Southeastern (train operating company)

This article is about the company that commenced operations in April 2006. For the previous operator, see South Eastern Trains.

Southeastern

Info
Franchise(s):	Integrated Kent Franchise 1 April 2006 – 31 March 2014
Main region(s):	Greater London, Kent
Other region(s):	East Sussex
Fleet size:	402
Stations called at:	179
National Rail abbreviation:	SE
Parent company:	Govia (Go-Ahead Group / Keolis)
Web site:	www.southeasternrailway.co.uk/
Route map

London & South Eastern Railway Limited, trading as Southeastern is a train operating company in south-east England. On 1 April 2006 it became the franchisee for the new Integrated Kent Franchise (IKF), replacing the publicly owned South Eastern Trains on the former South East Franchise. It serves the commuter routes to south-east London, most of Kent, and parts of East Sussex.

Overview

Southeastern serves the main London stations of Charing Cross, Victoria, Blackfriars, Cannon Street, London Bridge, Waterloo East and recently St Pancras. The Southeastern network has a route mileage of 540, with 179 stations. About 70% of its services run to and from London.

It is owned by Govia, a joint venture between Go-Ahead Group and Keolis, which also operates the neighbouring Southern franchise, which overlaps with Southeastern in some areas. The company's formal name, under which it mounted its bid for the franchise, is London and South Eastern Railway (LSER).

The managing director is Charles Horton, formerly MD of sister company Southern.

History of the franchise

Since the privatisation of British Rail, the franchise to run trains in this area has been held by three different companies. The first company to win the South-Eastern Franchise, on 14 October 1996, was Connex, which operated it under the name Connex South Eastern. Connex gained a reputation for unreliable services, but it was for "poor financial management" that its franchise was cut short by the Strategic Rail Authority (SRA) on 9 November 2003. Train services were then taken over by South Eastern Trains, a wholly owned subsidiary of the SRA/Department for Transport created for the purpose, until bidding for a new franchise was due. This would see the existing South-Eastern franchise combined with the new high-speed services to be operated on High Speed 1 (formerly known as the Channel Tunnel Rail Link) to form a new Integrated Kent Franchise (IKF).

The opening of the second phase of High Speed 1 in November 2007 made available train paths on the traditional network previously used by Eurostar, allowing Southeastern to increase certain services in December 2007. In December 2008, as part of the franchise agreement, responsibility for the Redhill to Tonbridge Line was handed over to Southern. Southeastern high-speed services began full service on 14 December 2009.

In March 2009 the bay platforms at London Blackfriars closed for reconstruction as part of the Thameslink Programme. Southeastern services previously terminating at Blackfriars, mostly from Sevenoaks via the Catford loop, were extended to Kentish Town, St Albans, Luton or Bedford. As a result of this change, Southeastern now operates these services jointly with First Capital Connect using 20 dual-voltage Class 319 sets (which remain in FCC livery) as well as newly built Class 377 Electrostars.

Southeastern Brands

Southeastern has three distinct sub-brands: Highspeed (grey), Mainline (green) or Metro (pink) and coloured its network map accordingly.

Highspeed

Typical Highspeed Train

Southeastern introduced a full timetable of domestic high-speed services branded Southeastern Highspeed over High Speed 1 between London St Pancras and Ashford International on 13 December 2009; a limited preview service had been running since 29 June 2009. High-speed trains use High Speed 1 calling at Stratford International and Ebbsfleet International. Trains from London to the Medway towns and Faversham leave the high-speed line at Ebbsfleet and continue via the North Kent line and Chatham Main Line. Trains for Dover Priory and Margate leave the high-speed line at Ashford International. A limited peak-hour service now also operates between St Pancras and Maidstone West via Ebbsfleet and Strood.

When bidding for the franchise, Southeastern made a point of advertising part-owner SNCF's experience operating integrated high-speed train services on the French TGV network. A fleet of 29 six-coach Shinkansen-derived high-speed 'A-trains' were built in Japan by Hitachi for this route. Known as Class 395, this was Hitachi's first train sale in Britain. The colour scheme for the high-speed trains is dark blue. The services are marketed as Southeastern Highspeed, and some of the trains are named after British personalities associated with speed.

At the same time there was the largest change to the timetable in the area in 40 years. With the fast trains now travelling over High Speed 1, the Charing Cross to Ashford stopping service was extended to Dover, Canterbury and Ramsgate.

Journeys that include the High Speed 1 section of line generally require payment of a surcharge.

