Commuters across Kent and South East London will benefit from significant train service improvements when South Eastern Railway’s new timetable launches on Sunday 14 December.
The changes will deliver thousands more seats during rush hour, with several of the busiest trains extended from eight to 12 carriages. Three additional modern air-conditioned trains will also join the fleet.
What passengers can expect:
Better connections and frequencies:
- Extra evening trains on the busy Charing Cross to Dartford route via Bexleyheath
- Retimed Charing Cross services on the Hayes Line, improving the interval between services at London Bridge
- Additional peak-time services from Charing Cross to the Maidstone East line to provide half-hourly services in the morning and evening peaks
- 29 additional weekday and weekend highspeed services between St Pancras International and Faversham, providing a half-hourly service until weekday evenings and all day Saturday
More capacity:
- 07.20 Hastings to Charing Cross extended from eight to 12 carriages
- 16.04 St Pancras to Dover highspeed service extended from six to 12 carriages
- 17.15 Cannon Street to Hastings extended from eight to 12 carriages
- Weekend services between Victoria and Dartford/Gravesend lengthened to eight carriages
Modern trains with better customer facilities:
- Three more Class 377 Electrostar trains featuring air conditioning, device charging points and greater comfort
The improvements respond directly to growing passenger demand and feedback. South Eastern Railway carried almost 138 million journeys last year – up 9 million from the previous year. Growth is continuing this year, and journey numbers are on track to be over 143m by the end of March 2026.
Scott Brightwell, Safety, Planning and Performance Director for South Eastern Railway, said:
"These changes directly address what passengers have told us they need most, more space during the busiest times, better connections and more highspeed services from London St Pancras International.
"The longer trains will provide thousands more seats exactly when and where they're needed most, while the introduction of more of our modern air-conditioned trains offer a much more comfortable journey with additional customer facilities.
“We are a growing railway and we are continuing to do everything we can to support this demand by making it easier and more convenient for people to travel to work, education, healthcare or simply to visit family, friends or some of the fantastic locations on our network.”
Passengers should check journey times from late September when updated timetables become available online, as some services have minor timing adjustments.
The December timetable changes are part of the industry-wide national rail timetable update that happens twice yearly.
