New trains for Southeastern passengers returning to rail

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 boost capacity on the Metro 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 a small number of Southeastern’s older Class 465 and Class 466 ‘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.”

Photo credit: Southeastern

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