Southeastern

Southeastern

Franchise(s):	Integrated Kent Franchise 2006-01-04 - 2014-03-31
Main region(s):	Greater London, Kent
Other region(s):	East Sussex
Fleet size:	TBC
Stations called at:	203 (182 operated)
National Rail abbreviation:	SE
Parent company:	Govia (Go-Ahead Group / Keolis)
Web site:	www.southeasternrailway.co.uk/

Southeastern is a train operating company in the United Kingdom. It began operations in south-east England on 1 April 2006 as franchisee for the Integrated Kent Franchise (IKF), replacing the prior publicly-owned operator South Eastern Trains on the former South East Franchise. It serves the commuter routes to south-east London, Kent, and parts of East Sussex.

Overview

Southeastern serve the main London stations of Charing Cross, Victoria, Blackfriars, Cannon Street, London Bridge and recently St Pancras. The Southeastern network has a mileage of 480, with 182 stations. About 82% of its services run to/from London.

It is owned by Govia, a joint venture between Go-Ahead Group and Keolis, who also operate the neighbouring Southern operating company 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). Although it continued to use the logo and livery of its predecessor for its first year of operations, a new company logo was adopted early in 2007 and stations, beginning with Waterloo East, have begun to be re-painted under the new corporate colour scheme. In August 2007, a Class 508 train was painted in a new trial livery, although the company has stated that the exact design is yet to be finalised.^[1]

The first electrostar to receive Southeastern's revised livery is No 375624. This unit was seen at London Victoria on 24 January 2008, (the unit being delivered after repairs at Ilford on 4 January), and pictured in The Railway Magazine April 2008 issue.

History of the franchise

Since the privatisation of British Rail, the franchise to run trains in this area has changed hands three times. The first company to win the South-Eastern Franchise on 14 October 1996 was Connex, who operated it under the name Connex South Eastern. The company gained bad publicity, and their franchise was cut short on 9 November 2003. Train services were then taken over by South Eastern Trains, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Strategic Rail Authority/Department for Transport, until the bidding for the new IKF 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).^[2]

The opening of the second phase of High Speed 1 in November 2007 made available train paths that had previously been used by Eurostar, allowing Southeastern to increase services in December 2007.^[3] In December 2008, as part of the franchise agreement, responsibility for the Redhill to Tonbridge Line was handed over to Southern.

In March 2009 the bay platforms at London Blackfriars closed for reconstruction of the station as part of the Thameslink Programme. Services which previously terminated at Blackfriars were extended to Kentish Town, St Albans, Luton or Bedford.^[4] Southeastern operate these services jointly with First Capital Connect using 20 dual voltage Class 319 as well as newly built 377 Electrostars.^[5]

Current routes

Current off-peak services. Originating from central London, these services are

• Kentish Town, calling at St Pancras, Farringdon, City Thameslink and Blackfriars^[1] to:
  • Sevenoaks stopping service via Catford and Swanley - 2tph

• Cannon Street to:
  • Loop service via Sidcup, then towards Woolwich Arsenal and Greenwich - 2tph
  • Loop service via Greenwich and Woolwich Arsenal then towards Sidcup - 2tph
  • Hayes via Lewisham - 2tph
  • Dartford stopping service via Greenwich and Woolwich Arsenal - 2tph
  • Ashford International via Maidstone East - 1tph
  • Plumstead via Lewisham - 2tph

• Charing Cross to:
  • Dartford via Bexleyheath - 2tph
  • Hayes bypassing Lewisham - 2tph
  • Gravesend via Lewisham and Sidcup - 2tph
  • Gillingham via Greenwich and Woolwich Arsenal - 2tph
  • Orpington / Sevenoaks via Lewisham - 2tph
  • Ashford International via Paddock Wood - 2tph
  • Hastings via Tunbridge Wells - 2tph
  • Dover/Ramsgate via Canterbury West, dividing at Ashford International - 1tph
  • Ramsgate via Dover/Margate via Canterbury West, dividing at Ashford International - 1tph

• St Pancras International^[2] to:
  • Ebbsfleet International - 2tph ^[6]

• Victoria to:
  • Orpington stopping service via Beckenham Junction - 4tph
  • Dartford via Bexleyheath - 2tph
  • Ramsgate/Dover Priory via Bromley South, dividing at Faversham - 2tph
  • Faversham stopping service via Bromley South - 2tph
  • Maidstone East - 1tph
  • Canterbury West via Maidstone East and Ashford International - 1tph

Other services include;

• Grove Park to Bromley North shuttle - 2tph
• Sittingbourne to Sheerness - 2tph
• Paddock Wood to Strood via Maidstone West - 1tph
• Maidstone West to Strood - 1tph
• Tunbridge Wells - Tonbridge - 2tph

Notes

1. From 22 March, worked north of Blackfriars by First Capital Connect. Weekends trains terminate at Victoria.
2. From 29 June

December 2009 Timetable

13 December 2009 timetable changes on Southeastern services.

High speed services

Currently (as of November 2009) Southeastern run a weekday preview service over High Speed 1 between London St Pancras and Ebbsfleet International, with a few services extending to Ashford International, Ramsgate via Canterbury West or Dover.^[7] From 13 December 2009^[8] Southeastern plan to operate a regular high-speed domestic service on High Speed 1 into and out of London St Pancras. 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.^[9]

