Southeastern's train upgrades

Southeastern has set out its latest plans for the refurbishment and upgrade of its train fleet. The operator, serving south-east London, Kent and parts of East Sussex, will have completed the introduction of its Class 707 ‘City Beam’ EMUs in its Metro area by December, with another three pairs now introduced to the Grove Park, Hayes and Dartford lines.

The final 12 of these modern, air-conditioned trains, refreshed and refurbished to Southeastern’s standards, complete the introduction of the fleet of 30 and are part of the train operator’s drive to provide a better, more reliable and sustainable railway. Southeastern has summarised its fleet plans as follows:

- Better Metro: The completion of the Class 707 introduction by December, with six of the final 12 trains (out of 30 in total) already in service.
- Better Mainline: The Class 375 upgrade is due to complete in March 2024, bringing three-point plugs and USB power sockets to these trains for the first time as well as new LED lighting and energy metering.
- Better High Speed: The Class 395 ‘Javelin’ refurbishment is under way, with two out of 29 trains upgraded, with a full interior refresh including new carpets and seats, USB at-seat charging, a CCTV system upgrade, a live passenger information system upgrade including media screens (from 2024) and new LED lighting (from 2025).

In addition, work continues on the procurement process Southeastern started in November 2022 for a future train fleet that could operate in both Metro area and some mainline routes. The introduction of new trains means that an equivalent number of Class 465 and Class 466 ‘Networkers’ dating from the 1990s have been removed from service. These trains will be placed into storage when not needed by Southeastern.