In September 2021 the Department for Transport (DfT) announced it would be terminating the South Eastern franchise then operated by the Govia-owned Southeastern after revenue declaration discrepancies involving £25million of public money were discovered.[6][7][8] On 17 October 2021, an operator of last resort (OLR), SE Trains Limited, took over operations under the Southeastern brand; at the time, the DfT stated the OLR would manage the franchise for a six-year period, the end-date being set as 17 October 2027.[3]
Southeastern has been one of several train operators affected by the 2022–2023 United Kingdom railway strikes, the first national rail strikes in the UK for three decades.[9] Its workers are amongst those who are participating in industrial action due to a dispute over pay and working conditions.[10] These actions have led to Southeastern occasionally being unable to provide a full service level, and due to the often abrupt nature of the industrial action, which has included overtime bans and strikes, has sometimes not been able to arrange for rail replacement buses in time.[11][12]
On 1 June 2023, both e-scooters and electric skateboards were banned from being carried onboard Southeastern trains; the reason for the ban was that the lithium-ion batteries that power these compact vehicles posed a fire safety risk. Most electric bicycles may still be taken on board, however.[13] Over the summer of 2023, Southeastern opened several new secure cycle hubs at railway stations across Kent as part of wider efforts to make its stations more accessible to cyclists.[14] These additions came amid a £4.4 million station improvement programme covering both Kent and south-east London, headed by both Southeastern and Network Rail.[15]
In late 2023, Southeastern introduced digital season tickets, referred to as sTickets, enabling customers to purchase and store season tickets on their smartphones. They can be bought through Southeastern's website as well as its mobile application, incorporate anti-fraud measures, and are valid for travel across south-east London, Kent, and East Sussex.[16] Several other fare changes were made around this time, including the abolition of super off-peak tickets and various price rises.[17] Around the same time, Southeastern scrapped plans to close many of its staffed ticket offices across its network.[18][19]
Upon its takeover of the franchise, Southeastern initially operated the same routes and services as its predecessor. During December 2022, a new timetable was introduced that reportedly aimed to reduce congestion, improve reliability and better match demand following the COVID-19 pandemic.[21] One year later, it was announced that Southeastern was to put on an additional 100 trains per week as a result of timetable changes based on customer feedback and travel pattern analysis across Kent, East Sussex and south-east London.[22][23]
Several parties have called for the transfer of Southeastern's metro services to Transport for London (TfL).[24] Prior to the OLR taking over operations, TfL itself had announced its intention to take over the London suburban parts of the franchise and integrate them into a wider metro network.[25][26] Officials such as the Mayor of LondonSadiq Khan have publicly supported this move.[27][28]
As of June 2024, the weekday off-peak service pattern, with frequencies in trains per hour (tph), is:[29]
London Bridge, New Cross, St Johns, Lewisham, Blackheath, Charlton, Woolwich Dockyard, Woolwich Arsenal, Plumstead, Abbey Wood, Belvedere, Erith, Slade Green
At the commencement of operations, Southeastern retained the same electric multiple units as its predecessor. It promptly launched a refurbishment programme covering most of its existing rolling stock; £27 million alone was allocated to the refurbishment of its 29 Class 395 Javelin high-speed trains.[42][43] By May 2023, Southeastern had reportedly completed work on half of its 112-strong Class 375 Electrostar fleet under a £10 million upgrade programme; internal changes included the addition of new USB ports, at-seat electrical sockets, LED lighting, and energy meters.[44]
The previous franchisee had finalised a leasing arrangement for the entire Class 707 fleet and was in the process of launching the type into service when the OLR took over.[45][46] Southeastern has continued this deal, thus the remainder of the 30 Class 707s shall enter service as they are released by South Western Railway.[2]
Various initiatives have been explored to improve train performance, capabilities and effectiveness. Southeastern formed a team with Siemens Mobility and Eversholt Rail to jointly develop a fully automated vehicle inspection system to inspect its vehicles; this technology, which uses numerous high sensitivity cameras and optical laser sensors, is to be first used at the operator's Ramsgate depot, and will be active from 2025.[47]
Southeastern has also examined the prospects for replacing older portions of its train fleet. In November 2022, the operator launched the process of procuring new trains via the issuing of a tender. Southeastern has sought between 350 and 640 new carriages for its services; these are projected to be introduced sometime during the mid-2020s.[48][49]
In May 2024 Southeastern issued a tender for 350 to 640 new carriages to replace the Class 465 and 466 units. CAF, Hitachi, Stadler, Siemens and Alstom are currently bidding for the tender of new fleets.[52][53]
In November 2024 it was announced that in the period between December 2024 and December 2025, Southeastern would be set to receive 13 Class 377/1s (377121-133) from Southern to replace ageing Class 465 units, being made available by a movement of out-of-service Class 379 units and Class 387/1 units to support Govia Thameslink Railway services. [54]
Related Research Articles
Thameslink is a mainline route on the British railway network, running from Bedford, Luton, St Albans City, Peterborough, Welwyn Garden City, London Blackfriars and Cambridge via central London to Sutton, Orpington, Sevenoaks, Rainham, Horsham, Three Bridges, Brighton and East Grinstead. The network opened as a through service in 1988, with severe overcrowding by 1998, carrying more than 28,000 passengers in the morning peak. All the services are currently operated by Govia Thameslink Railway. Parts of the network, from Bedford to Three Bridges, run 24 hours a day, except on early Sunday mornings and during maintenance periods.
