Southeastern (train operating company 2006–2021)
London & South Eastern Railway Limited, trading as Southeastern, was a British train operating company owned by Govia that operated passenger rail services in South East England. It was the key operator of commuter and regional services in South East London and Kent, and also served parts of East Sussex.
Class 375 at Bromley South in August 2020 | |||
| Overview | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Franchise(s) | Integrated Kent 1 April 2006 - 16 October 2021 | ||
| Main region(s) | Greater London, Kent | ||
| Other region(s) | East Sussex | ||
| Fleet size | |||
| Stations called at | 180 | ||
| Stations operated | 164 | ||
| Parent company | Govia (joint venture between the Go-Ahead Group (owning 65%) and the French company Keolis (35%) | ||
| Reporting mark | SE | ||
| Predecessor | South Eastern Trains | ||
| Successor | Southeastern (SE Trains Limited) | ||
| Other | |||
| Website | www.southeasternrailway.co.uk | ||
| |||
Southeastern commenced operations on 1 April 2006 as the franchisee for the new Integrated Kent franchise (IKF), replacing the publicly owned South Eastern Trains on the former South Eastern franchise. Initially set to operate the franchise for a period of eight years, the company received numerous extensions and was at one point contracted to operate through to 2022. However, the franchise was terminated early after it was discovered that the company had held onto £25 million of unaccounted-for taxpayer money. On 16 October 2021, operations were transferred to the Department for Transport-owned operator SE Trains, which also trades as Southeastern.