Starting Sunday, December 14, the company will introduce a major timetable overhaul, adding “thousands more seats” during peak times along with more frequent trains.
Alongside the timetable, the company has also announced the introduction of three extra modern, air-conditioned trains to its current fleet.
These changes, following on from passenger feedback, will see four lines have additional services, including the Bexleyheath, Hayes and Bromley South Line.
South east London lines impacted:
Bexleyheath Line – Extra evening services will run between Charing Cross and Dartford, with two new trains in each direction, giving a half-hourly evening service.
Weekend trains between Victoria and Dartford/Gravesend will also be lengthened to eight carriages.
Hayes Line – Services will be retimed to improve gaps between trains at London Bridge, making the timetable more reliable and evenly spaced.
A new 08.02 service from Charing Cross to Hayes will also run.
Bromley South Line (Victoria to Orpington) – An earlier start for shift workers, with the 04.33 Swanley to Victoria arriving 18 minutes earlier into central London.
An additional early-morning service will also run from Orpington at 04.35.
Maidstone East Line – Additional morning and evening peak services between Maidstone East and Charing Cross, calling at Swanley, Otford, and Borough Green.
Additionally, some services will be extended to two carriages, including the 7.20am Hastings to Charing Cross service and the 5.15pm Cannon Street to Hastings service.
Changes to highspeed services
29 additional weekday and weekend highspeed services will run between London and Faversham for those traveling through Stratford or St Pancras.
Scott Brightwell, South Eastern Railway’s Safety, Planning and Performance Director, said the changes were about listening to passengers:
“These changes directly address what passengers have told us they need most: more space during the busiest times, better connections, and more highspeed services.
“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.”
Customers are being advised to check their journeys from late September when timetables are updated online.
The December changes form part of the twice-yearly national rail timetable update, but for South East London passengers, they should mean more trains, more space and a smoother journey.