Gatwick Express is an express rail passenger service between London Victoria, Gatwick Airport, Haywards Heath and Brighton in South East England. It is the brand name used by the Govia Thameslink Railway train operating company on the Gatwick Express route of the Thameslink, Southern and Great Northern franchise.
Southern is the brand name used by the Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR) train operating company on the Southern routes of the Thameslink, Southern and Great Northern franchise in England. It is a subsidiary of Govia, a joint venture between transport groups Go-Ahead and Keolis, and has operated the South Central franchise since August 2001 and the Gatwick Express service since June 2008. When the passenger rail franchise was subsumed into GTR, Southern was split from Gatwick Express and the two became separate brands, alongside the Thameslink and Great Northern brands.
Lewisham is an interchange station in Lewisham, south-east London, for Docklands Light Railway (DLR) and National Rail services.
South Eastern Trains was a publicly owned train operating company that operated the South Eastern Passenger Rail Franchise between November 2003, when it took over from Connex South Eastern, and 1 April 2006, when Southeastern began operating the new Integrated Kent franchise.
In the railway system of Great Britain, a train operating company (TOC) is a railway undertaking operating passenger trains under the collective National Rail brand. TOCs have existed since the privatisation of the network under the Railways Act 1993.
Bromley South railway station is on the Chatham Main Line, serving the town centre and high street of Bromley, south-east London, England. It is 10 miles 71 chains (17.5 km) down the line from London Victoria and is situated between Shortlands and Bickley.
Gillingham railway station is on the Chatham Main Line in England, serving the town of Gillingham, Kent. It is 35 miles 75 chains (57.8 km) down the line from London Victoria and is situated between Chatham and Rainham.
Sevenoaks railway station is a stop on the South Eastern Main Line, serving the town of Sevenoaks, in Kent, England. It is 22 miles 9 chains (35.6 km) down the line from London Charing Cross and is situated between Dunton Green and Hildenborough stations. Trains calling at the station are operated by Southeastern and Thameslink.
Minster railway station serves the village of Minster in Kent and surrounding villages. It is next to a junction between Canterbury West, Ramsgate and Sandwich.
The Southern Region was a region of British Railways from 1948 until 1992 when railways were re-privatised. The region ceased to be an operating unit in its own right in the 1980s. The region covered south London, southern England and the south coast, including the busy commuter belt areas of Kent, Sussex and Surrey. The region was largely based upon the former Southern Railway area.
London & South Eastern Railway Limited, trading as Southeastern, was a British train operating company owned by Govia that operated passenger rail services in South East England. It was the key operator of commuter and regional services in South East London and Kent, and also served parts of East Sussex.
The British Rail Class 395 Javelin is a dual-voltage electric multiple-unit (EMU) passenger train built by Hitachi Rail as part of the Hitachi A-train AT300 family for high-speed commuter services on High Speed 1 and elsewhere on the South Eastern franchise. The whole fleet is operated by Southeastern.
The South Eastern franchise, also known as the Integrated Kent franchise, is a railway franchise for the provision of passenger services between London and Kent in South East England.
Greater Anglia is a British train operating company owned as a joint venture by Transport UK Group and Mitsui & Co. It operates the East Anglia franchise, providing the commuter and inter-city services from its central London terminus at London Liverpool Street to Essex, Suffolk, Norfolk and parts of Hertfordshire and Cambridgeshire, as well as many regional services throughout the East of England.
Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR) is a British train operating company that operates the TSGN rail franchise. Within the franchise, GTR runs trains under the sub-brands: Thameslink, Great Northern, Southern, and Gatwick Express. GTR is a subsidiary of Govia, which is itself a joint venture between the British Go-Ahead Group (65%) and French company Keolis (35%).
The British Rail Class 707 is an electric multiple unit passenger train built by Siemens Mobility on its Desiro City platform, and operated in England by Southeastern. The units were previously operated by South Western Railway.
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References
1 2 3 4 5 Ford, Roger (July 2024). "New train procurements generates cost challenges". Informed sources. Modern Railways. Vol.81, no.910. pp.36–42.
1 2 "SWR keeps last two '707s'". Modern Railways. No.903. December 2023. p.87.
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