Rail cuts on Southeastern Metro set to continue until end of this year (at least)
It may only be a month since the recent changes on rail services but the next timetable alterations in May 2026 are now appearing online – and it doesn’t look good again for Southeastern Metro.
Uploaded train times again show a number of improvements for long distance services on Southeastern whilst many cuts made across various Metro lines in December 2022 remain until December 2026 at the earliest.
Southeastern may be under direct government control and a supposed trailblazer for “Great British Railways” through merging rail services with infrastructure under one combined level of management but that isn’t transferring to improved service across fast growing parts of London and north Kent.
According to uploaded timetables no turn-up-and-go services remain on many routes across much of the week. Turn-up-and-go levels are generally thought to be services running at least every 10-15. Longer gaps now exist on almost all metro routes during much of the day.
No plan for change
Looking through times and trains line through Greenwich and Deptford will remain just two per hour from May 2026 supplementing two from Thameslink (which are often cancelled) during much of the day. Southeastern ran four per hour until 2022 ensuring 6 tph. That’s now down to an uneven 4 tph.
It ensures those moving to numerous new homes completing this year in Deptford and Greenwich won’t see any improvement for much of the off-peak period. If nothing else it’s a good attempt to turn potential custom away.
In coming days I’ll cover the latest new housing project in Deptford almost now complete a minute’s walk from the station. And that’s before other new homes became occupied. Not enough to restore cuts it seems. There’s plenty similar across metro routes.
Recent figures showing annual passenger growth at Deptford of 16.3 per cent and double figures for three stations acress Greenwich.
It also means further down the line connections between north Kent, Dartford and Abbey Wood for Elizabeth line connections continue to see uneven spacing and long gaps.
Services between the Woolwich line and Lewisham remain cut on Sundays. Southeastern have previously clearly stated this is as government will not support reinstatement.
Inner London services
In addition Saturday services between Victoria and Orpington look set to remain at only two per hour ensuring busy parts of inner London such as Brixton see 30 minute intervals. Madness for a Saturday in inner London. Where’s the push for growth? Encouraging wider economic activity?
Brixton isn’t a backwater but a major town with ample shops, markets, music venues and much else besides.
Back to another Dartford line and services on the Bexleyheath and Kidbrooke route to Charing Cross remain halved at one per hour compared to two per hour before 2022. There’s only 6,500 new or forthcoming homes in, say, Kidbrooke that Southeastern could appeal to by reversing cuts. But no.
Gaps of 30 minutes between services from Kidbrooke to London Bridge during much of the day will remain past May 2026 continuing reduced service levels seen since 2022 cuts. Removing trains to Charing Cross wasn’t part of a well thought through timetable alteration and reworking but instead saw services plucked out seemingly last minute without replacement, leaving sizable gaps.
Not rectifying that yet again at another timetable change points to an incredibly conservative approach with little attempt to provide for fast growing areas nor entice future growth.
Control
Southeastern’s Metro again appears the unwanted runt of the network which begs the question, why not devolve it? Why hold onto it if so little interest or ambition? The Department for Transport don’t appear to care much for capturing its potential.
It also raises serious questions of this government who control the purse strings. Some MPs now in government opposed the very same service cuts when in opposition. With these cuts continuing until December 2026 at the earliest, that’s two and half years of inaction by Labour in retaining cuts under the Conservatives. At best.
In some ways it’s worse than even the Conservative cuts – as poor as they were when recovery was starting to happen – as since then passenger growth has accelerated. Will Labour go a full term in power keeping those same service reductions they supposedly opposed in opposition?
Housing
What does this also say about this government’s constant claims of wanting greater levels of housebuilding?
The endless drone of “build, baby, build”?
Sure, just without improved transport links for north Kent and south east London seeing some of the biggest housing growth in the entire country. It smacks of hollow words.
One wonders why the Metro network should remain as part of Southeastern and under Whitehall control if there’s so little interest by government in boosting services to match demand. Some have long said devolution is not necessary as government and the Department for Transport could support and fund Metro network improvements. Yet once again they aren’t.
Just about all service improvements are centred on long distance mainline or HS1 routes for those further out into Kent.
With Labour floundering so badly it’s odd they again should continue to choose not to assist one of the few areas they still retained some level of support and have MPs. That being south east London and north Kent.
Make no mistake these cuts came from government and being kept by government. If people think Great British Railways is some great panacea think again with the DfT in ultimate charge and the Treasury failing to fund.
Southeastern has been directly managed by its government paymasters since 2021 and it’s been a time of cuts and minimal ambition ever since.
This isn’t necessarily a state/private issue but one of who controls a rail or transport network and what they’re willing to fund. Invest for growth or managed stagnation? After all, the publicly owned TfL didn’t go on a service frequency reduction spree as government did in 2022 – and has kept ever since including under the current Starmer government.
The timetable upload also shows new London Overground services starting this spring. Oh to have them run it. At least some proactive action may happen. Growth is said to be around ten per cent per annum on SE and still we fail to see many reduced services return. I would say more South Eastern services may appear later online (Thameslink isn’t in yet) but given all the HS1 and mainline improvements are uploaded this sadly does look it. What a waste, again, to improve the network.
SE have been worthless since they axed ChX trains from The Woolwich line, Cannon Street is in the middle of nowhere special and is largely useless outside of peaks and Thameslink is a gamble on whether it runs or not.
I could understand the Charing Cross cuts and route simplification when the network was at capacity. That was before the 2022 axe was taken and many trains cut. Now it’s a lose-lose. No CHX services AND reduced trains on all three Dartford lines. It’s as if they have no idea (or more likely aren’t allowed to by govt who demanded cost reductions under the Tories and now Labour) as to how to push for growth.
SE have given up running a decent metro service and hs passed the buck to TfL in essence.
The very least they should restore Charing Cross trains on the Woolwich, the line doesn’t need two lots of Cannon Street train’s, and as you say if frequencies aren’t going up then there should be no issue in running ChX trains
Would be better if they just axed Thameslink and restored the old semi fast via Blackheath and Woolwich to Medway
So scrap Thameslink and replace with a Charing Cross via Blackheath? So Westcombe Park, Maze Hill, Greenwich and Deptford have just two trains per hour to Cannon Street? What a ridiculous suggestion!! We need trains to more than just Cannon St and certainly can’t just be 2 per hour!
I thought they meant returning to levels seems up to 2018+. 6tph via Greenwich on a clock face timetable and 2tph via Lewisham from Charlton to Charing Cross. Best service the line had and TL screwed it up (I say that as a regular user of Thameslink to the core!)
Yes Scrap the Thameslink and restore 6tph to Cannon Street along the Greenwich line and restore the old CHX to Gillingham via Blackheath & Woolwich service at 2tph, this was the timetable from 2009-2018 and it was the best timetable, Keeping Thameslink at this point is ridiculous
Maybe it’s because Thameslink who have taken over some of Southeastern suburban services especially Sevenoaks, Orpington, Dartford, Gravesend, Rochester and Rainham.
But Thameslink still work alongside with Southeastern when there is major disruption to some of the metro services. And Southeastern operates the Bromley North shuttle which could see it being taken over by TfL and London Overground.
I thought that Southeastern metro services were doing very well since Southeastern inherited the Class 707 Desiro City from South Western Railway and the Class 376 that most of them have been refurbished.
Would be ideal to run the Class 376 or Class 707 City Beam on the Grove Park-Bromley North shuttle or to use the Class 375 on the North Bromley line.