Improving our trains
Delivering a better, more reliable and sustainable railway
A major fleet improvement programme is underway at Southeastern, which will help us to provide a better, more reliable and sustainable railway.
The investment in our rolling stock includes upgrades to the current fleet, as well as exploring how we can replace the older trains that operate on our Metro routes.
You can find full details about our extensive improvement programme below.
The Southeastern fleet by numbers
- Class 375 Electrostar = 112
- Class 376 Electrostar = 36
- Class 377 Electrostar = 23
- Class 395 Javelin = 29
- Class 465 Networker = 122
- Class 466 Networker = 29
- Class 707 City Beam = 30
The target
- Better Metro: 28 trains now available for service, and all 30 of our City Beam trains will be here in 2024, providing our newest trains yet.
- Better Mainline: The first phase of the Class 375 upgrade completed at the end of 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 – like your smart meter at home, allowing us to better understand the amount of energy we’re using to power our trains.
- Better Highspeed: The Class 395 refurbishment is under way and by the summer of 2024 half of the fleet will have been upgraded with a full interior refresh including new carpets and new seats, USB at-seat charging, new LED lighting, a CCTV system upgrade, plus a live passenger information system (PIS) upgrade including media screens.
The fleet improvement programme
Our new trains – The City Beam (Class 707)
The City Beam was introduced onto our network in September 2021 and these light, bright and spacious trains have proved to be very popular with our customers. We have 28 five-car trains available for service on the Dartford, Hayes and Grove Park routes, and we have two more units still to transfer over from South Western Railway (SWR).
Having a full fleet of 30 City Beams will mean that even more customers on our busier Metro routes will be able to enjoy travelling on our newest trains.
Watch a short video about the introduction of the City Beam:
Our fast trains – Highspeed (Class 395)
The Class 395 operates on our two highspeed routes from London St Pancras via Ashford and via Ramsgate. In partnership with the maintenance company Hitachi Rail and the owning company, Eversholt Rail, we are carrying out a £27m upgrade of the 29 trains in the fleet.
This upgrade will future proof the UK’s only highspeed passenger fleet, which has already delivered record levels of reliability, customer satisfaction and a £1 billion+ boost to the Kent tourism economy since 2009.
The £27m improvement programme includes:
- Full interior refresh, with new carpets, new seats and change to the layout that will assist people with reduced mobility.
- At seat power sockets for mobile and laptop use.
- Enhanced LED lighting.
- More CCTV to aid on-board safety and monitor space availability.
When the upgrade has been completed it will bring the Class 395’s up to the very latest standards, and ensure that comfort levels, accessibility and information provision are as high as they possibly can be for our customers.
Watch a short video about the Highspeed Class 395 train:
Our star trains – Electrostars (Class 375, 376 & 377)
All 112 of the Class 375 ‘Electrostar’ train fleet that operate on our routes serving Kent, East Sussex and mainline London stations have received at-seat power sockets, including USB points, new LED lighting and energy metering.
The at-seat power sockets provide commuters and leisure passengers with the ability to work or browse on the move, without worrying about running down the battery on their device.
Watch a short video about the Class 375 upgrade:
Following on from the Class 375 refresh work will start in 2024 on the Class 376 and Class 377 upgrade programme.
Our future trains
In addition, work continues on the procurement process we started in November 2022 for a future train fleet that could operate on both our Metro area and some mainline routes.