Where an office sits decides who can reach it easily: the staff you already have, the people you want to hire, and the clients who visit. So before the fit-out and the floor plan, the honest first question is simply: how well-connected is it?
This is our answer for Kingston upon Thames, set out as data rather than adjectives. The Smith sits in the middle of town, a short walk from two mainline stations on the Kingston loop line, with direct trains to London Waterloo and rare town-centre parking. Below are the actual journey times (from the towns around Kingston to The Smith, and from The Smith out to central London and Heathrow), every figure sourced, nothing rounded in our favour. We will refresh it each quarter.
01Why connectivity decides the shortlist
Two identical offices in two different places are not the same office. One adds ten minutes to forty people's day, twice a day; the other quietly widens the pool of talent you can recruit from and makes client visits easy rather than grudging. Over a three-year term, connectivity is one of the few things about a building you cannot change and cannot buy back later, which is exactly why it belongs at the top of the list, not the bottom.
Kingston's particular advantage is that it is genuinely well-linked in every direction at once: fast to central London by rail, quick to Heathrow and the M25 by road, and a short direct hop from the towns most of a South West London team already live in.
02The Smith's own connections
The Smith is on London Road in the centre of Kingston, within about a ten-minute walk of two mainline stations, Kingston and Norbiton, both on the Kingston loop line to Waterloo.
The Kingston loop line runs out from Waterloo and back again in a circle, so Kingston is reached in two directions: via Wimbledon one way and via Richmond the other. In practice that means more trains, more resilience if one branch is disrupted, and a genuinely direct ride into town.
03Getting to The Smith from around the area
The towns on the loop line all have direct trains to Kingston, with no changes, and every one of them is under twenty minutes away. Times below are the fastest scheduled direct services.
| From | By train to Kingston | Direct? | Line |
|---|---|---|---|
| Teddington | ≈ 4 min | Yes | Kingston loop |
| New Malden | ≈ 6 min | Yes | Kingston loop |
| Wimbledon | ≈ 11 min | Yes | Kingston loop · 4 trains/hour |
| Richmond | ≈ 16 min | Yes | Kingston loop |
For anyone travelling in, the same loop that carries them to Kingston carries them home again, and from The Smith it is a short, level walk from either station to the front door.
Based in one of these towns? We are writing a short office guide for each, with the local detail and the case for moving up the line. Live now: offices near New Malden, office space near Wimbledon and offices near Surbiton. More towns follow.
04Close by other routes
A couple of neighbouring towns sit on different lines but are still right on Kingston's doorstep, reached in minutes by road or bus, and each with its own fast link into London.
| From | To The Smith | Own link to London |
|---|---|---|
| Surbiton | About a mile, minutes by road or bus (rail needs one change) | Fast line: Surbiton → Waterloo ≈ 15 min direct |
| Tolworth | A short drive up the A240 | Chessington branch: Tolworth → Waterloo ≈ 31 min direct |
Fast to the City, quick to the airport, and a direct hop from the towns your team already lives in, all at once.
05Parking: the part town centres miss
Rail times are only half the picture. The other half is what happens when someone drives in, and here Kingston town centre is, like most, tight on parking. The Smith is the exception: more than 100 on-site spaces, with EV charging, secure cycle storage and showers for anyone who rides or runs in. For a team with drivers, that alone can decide the shortlist.
06Method & sources
Rail journey times are the fastest scheduled direct services on each route, drawn from National Rail timetables via Trainline, checked in August 2026. Actual times vary by service and time of day, and off-peak averages are typically a little longer than the fastest train shown. Road times are typical off-peak drives. We publish the method so the figures can be checked, and we refresh the index each quarter.
- Kingston → London Waterloo and Norbiton → London Waterloo (Trainline)
- Wimbledon, Richmond, New Malden and Teddington → Kingston (Trainline)
- Surbiton → Waterloo and Tolworth → Waterloo (Trainline)
- Kingston station service pattern: Kingston loop line (Wikipedia)
07Common questions
The Smith is roughly 27 to 29 minutes from London Waterloo by direct train, with up to four trains an hour, from two stations that are each about a ten minute walk from the building.
Kingston and Norbiton, both within about a ten minute walk and both on the Kingston loop line, which reaches London Waterloo in two directions, via Wimbledon one way and via Richmond the other.
All three have direct trains to Kingston on the loop line, with no changes: New Malden in about six minutes, Wimbledon in about eleven, and Richmond in about sixteen. Teddington is about four minutes away.
For a town outside central London, yes. Two mainline stations reach Waterloo in about half an hour, the A3 runs to the M25 and the wider motorway network, and there is rare town-centre parking on site, so both the city and the road network stay in easy reach.
Yes. There are more than 100 on-site spaces with EV charging, which is unusual for a town-centre office building where parking is normally the hardest part.
About 25 minutes by car via the A3.
See how it connects in person
Come and time the walk from the station yourself. Serviced offices and co-working with Kam, private suites and whole floors with Andy. Same-day reply, Monday to Friday.