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Latest News
This section of our site gives all of our latest news and press releases on changes and improvements to Southeastern train services as well as articles on the transport industry as a whole.
Tuesday 27 October 2026
Southeastern supports families in Woolwich through new community café
Tuesday 15 September 2026
Southeastern unveils community-named Bayeux Tapestry train as Hastings children begin historic journey
Tuesday 8 September 2026
Express service to cut Hastings to London journey times from December
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28 Oct 2026700 free rail tickets will help Canterbury pupils follow the thread of history
- 700 complimentary return tickets available to help Canterbury schoolchildren visit once in a generation showing of the Bayeux Tapestry at the British Museum
- Follows successful scheme which helped 30 schools and 1,138 pupils and accompanying adults visit the Bayeux Tapestry from Hastings and Rother
- Schools in the CT1-CT4 postcode areas can apply for groups of up to 40 people
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27 Oct 2026Southeastern supports families in Woolwich through new community café
- New community café created by Mama2Mama Baby Essentials with support from Southeastern’s Customer and Community Improvement Fund
- New café offers affordable refreshments, family activities and support for parents, carers and children
- One of 14 projects being supported through Southeastern’s largest-ever Customer and Community Improvement Fund programme
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23 Oct 2026Southeastern achieves top Ministry of Defence recognition for supporting veterans, reservists and military families
- Southeastern has received the Ministry of Defence’s Defence Employer Recognition Scheme Gold Award
- Award recognises Southeastern’s support for veterans, reservists, military families and Cadet Force Adult Volunteers.
- Support includes up to 10 days’ additional paid leave for Reservists and Cadet Force Adult Volunteers and guaranteed interviews for veterans.
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14 Oct 2026TEN DAYS TO GO: Hastings line passengers advised to plan ahead this October school half term as buses replace trains for nine days
- Buses replace trains between Tonbridge and Wadhurst from Saturday 24 October until Sunday 1 November
- Engineers will renew worn track just south of Tunbridge Wells
- Teams to carry out additional remedial work to remove three temporary speed restrictions on the line
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12 Oct 2026Rail industry crackdown as trespassing criminals cause more than 1,500 hours of delays on South Eastern Railway network
- Trespass crime including vandalism, and obstruction caused over two months of delays to passengers and cost the South Eastern Railway over £5 million in delay costs
- New crackdown campaign sees rail industry and British Transport Police work closer together than ever in tackling trespass and railway crime
- New technology and better evidence gathering to bring more offenders to justice and reduce impact on passengers.
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07 Oct 2026Southeastern to introduce Autumn timetable from Sunday 11 October to improve reliability and punctuality
- Southeastern’s Autumn Timetable will operate from Sunday 11 October to Saturday 12 December 2026
- Many customers will see little or no change, but some services have been retimed and a small number of stopping patterns revised
- Customers are encouraged to check their journey before travelling at southeasternrailway.co.uk/autumn
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05 Oct 2026New Hither Green footbridge opens for passengers as £28m programme hits latest milestone
- New footbridge at Hither Green available for use
- Work continues on installing lifts to make south east London station fully accessible
- Project on track to be completed ahead of schedule
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15 Sep 2026Southeastern unveils community-named Bayeux Tapestry train as Hastings children begin historic journey
- A four-car Class 375, named King Harold II by the people of Battle and Hastings, was unveiled at Hastings station today (15 September).
- The train was unveiled by community leaders and partners including Helena Dollimore MP who has been working with Southeastern on the campaign to enable young people from the area to access the special display at the British Museum.
- 35 Hastings schoolchildren were among the first to benefit from 1,066 complimentary rail tickets being provided by Southeastern to help young people visit the Bayeux Tapestry.
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08 Sep 2026Express service to cut Hastings to London journey times from December
- New weekday express service between Hastings and Charing Cross launches from 14 December.
- Fastest journey time of 1 hour 18 minutes from Hastings to London Bridge, and 1 hour 28 minutes to Charing Cross - around 14 minutes quicker than today's fastest peak service.
- Part of a wider December timetable change delivering more frequent services, better connections and increased capacity across south-east London, Kent and East Sussex.
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08 Sep 2026Hastings line passengers advised to plan ahead this October school half term as buses replace trains for nine days
- Buses replace trains between Tonbridge and Wadhurst from Saturday 24 October until Sunday 1 November
- Engineers will renew worn track just south of Tunbridge Wells
- Wider programme of maintenance to take place to keep the railway safe and reliable