A new express train service will cut Hastings to London journey times, says South Eastern Railway.

It will introduce an express weekday service between Hastings and Charing Cross from December, cutting the total journey time to London Bridge by 14 minutes for customers travelling from Hastings, Battle and Tunbridge Wells, said a spokesperson.

The train will call at St Leonards Warrior Square, Battle, Tunbridge Wells, London Bridge, Waterloo East and Charing Cross, providing an additional peak-time travel option for customers.

The new morning service will depart Hastings at 8:05am and arrive at Charing Cross at 9:33am This service will be formed of four coaches with 2 plus 2 seating and tables.

A return service will leave Charing Cross at 4:11pm and arrive in Hastings at 5:42pm.

The journey time will be 1 hour 18 minutes from Hastings to London Bridge, and 1 hour 28 minutes to Charing Cross.

The South Eastern Railway spokesperson said: "This service forms part of a wider package of improvements being introduced across Kent, East Sussex and south-east London from December. Customers on the Hastings line will benefit from the return of half-hourly semi-fast services between Tunbridge Wells and Charing Cross throughout the day on weekdays and Saturdays, alongside additional late-evening journeys to and from Hastings."

Scott Brightwell, South Eastern Railway’s Safety, Planning and Performance Director, said: "We know how important fast and frequent services are to our customers and are constantly looking at how we can deliver better services that meet the needs of the communities we serve. This new Hastings Express service will shave 14 mins off the journey into London in the morning.

"An additional return service in the evening, will save a similar amount of time against the average of evening peak services.

“We are a growing railway and looking forward to trialling these new services to assess their demand and benefit to customers.

"It's also part of a much bigger package of improvements in December. We're providing more trains to Tunbridge Wells, Ashford and Maidstone East, creating a more frequent Metro network across south-east London and delivering improvements on other routes across Kent and East Sussex."

Hastings MP Helena Dollimore said: “Securing a faster train service for our town has been one of my top priorities as our local MP. When we are almost the same distance from London as Brighton, why should our train take twice as long? This new service is great news for commuters and for our local shops, hotels, pubs, and restaurants that rely on tourists coming down to visit us.”

She added: “This new fast train will be a pilot service. If we want it to stay, we all must use it to show the demand. I will keep pushing for better transport services in our area, including reopening Ashford International to cross-channel trains, pushing for action on missed connections on the Marshlink, and upgrading the track connecting Ashford, Rye, Hastings, Eastbourne and Brighton.”

The Rail Minister, Lord Hendy, said: "This new express service will make a real difference for passengers travelling between Hastings and London, cutting journey times and giving people more time back in their day.

" A better-connected railway will support growth, jobs and homes across the South East. This is exactly the kind of change public ownership of our railways is delivering, putting passenger experience first and real improvements to services.”