South Eastern Railway formed as track and train unite under single leadership to improve services

Credit: South Eastern Railway

Southeastern and Network Rail’s Kent Route have merged under a single leadership structure, forming South Eastern Railway as a practical step towards the Government’s Great British Railways (GBR) vision of integrating track and train. The new team, led by Managing Director Steve White, will oversee both operations and infrastructure across the network, giving clear accountability for performance, faster decision‑making and better value for money.

At present, Southeastern is already publicly owned; closer collaboration with Network Rail over the past year has delivered tangible gains. Levels of train cancellations remain consistently low, customer satisfaction stands at 86 per cent, and the subsidy required to run the franchise is forecast to fall by £50 million year on year. Joint planning has enabled daytime track access for engineers, speeding up repairs without suspending services, and the use of drones to deter trespass. Matching service levels to actual passenger demand is expected to generate at least £3 million in additional annual revenue.

The Department for Transport views the South Eastern integration as a blueprint for GBR, under which all operators will be required to meet rigorous performance, coordination and efficiency standards before receiving GBR branding. Announcing the move, 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 … 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.”

Looking ahead, South Eastern Railway plans to invest over £40 million in station upgrades, including the country’s largest Access for All scheme at Hither Green; refurbish Metro‑area rolling stock to provide more accessible journeys; equip passenger trains with thermal‑imaging cameras and AI‑enabled CCTV to spot infrastructure faults early; and recruit a more inclusive, diverse workforce to boost social value.

Steve White commented:

“We know that for our customers what matters most is a railway they can depend on … By joining together track and train under a single leadership team … we can remove friction, and make better, faster decisions to deliver a better service.”

The development follows last month’s transfer of South Western Railway services into public control, the first since the Public Ownership Bill, marking another milestone in the Government’s drive to end fragmentation and waste resulting from three decades of privatisation.