A fleet of twenty-nine six-carriage Shinkansen-derived high-speed ‘A-trains’ have been delivered from Hitachi for this route.^[10] Known as Class 395, this is Hitachi’s first train sale in Britain. The colour scheme for the high-speed trains is dark blue - using the same corporate colour as their logo. The services are marketed as Southeastern Highspeed and the trains will be named after British personalities associated with speed.^[11][12]

When the full service is running trains will use High Speed 1 calling at Stratford International and Ebbsfleet International. Trains for the Medway towns and Faversham will leave the high speed line at Ebbsfleet and continue via the North Kent line and Chatham Main Line. Trains for Dover Priory and Margate via Ashford International will leave the high speed line at Ashford. The planned off peak service is for two trains per hour from St Pancras International to Faversham, one train per hour to Dover via Ashford and one train per hour to Margate via Ashford and Canterbury West.^[13]

Mainline services

On the Southeastern Main Line, there is planned a half hourly stopping service from London Charing Cross, which will divide at Ashford International and continue to Dover Priory and Canterbury West or Ramsgate via Dover and Ramsgate via Canterbury.^[14] Also planned is a half hourly direct service from London Charing Cross to Tunbridge Wells.^[15] These replace the half hourly stopping service from London Charing Cross to Ashford, the services to Dover and Ramsgate via Canterbury West and to Ramsgate via Dover and Margate via Canterbury West, which both divide at Ashford International together with the Tunbridge Wells to Tonbridge shuttle. A new stopping service will be introduced between London Cannon Street and Orpington via Lewisham.^[16] Services from Strood to Paddock Wood will be extended to Tonbridge.^[17]

On the Chatham Main Line the London Victoria to Faversham half hourly service is replaced by an hourly train from Victoria to Gillingham (Kent). The half hourly services from London Victoria to Ramsgate and Dover Priory will both additionally call at Longfield and Meopham, with one service also stopping at Newington and the other at Teynham.^[18]

On the Maidstone East Line the services from London Cannon Street to Ashford International via Maidstone East, from London Victoria to Maidstone East and Victoria to Canterbury West via Ashford are replaced by a half hourly Victoria to Ashford service, one semi-fast and one stopping.^[19]

Other changes include:^[20]

• Four trains an hour between Tunbridge Wells and Charing Cross
• Three trains an hour at Longfield and Meopham
• Medway Valley service (Strood to Paddock Wood) extended to Tonbridge.

Metro services

On the North Kent Line the service from London Charing Cross to Gillingham will run via Lewisham and Woolwich Arsenal instead of via Greenwich. The service from London Cannon Street to Plumstead via Lewisham and Woolwich will be dropped as a result.^[21]

Other changes include:^[22]

• Six trains an hour between Greenwich and Slade Green.
• Six trains an hour between Lewisham and Barnehurst.
• Four trains an hour between Hither Green and Orpington.

Future expansion

Olympic Javelin Shuttle

The Olympic Javelin^[23] or Javelin^[24] 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).

The service will run for the duration of the games, between St Pancras International station and Ebbsfleet International station, via Stratford International station, which will be situated within the planned Olympic Park.^[25] The British Olympic Association applied to register Javelin as a UK trademark on 19 July 2005 - this was granted on 2 June 2006.^[26] 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.^[27]

The journeys from St Pancras International are expected to take seven minutes and those from Ebbsfleet International ten minutes, with trains running in both directions every six minutes.^[23] St. Pancras will allow for connections with the Underground, and trains to/from the Midlands, Scotland, and North of England. In order to release track capacity, Eurostar trains will not stop at Stratford during the games, so spectators arriving from the Continent will have to change at Ebbsfleet.^[25] The planned suspension of Southeastern Highspeed services during the Games is to be reviewed.^[28] It is expected that over 80% of Olympic spectators will travel to and from the venues by rail. Services to the Olympic Park are projected to have a capacity of 240,000 travellers per hour, with around 25,000 of those using the Javelin service.

Thameslink Programme

By the conclusion of the Thameslink Programme in 2015, 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. Services to Dartford are currently discounted due to timetabling reasons. Peak hour trains are planned from Tunbridge Wells and Paddock Wood via London Bridge together with trains from from Maidstone East, Sevenoaks and Orpington via the Catford Loop.^[29]

Ticketing

Like its sister franchise Southern, Southeastern is committed to introducing Oyster Pay As You Go (PAYG) on its London routes but is yet to implement. Oyster PAYG is available from Elephant & Castle, London Blackfriars and City Thameslink.

Performance

Figures released by the ORR rate punctuality at 93.5% (PPM) over the first quarter of the financial year 2009/10 and 90.3% moving annual average (MAA) for the 12 months up to 30 June 2009. ^[30]

Rolling stock

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

Current fleet

Southeastern have, from the 22nd March 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, whilst FCC operates north. This will restore services that were 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 FCC.^[31]

Class	Image	Top speed		Number	Cars per set	Routes operated	Built
		mph	km/h
Class 375 Electrostar		100	160	147	3/4	Mainline and metro routes	1999-2001
Class 376 Suburban Electrostar		75	120	36	5	Metro and limited mainline 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 Mainline routes	1991-1994
Class 466 Networker		75	120	43	2	Metro and mainline routes	1993-1994

Past fleet

The arrangement with First Capital Connect regarding 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	1979-1980	Withdrawn 2008

Diagrams

See also

UK Railways portal

• 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

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Southeastern (train operating company)

External links

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

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