Mainline

Typical Mainline Train

Southeastern is the key operator for Kent, and also serves East Sussex. 'Mainline' services connect central London with Dover, Folkestone, Hastings, Royal Tunbridge Wells, Ramsgate, Chatham, Maidstone and Canterbury. The backbone fleet on these services is the Class 375 Electrostar, although the Class 465/9 Networker is also used on occasion.

In December 2009 Southeastern saw 'Highspeed' trains stopping at 'Mainline' stations, and some longer timings on 'Mainline' services as trains called at more stations. Services to Tonbridge were maintained at six trains per hour off-peak, two per hour going forward to Ashford and beyond, two per hour to Hastings, and two per hour terminating at Tunbridge Wells. With high-speed services reaching Faversham, the half-hourly Victoria to Faversham stopping service was replaced with an hourly service to Gillingham and additional stops on the "fast" services to London Victoria. On the Maidstone East Line, services from London Cannon Street to Ashford International via Maidstone East and from London Victoria to Maidstone East and to Canterbury West via Ashford were replaced by a half-hourly Victoria to Ashford service. The Strood to Paddock Wood service was extended to Tonbridge.

Metro

Typical Metro Train

Southeastern serves south-east and south London, its central stations being London Blackfriars, London Bridge, London Charing Cross, London Cannon Street, London Victoria and Waterloo East. 'Metro' trains serve Greenwich, New Cross, Lewisham, Dartford, Gravesend, Woolwich Arsenal, Hayes, Peckham Rye, Bromley South, Bexleyheath, Orpington and Sevenoaks, and also run a joint service with First Capital Connect Thameslink route with a service from Sevenoaks via Catford to Kentish Town or further north. Trains change company operation at London Blackfriars. Southeastern runs Class 376 Electrostar, Class 466 & Class 465 Networkers for 'Metro' services, although a Class 375 Electrostar is used on occasion.

On New Year's Eve, some Metro services operate all through the night.

Current routes

Current weekday off-peak services. These services are:

