New Southeastern trains on the way for Kent passengers

Tunbridge Wells and Maidstone East lines will be getting 13 new trains, and the first two will arrive in December. Southeastern said the trains were more reliable and air conditioned, giving passengers a better experience.

They also have "better acceleration and braking" than the ones they are replacing. The Class 377s also have plug sockets by the seats and better onboard information.

And a further 11 will be brought into service during the next 12 months. They will mainly be used to replace the older trains on the Maidstone East and Tunbridge Wells lines. Southeastern’s new timetable comes in on Sunday, December 15.

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It includes the introduction of an extra 220 weekly services across its network. Two evening services from Charing Cross to Maidstone East will be extended to Ashford International on weekdays.

Southeastern's head of major programmes Sophie Barker said: "The arrival of these trains is a key milestone in our ongoing work to provide a more reliable service by modernising our fleet."

'Better acceleration and braking'

"The Class 377s have better acceleration and braking than the Networkers they're replacing. This should help us provide a more reliable service, while providing a better experience for customers.”

The 13 units will join the 23 existing Class 377s already operated by Southeastern. Maintenance will continue to be provided by Govia Thameslink Railway.

Southeastern operates more than 1,700 services a day to 181 stations across Kent, south-east London and East Sussex. It operates the UK's only domestic highspeed service and carried 128 million customers last year. It employs more than 4,500 people.

Southeastern is owned by SE Trains Ltd, a subsidiary of the Department for Transport’s public sector owning group, ‘DOHL’