'Thousands' more seats on trains, says operator

Three new modern trains will join the South Eastern fleet

Commuters on South Eastern Railway in Kent, East Sussex and Greater London have been told they will benefit from "significant improvements" and have "thousands of more seats" available when the new timetable starts.

The changes, which will start on 14 December, will see some of the busiest trains in peak times extended from eight to 12 carriages, and a further three new modern trains joining the fleet.

The train operator said the changes were a direct response to growing passenger demand and feedback.

It carried out almost 138 million journeys in 2024, up nine million on the previous year, and journey numbers are on track to be more than 143 million by the end of March 2026, it said.

More services will be running to and from London Charing Cross

The changes will include some trains between London and Hastings having more carriages in both the morning and evening peak.

Weekend services between London Victoria and Dartford/Gravesend will also lengthened to eight carriages, the operator said.

Extra evening trains on the route between London Charing Cross and Dartford via Bexleyheath will also be running, as will additional peak-time services between London Charing Cross and Maidstone East.

On the High Speed route, 29 additional weekday and weekend highspeed services will run between London St Pancras International and Faversham, providing a half-hourly service until weekday evenings and all day Saturday.

Some services across the entire network have also been subject to minor timing adjustments.

'Directly address'

Scott Brightwell, safety, planning and performance director for South Eastern Railway, said: "These changes directly address what passengers have told us they need most.

"The longer trains will provide thousands more seats exactly when and where they're needed most.

"We are a growing railway and we are continuing to do everything we can to support this demand."

Passengers have been told that updated timetables will be available online from late September.

The changes are part of a twice-yearly industry-wide national rail timetable update.