High Speed Line
Route	Frequency	Calling at
London St Pancras International to Faversham via Ebbsfleet and Chatham	2 trains per hour	Stratford International, Ebbsfleet International, Gravesend, Strood, Rochester, Chatham, Gillingham (Kent), Rainham (Kent) and Sittingbourne Extended to Broadstairs at peak times, but not calling at Chestfield or Westgate.
London St Pancras International to Dover Priory via Ebbsfleet and Ashford	1 train per hour	Stratford International, Ebbsfleet International, Ashford International, Folkestone West and Folkestone Central
London St Pancras International to Margate via Ebbsfleet, Ashford and Canterbury West	1 train per hour	Stratford International, Ebbsfleet International, Ashford International, Canterbury West, Ramsgate and Broadstairs
Ashford Line (Mainline)
Route	Frequency	Calling at
London Charing Cross to Dover Priory	1 train per hour	Waterloo East, London Bridge, Sevenoaks, Tonbridge, Paddock Wood, Marden, Staplehurst, Headcorn, Pluckley, Ashford International, Westenhanger, Sandling, Folkestone West and Folkestone Central Service runs with service to Canterbury West between Charing Cross and Ashford International, where services divide.
London Charing Cross to Canterbury West	1 train per hour	Waterloo East, London Bridge, Sevenoaks, Tonbridge, Paddock Wood, Marden, Staplehurst, Headcorn, Pluckley, Ashford International, Wye, Chilham and Chartham Service runs with service to Dover Priory between Charing Cross and Ashford International, where services divide.
London Charing Cross to Ramsgate via Canterbury West	1 train per hour	Waterloo East, London Bridge, Sevenoaks, Tonbridge, Paddock Wood, Marden, Staplehurst, Headcorn, Pluckley, Ashford International, Wye, Canterbury West, Sturry and Minster Service runs with service to Ramsgate between Charing Cross and Ashford International, where services divide.
London Charing Cross to Ramsgate via Dover Priory	1 train per hour	Waterloo East, London Bridge, Sevenoaks, Tonbridge, Paddock Wood, Marden, Staplehurst, Headcorn, Pluckley, Ashford International, Westenhanger, Sandling, Folkestone West, Folkestone Central, Dover Priory, Martin Mill, Walmer, Deal and Sandwich Service runs with service to Ramsgate between Charing Cross and Ashford International, where services divide.
Chatham Line (Mainline)
Route	Frequency	Calling at
London Victoria to Ramsgate via Chatham	2 trains per hour	Bromley South, Longfield, Meopham, Rochester, Chatham, Gillingham (Kent), Rainham (Kent), Newington (only 1tph), Sittingbourne, Teynham (only 1tph), Faversham, Whitstable, Chestfield & Swalecliffe (only 1tph), Herne Bay, Birchington-on-Sea, Westgate-on-Sea, Margate, Broadstairs and Dumpton Park Service runs with service to Dover Priory between London Victoria and Faversham, where services divide. Each half-hourly service alternates between calling at Newington only and Teynham only.
London Victoria to Dover Priory (Stopping) via Chatham	1 train per hour	Bromley South, Longfield, Meopham, Rochester, Chatham, Gillingham (Kent), Rainham (Kent), Sittingbourne, Teynham, Faversham, Selling, Canterbury East, Bekesbourne, Adisham, Aylesham, Snowdown, Shepherds Well and Kearsney Service runs with service to Ramsgate between London Victoria and Faversham, where services divide.
London Victoria to Dover Priory (Fast) via Chatham	1 train per hour	Bromley South, Longfield, Meopham, Rochester, Chatham, Gillingham (Kent), Rainham (Kent), Newington, Sittingbourne, Faversham and Canterbury East Service runs with service to Ramsgate between London Victoria and Faversham, where services divide.
London Victoria to Gillingham (Kent) via Bromley South	1 train per hour	Bromley South, St Mary Cray, Swanley, Farningham Road, Longfield, Meopham, Sole Street, Rochester and Chatham
Hastings Line (Mainline)
Route	Frequency	Calling at
London Charing Cross to Hastings via Tunbridge Wells (stopping)	1 train per hour	Waterloo East, London Bridge, Orpington, Sevenoaks, Hildenborough, Tonbridge, High Brooms, Tunbridge Wells, Frant, Wadhurst, Stonegate, Etchingham, Robertsbridge, Battle, Crowhurst, West St Leonards and St Leonards Warrior Square
London Charing Cross to Hastings via Tunbridge Wells (semi-fast)	1 train per hour	Waterloo East, London Bridge, Orpington, Sevenoaks, Tonbridge, High Brooms, Tunbridge Wells, Wadhurst, Battle and St Leonards Warrior Square
London Charing Cross to Tunbridge Wells via Orpington	2 trains per hour	Waterloo East, London Bridge, Orpington, Sevenoaks, Hildenborough, Tonbridge and High Brooms
Maidstone East Line (Mainline)
Route	Frequency	Calling at
