Trains on some of the busiest commuter routes into London could have no first class carriages, less seating and terminate at fewer major London stations next year.
It will be the first since the government announced it will require operators and Network Rail to establish "integrated operating teams" to bring together rail services and infrastructure.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
However, the most eye-catching proposals in the document are those designed to increase capacity on key routes into London during peak times, which include forcing companies to remove first-class compartments, which the London Evening Standard says are popular with commuters from the likes of Sevenoaks and Tonbridge in Kent.
It also suggests investment into new rolling stock to create "metro-style" seating that is sideways facing. This effectively means less seating and much more room for standing.
Additionally, lines could be simplified to pack in more services, says the Standard, for example by insisting that "all Metro services on the north Kent, Greenwich and Bexleyheath Lines would only terminate at Cannon Street".
The Southeastern franchise is currently operated by Govia, which also runs Southern, which in January was voted the worst rail operator in the country. Southeastern was second-worst, with a satisfaction rating of 31 per cent.
A spokesman at Southeastern said: "We're focused on delivering our current franchise and will continue to invest over £70m in improvements in the areas that matter most to our passengers.
"Our recent National Rail Passenger Survey customer satisfaction scores have risen, reflecting that passengers are noticing the improvements being made; but we know there is still more work to do and we will continue to work with Network Rail to improve the experience passengers have when travelling with us."
The consultation is open for ten weeks and closes on 23 May.
-
5 museum-grade cartoons about Trump's Smithsonian purgeCartoons Artists take on institutional rebranding, exhibit interpretation, and more
-
Settling the West Bank: a death knell for a Palestine state?In the Spotlight The reality on the ground is that the annexation of the West Bank is all but a done deal
-
Crossword: August 23, 2025The Week's daily crossword puzzle
-
Labour shortages: the ‘most urgent problem’ facing the UK economy right nowSpeed Read Britain is currently in the grip of an ‘employment crisis’
-
Will the energy war hurt Europe more than Russia?Speed Read European Commission proposes a total ban on Russian oil
-
Will Elon Musk manage to take over Twitter?Speed Read The world’s richest man has launched a hostile takeover bid worth $43bn
-
Shoppers urged not to buy into dodgy Black Friday dealsSpeed Read Consumer watchdog says better prices can be had on most of the so-called bargain offers
-
Ryanair: readying for departure from LondonSpeed Read Plans to delist Ryanair from the London Stock Exchange could spell ‘another blow’ to the ‘dwindling’ London market
-
Out of fashion: Asos ‘curse’ has struck againSpeed Read Share price tumbles following the departure of CEO Nick Beighton
-
Universal Music’s blockbuster listing: don’t stop me now…Speed Read Investors are betting heavily that the ‘boom in music streaming’, which has transformed Universal’s fortunes, ‘still has a long way to go’
-
EasyJet/Wizz: battle for air supremacySpeed Read ‘Wizz’s cheeky takeover bid will have come as a blow to the corporate ego’
