A significant milestone towards the future of Great British Railways (GBR) has been reached as Southeastern and Network Rail’s Kent Route have united under a single, more efficient leadership team, now operating as South Eastern Railway. This collaboration promises clearer accountability and improved performance, ultimately benefiting passengers and freight services.
This unification marks a crucial step in the government’s plans to overhaul the railways, with other regional arrangements expected to follow as more services transfer into public ownership. Operating as the South Eastern Railway team, under the leadership of Managing Director Steve White, this streamlined structure is designed to foster a more responsive railway with a common purpose and clear accountability for performance across the network.
Having already been under public ownership, Southeastern has been able to deepen its collaboration with Network Rail, which manages the railway infrastructure, for over a year. This integrated approach has already yielded tangible results, leading to greater efficiency and faster, better decisions for customers and taxpayers, contributing to an improved railway. Notable achievements include:
- Consistently low levels of cancellations.
- Customer satisfaction rated at 86%.
- A forecast £50 million year-on-year reduction in the taxpayer subsidy required to operate Southeastern.
Joint planning has also led to more efficient and innovative solutions for reducing delays. This includes enabling engineers to access the track during the day to carry out repairs more efficiently while maintaining service for customers. Collaboration has also seen the railway trial drones across the network to identify and reduce incidents of trespass. Furthermore, more joined-up working means better matching trains to passenger demand, delivering at least £3 million a year in additional revenue for the rail industry.
This is a significant step in the government’s ambitious plans to reform the railways through the creation of Great British Railways, which aims to unite train and track with the sole focus of delivering for passengers. This new integrated, collaborative approach across the South East sets a precedent for how GBR will operate, including the high standards expected before the GBR branding will be applied to operators. These 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, stated: “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 these new ways of working, South Eastern Railway has further plans to deliver for passengers and taxpayers over the next year and beyond. These include:
- 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 provide early indications of issues that should be addressed before they affect customers, thereby improving performance and reducing delays.
- Recruiting the next generation of talent to foster a more inclusive and diverse workforce, 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 development follows 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, bringing an end to almost 30 years of fragmentation and waste under privatisation.