London Victoria to Ashford International via Maidstone East (stopping)	1 train per hour	Bromley South, St Mary Cray, Swanley, Otford, Kemsing, Borough Green & Wrotham, West Malling, East Malling, Barming, Maidstone East, Bearsted, Hollingbourne, Harrietsham, Lenham and Charing
London Victoria to Ashford International via Maidstone East (semi-fast)	1 train per hour	Bromley South, Swanley, Otford, Borough Green & Wrotham, West Malling, Maidstone East and Bearsted
Medway Valley Line (Mainline)
Route	Frequency	Calling at
Strood to Maidstone West	1 train per hour	Cuxton, Halling, Snodland, New Hythe, Aylesford and Maidstone Barracks
Strood to Tonbridge	1 train per hour	Cuxton, Halling, Snodland, New Hythe, Aylesford, Maidstone Barracks, Maidstone West, East Farleigh, Wateringbury, Yalding, Beltring and Paddock Wood
Sheerness Line (Mainline)
Route	Frequency	Calling at
Sittingbourne to Sheerness-on-Sea	2 trains per hour	Kemsley, Swale and Queenborough
Bexleyheath Line (Metro)
Route	Frequency	Calling at
London Victoria to Dartford via Bexleyheath	2 trains per hour	Denmark Hill, Peckham Rye, Nunhead, Lewisham, Blackheath, Kidbrooke, Eltham, Falconwood, Welling, Bexleyheath and Barnehurst
London Charing Cross to Dartford via Bexleyheath	2 trains per hour	Waterloo East, London Bridge, Lewisham, Blackheath, Kidbrooke, Eltham, Falconwood, Welling, Bexleyheath and Barnehurst
London Cannon Street loop Service via Bexleyheath and Slade Green	2 trains per hour	London Bridge, New Cross, St Johns, Lewisham, Blackheath, Kidbrooke, Eltham, Falconwood, Welling, Bexleyheath and Barnehurst Service returns to Cannon Street via Woolwich Arsenal and Greenwich.
Bromley South Line (Metro)
Route	Frequency	Calling at
London Victoria to Orpington via Beckenham Junction	4 trains per hour	Brixton, Herne Hill, West Dulwich, Sydenham Hill, Penge East, Kent House, Beckenham Junction, Shortlands, Bromley South, Bickley and Petts Wood
Kentish Town to Sevenoaks via Blackfriars and Beckenham Hill	2 trains per hour	St Pancras International, Farringdon, City Thameslink, London Blackfriars, Elephant and Castle, Denmark Hill, Peckham Rye, Nunhead, Crofton Park, Catford, Bellingham, Beckenham Hill, Ravensbourne, Shortlands, Bromley South, Bickley, St Mary Cray, Swanley, Eynsford, Shoreham, Otford and Bat and Ball
Hayes Line (Metro)
Route	Frequency	Calling at
London Charing Cross to Hayes bypassing Lewisham	2 trains per hour	Waterloo East, London Bridge, Ladywell, Catford Bridge, Lower Sydenham, New Beckenham, Clock House, Elmers End, Eden Park and West Wickham
London Cannon Street to Hayes via Lewisham	2 trains per hour	London Bridge, New Cross, St Johns, Lewisham, Ladywell, Catford Bridge, Lower Sydenham, New Beckenham, Clock House, Elmers End, Eden Park and West Wickham
Sevenoaks Line (Metro)
Route	Frequency	Calling at
London Charing Cross to Sevenoaks	2 trains per hour	Waterloo East, London Bridge, Hither Green, Grove Park, Elmstead Woods, Chislehurst, Petts Wood, Orpington, Chelsfield, Knockholt and Dunton Green
London Cannon Street to Orpington	2 trains per hour	London Bridge, New Cross, St Johns, Lewisham, Hither Green, Grove Park, Elmstead Woods, Chislehurst and Petts Wood
Sidcup Line (Metro)
Route	Frequency	Calling at
London Charing Cross to Gravesend via Sidcup	2 trains per hour	Waterloo East, London Bridge, Hither Green, Lee, Mottingham, New Eltham, Sidcup, Albany Park, Bexley, Crayford, Dartford, Stone Crossing, Greenhithe, Swanscombe and Northfleet
London Cannon Street loop Service via Sidcup and Slade Green	2 trains per hour	London Bridge, New Cross, St Johns, Lewisham, Hither Green, Lee, Mottingham, New Eltham, Sidcup, Albany Park, Bexley and Crayford Service returns to Cannon Street via Woolwich Arsenal and Greenwich.
Greenwich Line (Metro)
Route	Frequency	Calling at
London Cannon Street loop Service via Woolwich Arsenal and Slade Green	4 trains per hour	London Bridge, Deptford, Greenwich, Maze Hill, Westcombe Park, Charlton, Woolwich Dockyard, Woolwich Arsenal, Plumstead, Abbey Wood, Belvedere and Erith 2tph return to Cannon Street via Sidcup and 2tph return to Cannon Street via Barnehurst and Bexleyheath.
London Cannon Street to Dartford via Woolwich Arsenal	2 trains per hour	London Bridge, Deptford, Greenwich, Maze Hill, Westcombe Park, Charlton, Woolwich Dockyard, Woolwich Arsenal, Plumstead, Abbey Wood, Belvedere, Erith and Slade Green
London Charing Cross to Gillingham (Kent) via Lewisham and Woolwich Arsenal	2 trains per hour	Waterloo East, London Bridge, Lewisham, Blackheath, Charlton, Woolwich Arsenal, Abbey Wood, Dartford, Greenhithe, Gravesend, Higham, Strood, Rochester and Chatham
Bromley North Branch (Metro)
Route	Frequency	Calling at
Bromley North to Grove Park	3 trains per hour	Sundridge Park

