05 Jul 2021
New trains for Southeastern passengers returning to rail in south east London and north Kent
- Class 707 service set for autumn start
- Air-conditioned, spacious and modern trains will run on Hayes line and routes to Sevenoaks and Dartford
- New trains will provide more space and replace some older ‘Networker’ trains
As people return to rail in the coming months, Southeastern is preparing to introduce a new fleet of Class 707 trains beginning in the autumn of this year.
The new additions to the fleet will increase the amount of space available to passengers on the routes from Dartford, Sevenoaks and Hayes, and into London terminals.
These modern, spacious, and air-conditioned trains will deliver a significant improvement in the passenger experience on the busier London routes, replacing some of Southeastern’s older ‘Networker’ trains.
The start of the preview service in the autumn will be followed by the full service in 2022 - when a sufficient number of trains have transferred from South Western Railway (SWR), refreshed, deep-cleaned and updated, ready for use on the Southeastern network.
David Statham, Managing Director at Southeastern said:
“Bringing in modern, reliable trains with more space is an important part of the work we are doing to encourage people back to rail travel.
“Following a great effort by everyone across the railway, I’m very pleased to confirm that our new trains are getting set to carry passengers later this year.
“The Class 707 represents a big investment in our train fleet and I’m really looking forward to welcoming our customers aboard.”
Rail Minister Chris Heaton Harris said:
“This is a welcome upgrade for passengers on Southeastern’s network.
“As the nation starts moving again following the pandemic, passengers will benefit from modern, clean, reliable trains that will make it even better to travel by rail”.
Sambit Banerjee, Managing Director Rolling Stock and Customer Services for Siemens Mobility Limited said:
“We were delighted to see the Siemens Mobility Class 707s moving over to their new home at Southeastern. It has been a great collaborative effort since then between Siemens Mobility and Southeastern operational teams to get the trains ready for service, which has continued throughout the Covid 19 lockdown.
“We look forward to supporting passengers travelling into London from the South East on comfortable, air conditioned trains and continuing our great partnership with Southeastern.”
Contact information
Southeastern Press Office
0330 095 9091
[email protected]
Notes to editors
- Southeastern has already received six Class 707 trains since January, which are currently being housed at Ashford, Grove Park and Slade Green depots. These units are being used for maintenance and driver training, as well as station compatibility tests. The next two 5-car trains are expected to be delivered in July 2021.
- The Class 707 fleet is owned by Angel Trains and was originally procured for South West Trains (SWT), with the first entering service on routes in south west London in 2017.
- With SWT’s successor, South Western Railway, in the process of receiving a brand-new train fleet for its London area routes, the Class 701, Southeastern has taken on the nearly new Class 707 fleet for its Metro routes.
- Features of the each of the 30 trains, which will operate on Metro services to London from Dartford, Hayes and Sevenoaks include an open, bright and spacious interior, 271 seats per unit, plug sockets, Wi-Fi, modern air conditioning, ventilation and heating and passenger information screens including a loading display for every carriage.
