Southeastern (train operating company)

Southeastern
Overview
Franchise(s)South Eastern
Main region(s)Greater London, South East England
Fleet size
Stations called at180
Stations operated164
Parent companyDfT OLR Holdings
Reporting markSE
Dates of operation17 October 2021 (2021-10-17)–17 October 2027 (2027-10-17)
PredecessorSoutheastern (Govia)
Other
Websitewww.southeasternrailway.co.uk Edit this at Wikidata
Route map

SE Trains Limited, trading as Southeastern, is a train operator, owned by DfT OLR Holdings for the Department for Transport, that took over operating the South Eastern franchise in South East England from privately owned London & South Eastern Railway (which also traded as Southeastern) on 17 October 2021.

History

During September 2021, the Department for Transport (DfT) announced it would be terminating the South Eastern franchise then-operated by the Govia-owned Southeastern as a result of revenue declaration discrepancies involving £25million of public money were discovered. 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.

Southeastern has been one of several train operators impacted by the 2022–2023 United Kingdom railway strikes, which are the first national rail strikes in the UK for three decades. Its workers are amongst those who are participating in industrial action due to a dispute over pay and working conditions. These actions have let 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.

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 onboard however. Over the summer of 2023, Southeastern opened multiple new secure cycle hubs at railway stations across Kent as part of wider efforts to making its stations more accessible to cyclists. 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.

During 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, incorporates anti-fraud measures, and is valid for travel across south-east London, Kent, and East Sussex. Several other fare changes were made around this time, including the abolition of super off-peak tickets and various price rises. Around the same time, Southeastern scrapped its plans to close many of its manned ticket offices across its network.

Overview

Southeastern serves the main London stations of Charing Cross, Waterloo East, Cannon Street, London Bridge, St Pancras, Victoria and Blackfriars. The network has route mileage of 540 miles (870 km), covering 180 stations, 164 of which it manages.

Routes

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. One year later, it was announced that Southeastern was to put on an addition 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.

Several parties have called for the transfer of Southeastern's metro services to Transport for London (TfL). 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. Officials such as the Mayor of London Sadiq Khan have publicly supported this move.

As of December 2023, the weekday off-peak service pattern, with frequencies in trains per hour (tph), is:

High Speed 1
Route tph Calling at
London St Pancras International to Faversham 1
London St Pancras International to Ramsgate via Faversham 1
London St Pancras International to Ramsgate via Dover Priory 1
London St Pancras International to Margate via Canterbury West 1
Chatham Main Line
Route tph Calling at
London Victoria to Ramsgate via Faversham 1
London Victoria to Dover Priory via Faversham 1
London Victoria to Gillingham 1
Sittingbourne to Sheerness-on-Sea 1
Maidstone Line
Route tph Calling at
London Victoria to Ashford International via Maidstone East 1
London Charing Cross to Maidstone East (semi-fast) 1
South Eastern Main Line
Route tph Calling at
London Charing Cross to Dover Priory 1
London Charing Cross to Ramsgate via Canterbury West 1
Hastings Line
Route tph Calling at
London Charing Cross to Hastings (stopping) 1
London Charing Cross to Hastings (semi-fast) 1
  • Waterloo East, London Bridge, Orpington, Sevenoaks, Tonbridge, High Brooms, Tunbridge Wells, Wadhurst, Battle, St Leonards Warrior Square
Medway Valley Line
Route tph Calling at
Strood to Paddock Wood via Maidstone West 2
Metro - North Kent Line
Route tph Calling at
London Cannon Street to London Cannon Street via Greenwich and Woolwich Arsenal (clockwise) 2
  • Services continue to/from London Cannon Street via Bexleyheath (see below).
London Cannon Street to Gravesend via Lewisham and Woolwich Arsenal 2
Metro - Bexleyheath Line
Route tph Calling at
London Cannon Street to London Cannon Street via Bexleyheath (anticlockwise) 2
  • Services continue to/from London Cannon Street via Woolwich Arsenal and Greenwich (see above).
London Victoria to Dartford via Bexleyheath 2
London Charing Cross to Dartford via Bexleyheath 1
  • Waterloo East, London Bridge, Lewisham, Blackheath, Kidbrooke, Eltham, Falconwood, Welling, Bexleyheath, Barnehurst
Metro - Sidcup Line
Route tph Calling at
London Charing Cross to Dartford via Lewisham and Sidcup 2
London Charing Cross to Gravesend via Sidcup 2
Metro - South Eastern Main Line
Route tph Calling at
London Cannon Street to Orpington via Grove Park 2
London Charing Cross to Sevenoaks via Grove Park 2
Grove Park to Bromley North (branch line) 2 Sundridge Park
Metro - Hayes Line
Route tph Calling at
London Charing Cross to Hayes 4
Metro - Chatham Main Line
Route tph Calling at
London Victoria to Orpington via Beckenham Junction 2

Rolling stock

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. By May 2013, 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.

The previous franchisee had finalised a leasing arrangement for the entire Class 707 fleet and was in the process in the process of launching the type into service when the OLR took over. Southeastern has continued this deal, thus the remainder of the 30 Class 707s shall enter service as they are released by South Western Railway.

Various initiatives have been explored to improve train performance and 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.

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.

Current fleet

Family Class Image Type Top speed Number Carriages Routes operated Built
mph km/h
Bombardier Electrostar 375/3
EMU 100 160 10 3 Main line routes 1999–2005
375/6 30 4
375/7 15
375/8 30
375/9 27
376 75 120 36 5 Metro routes 2004–2005
377/5 100 160 23 4 Main line routes 2008–2009
Hitachi AT300 395 Javelin 140 225 29 6 High Speed 1 services 2007–2009
Networker 465/0 75 120 50 4 Main line and metro routes 1991–1994
465/1 47
465/9 26
466 36 2 Main line and metro routes 1993–1994
Siemens Desiro 707 City Beam 100 160 28 5 Metro routes 2015–2018

Past fleet

In May 2022, two Class 377/1 units were transferred from Southeastern back to Southern.

Family Class Image Type Top speed Number Carriages Routes operated Year withdrawn
mph km/h
Bombardier Electrostar 377 EMU 100 160 2 4 Main line routes 2022

This page was last updated at 2024-02-28 15:25 UTC. Update now. View original page.

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