In addition to the above, there are peak-only routes, including:

• London St Pancras to Broadstairs via Chatham
• London St Pancras to Maidstone West via Gravesend
• London Cannon Street to Broadstairs /Ramsgate via Chatham
• Bedford to Ashford^[1]

Notes

1. Worked north of London Blackfriars by First Capital Connect. Weekend trains terminate at London Victoria instead.

Future expansion

Olympic Javelin Shuttle

The Olympic Javelin or Javelin is a planned high-speed train shuttle service announced as part of the successful London 2012 Olympic bid. It is an integral part of the plan to improve public transport in London in readiness for the 2012 Summer Olympics, an area of the bid that was initially regarded as being poor by the International Olympic Committee (IOC).^{[citation needed]}

The service will run for the duration of the games, between St Pancras International station and Ebbsfleet International station, via Stratford International station, which is within the planned Olympic Park. The British Olympic Association applied to register Javelin as a UK trademark on 19 July 2005 and this was granted on 2 June 2006. The service is to be operated by Southeastern on High Speed 1 using the fleet of Class 395 trains, and because of this the class is sometimes referred to as the Javelin.

At St Pancras there will be interchange with the Underground and with trains to/from the Midlands, Scotland, and the North of England. For track capacity reasons, Eurostar trains, which have never called at Stratford, will continue not to do so during the games, so spectators arriving from the Continent will change at Ebbsfleet. It is expected that over 80% of Olympic spectators will travel to and from the venues by rail. Services to the Olympic Park are planned to offer a total capacity of 240,000 travellers per hour, some 25,000 of which will use the Javelin service.

During the Olympics a service of eight trains an hour is planned between St Pancras and Ebbsfleet, calling at Stratford, replacing the highspeed service. Two of these would be extended to Ashford and one to Faversham. Between 11pm and 1am the service between St Pancras and Ebbsfleet would be increased to twelve per hour.

Thameslink Programme

By the conclusion of the Thameslink Programme in 2018, it is planned that the current off-peak services from Sevenoaks via Bat and Ball will be joined by trains from Orpington together with trains from Maidstone East and Paddock Wood via London Bridge. Thameslink services to Dartford, once mooted, are not now thought feasible because of timetabling constraints. Peak-hour trains are planned from Tunbridge Wells and Ashford International via London Bridge together with trains from Maidstone East, Sevenoaks and Orpington via the Catford Loop.

Ticketing

Oyster Pay-As-You-Go is now available from all Zone 1–6 stations served by the company, apart from journeys on High Speed 1 between St Pancras International and Stratford International.

In late 2010 Southeastern increased the price of certain season ticket prices by an average of 7.8%.

Performance

Figures released by the ORR rate punctuality at 90.5% (PPM) over the fourth quarter of financial year 2010/11, and 88.9% moving annual average (MAA) for the 12 months up to 31 March 2011.

In late 2010 the company faced a barrage of criticism for its performance during extreme weather conditions in the south-east of England. Many commuters have indicated that they would like to see Charles Horton MD removed from his post and that the franchise be taken from Southeastern, and there are also allegations that Southeastern deliberately runs reduced services to skew their official performance figures.

Rolling stock

Southeastern operates a fleet of about 322 trains, all of which are electrical multiple units.

Current fleet

Southeastern has, from the 22 March 2009 timetable change, started to operate Class 319 dual-voltage units shared with First Capital Connect (FCC) to operate most services via London Blackfriars as part of the Thameslink programme. Southeastern operates the service south of Blackfriars, FCC taking over their operation north thereof. This restored services that initially operated when the Thameslink route was opened in the late 1980s. Southeastern will also share some of the 23 new dual-voltage Class 377 units bound for the Thameslink route.

Class	Image	Top speed		Number	Cars per set	Routes operated	Built
		mph	km/h
Class 375 Electrostar		100	160	147	3/4	Mainline and limited Metro routes.	1999–2005
Class 376 Suburban Electrostar		75	120	36	5	Metro routes	2004–2005
Class 395 Javelin		140	225	29	6	High Speed 1 services	2006–2009
Class 465 Networker		75	120	147	4	Metro and limited Mainline routes.	1991–1994
Class 466 Networker		75	120	43	2	Metro and limited mainline routes+ metro/mainline branches	1993–1994

Past fleet

The arrangement with First Capital Connect for the services via Thameslink, coupled with the transfer of some routes to Southern, has allowed Southeastern to withdraw its small fleet of Class 508 EMUs and replace them with Networker stock cascaded from other services.

Class	Image	Top speed		Number	Cars per set	Routes operated	Built	Notes
		mph	km/h
Class 508/2		75	120	12	3	Rural routes (mainly branches)	1979–1980	Withdrawn 2008

Diagrams

See also

• South Eastern Trains
• Connex South Eastern
• Network SouthEast
• Southern Region of British Railways
• Southern Railway
• South Eastern and Chatham Railway
• South Eastern Railway
• London, Chatham and Dover Railway
• Commuter rail in the United Kingdom

External links

• Southeastern official web site
• alwaystouchout.com on the Channel Tunnel Rail Link (includes information about the high speed services)

Preceded by South Eastern Trains South Eastern franchise	Operator of Integrated Kent franchise 2006 – present	Incumbent
New creation HS1 Domestic Services