Great British Railways in action – passengers benefit from track and train being united on South Eastern Railway

Southeastern and Network Rail Kent Route have united under a single leadership team to drive investment and efficiency and deliver for passengers and freight in an important step towards Great British Railways (GBR). Further regional arrangements will come into place as other services transfer into public ownership.

Operating as the South Eastern Railway team, and overseen by Managing Director Steve White, the streamlined structure will allow for a more responsive railway with a common purpose and clear accountability for railway performance across the network.

Already under public ownership, Southeastern has been able to work increasingly closely with Network Rail, which manages railway infrastructure, for over a year. This collaborative approach has resulted in greater efficiency with better, faster decisions for customers and taxpayers, leading to an improved railway. For example:

• consistently low levels of cancellations
• customer satisfaction at 86%
• subsidy required to operate Southeastern expected to reduce by £50m year on year.

Joint planning has led to more efficient and innovative solutions to reducing delays. This includes enabling engineers to access the track during the day to carry out repairs more efficiently, while maintaining a service for customers. Collaboration has also seen the railway trial drones up and down the network to identify and reduce incidents of trespass. More joined up working also means matching trains to when passengers want to take them, delivering at least £3m a year in additional revenue for the rail industry.

This is a significant milestone in the Government's plans to overhaul the railways through the creation of Great British Railways, uniting train and track with the sole focus of delivering for passengers.

This new integrated, collaborative approach across the South East sets the path for how GBR will operate including the high standards expected before the branding will be given to operators. The standards, which will be tailored for each operator will revolve around delivering high performing, better coordinated, more efficient, and more responsive services. 

Rail Minister Lord Peter Hendy said:

“Track and train are two sides of the same coin but for too long they have operated independently of each other – leaving customers and taxpayers to bear the consequences of this illogical approach.

“Uniting track and train leadership in the South East is the first step in our journey to create a railway we can all be proud of; delivering the Government's Plan for Change with better connectivity, leading to more growth, jobs and homes and ultimately to the creation of Great British Railways.”

Under the new ways of working, South Eastern Railway have further plans to deliver for passengers and taxpayers over the next year/few years. This includes:

• investing over £40 million in station improvements including the country's largest Access for All Scheme at Hither Green.
• modernising the rolling stock on the Metro service to deliver more accessible and passenger-focused journeys.
• fitting passenger trains with thermal imaging cameras and AI CCTV to monitor tracks and give early indications of issues that should be addressed before they affect customers - improving performance and reducing delay
• recruiting the next generation of talent for a more inclusive and diverse workforce and delivering real social value and social mobility.

South Eastern Railway Managing Director Steve White said:

“We know that for our customers what matters most is a railway they can depend on, is reliable and responsive when things go wrong. By joining together track and train under a single leadership team, with accountability for the whole railway instead of different parts we can remove friction, and make better, faster decisions to deliver a better service.

"This new way of working puts customer needs front and centre, and will deliver a more joined up, responsive and sustainable railway.”

This follows on from a watershed moment last month when South Western Railway (SWR) services became the first to transfer back into public control since the passing of the Public Ownership Bill, ending almost 30 years of fragmentation and waste under privatisation.  

Notes to editors

• South Eastern Railway is a contractual arrangement between Southeastern and Network Rail. No accountabilities are being transferred and each organisation will remain responsible for decision-making for its respective accountabilities. There are no changes to any staff Terms & Conditions.