Stakeholder Newsletter Issue 8. Summer 2021 More flexibility and better value As commuters begin to return to the office, Southeastern will be welcoming them with more flexible ticketing options as well as help to find the most cost-effective ways to travel.

aunched on 21 June, our new John Backway, Head of Retail at Available via the website, the Flexi Season ticket offers eight Southeastern, said: calculator enables commuters with days of travel in a 28-day “We’re ready to welcome people flexible work schedules to identify period between any two back to rail and recognise many will be the most cost-effective package for stations. working very differently from the way travelling at peak times. LThe new flexible ticket offers savings they did before the pandemic. John Backway added: “As for commuters travelling during peak “The new national Flexi Season restrictions lift and we start to welcome times, two-to-three days a week. The ticket will offer passengers more choice more and more passengers onto our days when it is to be used do not for how they want to travel to work network, we want to ensure that the have to be specified in advance, so and is a flexible solution that’s perfect if process of identifying the best fare is a commuters have complete freedom to you need to travel to work a couple of seamless experience. decide on a rolling basis which days times a week at peak time Monday to “The new Season Ticket Calculator they want go into the office. Friday.” will help to build a more transparent The Flexi Season tickets are part ticket-buying process for our of a national railway-wide initiative And it gets better passengers, helping everyone to make recognising that working patterns have As well as offering greater flexibility, an informed choice, and one that changed dramatically and traditional we are helping our passengers find the is right for their journey and travel season tickets no longer meet the needs most cost-effective way to travel. pattern.” of many of our passengers. They are Working with our sister company For further information about Flexi available as either a Smartcard or as a Railway, we Season tickets, visit www.nationalrail. barcode via our App. have launched a new Season Ticket co.uk/times_fares/ticket_types/flexi- Calculator to help commuters identify season.aspx to use the Season Ticket the fares that are best for them. Calculator. Getting ready for summer With many people choosing not to travel abroad this summer, we’re expecting to see a lot of people wanting to Hot weather can be travel on day trips to the coast. challenging for train operators, with rails expanding his is great news for the visitor To keep passengers safe, we will as they get as hot as 51°C. economy in the seaside have extra staff on hand and we’ll be Steps we take to keep our towns that we serve. An ready to implement one-way systems services running smoothly influx of domestic tourists and special queuing arrangements at include: will be a real shot in the arm our stations if necessary. • Bespoke weather forecasts Tfor the pubs, restaurants, cafés and Once on board, passengers will find and high-tech equipment to visitor attractions that have seen such a that find that fresh air flows through all monitor rail temperatures decline in trade over the course of the our trains from air conditioning, vents or • Reflective paint so rails stay pandemic. windows that can be opened if needed. cool and expand less – rails We’ll be doing our bit by making Our busiest trains run to the coast painted white can be 10°C travel to popular destinations such between 10.30am and 1.30pm, cooler! as Margate, Hastings, Broadstairs, returning from 4pm to 7pm, so we are • Helicopter inspections of Folkestone, Herne Bay, Whitstable advising day trippers to avoid these the tracks using a thermal- and St Leonards-on-Sea as safe and times whenever possible. We are also imaging camera comfortable as possible. encouraging passengers to use our • Vegetation and litter cleared At busy times, we will be providing handy SeatFinder tool – available on to prevent line-side fires more carriages on trains towards the our website or via the Southeastern App • Speed restrictions where rails coast as well as having a ‘crowdbuster’ – to find the quietest trains. are particularly hot, so that train on standby between Faversham As always, people will need to trains can move safely along and Ramsgate. We will also be running wear a face covering when travelling the track longer weekday trains from Victoria to on public transport, in trains and at Ramsgate. stations. OPEN for business

wo years of hard work and meticulous planning by the teams at Southeastern and culminated in more than 20,000 happy golf fans heading to and from The 149th Open Championship at Royal St George’s Golf Club in TSandwich, safely and without incident. Despite the postponement in 2020, and having to operate under strict Covid guidelines, the planning went on behind the scenes in preparation for the largest annual golfing event in the UK. The achievement was even greater given the weekend’s hottest temperatures of the year so far. This saw increased passenger numbers across the network with everyone eager to make the most of the great weather.

