and the easiest ways to pay

Car parks at Southeastern stations

From Monday 24 February – changes to car parking payments

Taxis at Southeastern stations

ANPR car parks FAQs

Explore Car parking