Even more Southeastern customers can now enjoy travelling on the newest trains in the fleet as two additional Class 707 City Beams come into service.
These are the final two trains from a 30-strong South Western Railway (SWR) fleet to transfer across to the new operator.
The first City Beams were introduced onto the Southeastern network in September 2021 and the transfer of the remaining two trains means this cascade is now complete.
City Beams have proved to be very popular with customers; They are light, bright and spacious with accessible interiors that have two wheelchair spaces for every five carriages.
The modern customer information systems show where there is space on board and there is Wi-Fi and handy power sockets to keep passengers charged up and connected while on the move.
They also have air-conditioned carriages, as well as improved heating and ventilation for customer comfort.
The last two units were switched over from the SWR red livery into Southeastern blue at the Gillingham depot following their transfer on 7 September.
The Class 707s are leased from Angel Trains and maintained by Southeastern in partnership with the manufacturer, Siemens.
You can watch a short video about their introduction below:
Mark Johnson Southeastern’s Engineering Director, said:
“I’m really pleased that we now have all 30 of the City Beams available for customers. They are the newest and most accessible trains in our Metro fleet and have been a big hit since they came on the Southeastern network.
"Refreshing our fleet is an important part of our drive to build a better, more reliable and sustainable railway, and we are continuing to work to upgrade our trains in the coming months and years.”
David Jordan, COO at Angel Trains, said:
“We're delighted to see the final City Beam trains join Southeastern, as passengers are already experiencing the benefits of these modern trains. We're committed to building on this success with Southeastern and our industry partners, by further enhancing the fleet to meet passenger needs."
Sambit Banerjee, Joint CEO for Siemens Mobility UK & Ireland said:
“We’re really proud that our Class 707’s, the City Beams, have been serving passengers in the South East since 2021, playing an important role in transforming journeys for Southeastern passengers. The deployment of the final two trains marks a major milestone in the complete transfer of our fleet to Southeastern which has been a great collaborative effort between Southeastern and Angel Trains. I am also thankful to our dedicated Siemens Mobility team, who work alongside the Southeastern team at the Slade Green depot for their commitment, day in, day out, in maintaining these trains to the highest standards to ensure passengers have safe, reliable and comfortable journeys."