2 On Track. Alongside our partners in the rail industry and the public sector, we have invested heavily in our train stations to make them more attractive, accessible and user-friendly for passengers.

his includes a recent £4.8m upgrade for Canterbury East, a new station building at Kidbrooke and the recently- opened ticket office at TSwanley, which was part of a £2.5m station refurbishment. However, making train stations Planning routes and planting roots more welcoming for passengers doesn’t have to involve spending seven-figure sums. Many stations across our network now been named as Tunbridge Wells, and admire it and they are respectful of feature gardens that are maintained by Snodland, Elmstead Woods, Petts the garden.” Southeastern staff and volunteers from Wood and Eynsford. Each boasts a Sally and Ed Bywater have the local community. host of horticultural features to support maintained the Elmstead Woods The gardens provide a peaceful biodiversity and beautify the local area. gardens since the station Garden Club place for passengers to sit for a moment Tunbridge Wells Platform Assistant was started in 2013. They said: “Our of tranquility, away from the hustle and Debbie Jagniaszek has worked at the volunteers love the gardens here at bustle of their day, while waiting for a station for 25 years and the garden Elmstead Woods, they make the station train or at the end of their journey. has been there as long as she can such a special place. The Garden Club The top five station gardens on remember. She said: works with the staff here to keep this Southeastern’s network in South East “When the garden is in full bloom, space a tranquil haven for the whole London, Kent and have lots of passengers sit there, they stop community.” Disruption map goes live

mproving the information provided to passengers is one of Southeastern’s key priorities, especially when services are disrupted. Our newly-built Live IDisruption Map is part of that drive and will help ensure that passengers can plan their journeys with greater confidence. The new map provides a graphic illustration for passengers of the routes affected by disruption, as well as providing information on whether replacement buses are operating, the alternative routes available and an and highlighted in red. Thameslink and Southern services overview of the severity of the delay. In addition to train services, are also shown on the map where The two categories of delay will be the map will have the capability they run in our operating area. They calculated and illustrated as follows: of showing alternative bus routes are shown separately to Southeastern • Minor delays: Where 10% of the between stations and whether trains which means that significant trains on a section of a route are tickets will be accepted. This will disruption on another operator route delayed by more than 10 minutes, help passengers who face severe which isn’t affecting Southeastern and shown in orange on the route delays or cancellations find and plan services can be clearly shown. affected. alternative routes to help complete The map can be accessed via a • Severe delays: Where 20% of their journey, and provide real-time link on the top of the Southeastern trains on a section of a route are information on whether their tickets homepage, both on desktop and delayed by more than 20 minutes, will be valid. mobile versions.

On Track. 3 1066 Line aims to promote local places to visit

The South East Communities Rail ocusing on the 1066 Line between Tonbridge & Hastings, SCRP Partnership (SCRP) is delivering on has worked with local community groups, rail user groups and councils. It has created a promotional campaign, focusing on its successful bid to Southeastern’s the depth and diversity of places to visit and things to do along £400,000 fund – part of our new the route. Direct Award Contract – designed FThe next stage will involve an interactive online map, as well as to promote sustainable travel, display boards at each of the 13 railways stations on the route, to promote bring together local communities footpaths and cycle ways, as well as bus routes and places to visit. SCRP aims to connect communities to increase rail travel, improve the and promote social wellbeing and use of existing station buildings and promote rail safety to young people. economic development. 707s coming in to land s we continue to The new additions to our fleet experience as they replace some of welcome passengers will increase the amount of space our older, less reliable Networkers. back to the railway, available to passengers on the routes the team has been from Dartford, Sevenoaks and Hayes getting ready to into London terminals. introduceA the new Class 707 trains. The Siemens-built Class 707s are We will gradually introduce very similar to the Thameslink trains the units into passenger service operated by GTR, offering modern, from autumn 2021, with the aim of spacious and air-conditioned travel, completing the full rollout by 2022. which will improve the passenger

For further information contact: George Paterson, Stakeholder Engagement Manager T: 0330 095 9093 E: [email protected]