By train
Southend has two railway stations, both near the main shopping area, Southend Victoria and Southend Central. Southend Victoria is located at the north end of the town away from the Sea and is served by trains from London Liverpool Street, run by National Express East Anglia (http://www.nationalexpres...). Trains run to and from London every 20 minutes Monday to Saturday and half-hourly on Sundays. Southend Central is in the heart of the town centre and is served by trains from London Fenchurch Street, run by c2c Railways (http://www.c2c-online.co.uk). Trains run every 15 minutes on Monday to Saturday and half-hourly on Sundays. There is an additional station, Southend East; however this serves the suburb of Southchurch and is not located near the town centre.
The journey time from London to either station is around an hour, however tickets for one service are not valid on the other line. Additionally, take note of where the service to Southend Central runs through - it is possible to get on a slower train calling at Tilbury which adds an additional 30 minutes to the journey.
By car
Southend is well served by roads, with two junctions off the London-Orbital motorway, the M25. The A127 junction 29 and A13 junction 30 both go direct to the town centre. The A127 is more free-flowing road however gets busy on summer weekends when many day-trippers head to the seaside.
Southend does not have any permanent park and ride facilities, however there is more than enough parking in the town. Expect to pay 80p an hour in a car park and £1 an hour on a parking meter in one of the streets adjacent to the high street. The Seaway car-park, just off the sea-front, is a good choice as it has many car parking spaces and is equidistant from the shops and the sea.