The rail revolution: Network SouthEast turns 40 today
Today marks the 40th anniversary of British Rail establishing Network SouthEast.
Those of use old enough to remember would recall this lead to stations across London and the south east seeing a bold new red colour scheme before new trains arrived alongside the rebuilding of stations such as Woolwich Arsenal.
The late 1980s saw what was often a tired network gain a new lease of life under the leadership of Sir Chris Green (yes. I’ve upgraded him from an OBE).
Abbey Wood also saw a bright and airy new station. It was replaced by the current station when the Elizabeth line was built.
New trains
An order was made for Networkers to serve south east London and Kent which began entering service from the early 1990s replacing slam door stock. They remain the bulk of Southeastern’s metro fleet today.
One was recently repainted back into its original colours.
The red and blues of NSE have lived on elsewhere in many areas long past privatisation. You can still see it today in a few other spots around stations.
In the near future I’ll upload some posts about the best triumphs of NSE such as the rebuilt Woolwich Arsenal station.
They didn’t skimp on quality with a characterful station alongside lovely touches such as the substantial mural adorning the London-bound platform.
With ticketing they introduced innovative schemes such as the Network Railcard which enabled a third off off-peak journeys. While there’s been a growth in railcards ever since, none apply to every single passenger as that did and does.
Outside of the former NSE area there’s no railcard a single adult aged, say, 35 years old can access. There’s railcards if younger or older but none available to all, as NSE introduced.
Many would argue that privatisation halted a lot of good work Network SouthEast was doing. Certainly the level of innovation often reduced and we often didn’t see the cohesive planning and quality of projects previously achieved.
If Great British Railways get even close to what NSE achieved the network will be in fine shape. The question is will it be allowed to – and have funding to do so from the Department for Transport and Treasury?
I’ve been to stations in Essex, East London and Hertfordshire that still have Network Southeast colours. Including at Liverpool Street and Fenchurch Street stations.
And also some remains of Network Southeast at stations on the Elizabeth Line including at Stratford, Ilford, Romford, Brentwood and Shenfield. And at Hockley and Rochford on the Southend Victoria line.
I’ve been to many stations in London and the Southeast and I’ve seen lots of Network Southeast branding, logos and others that have remains or reminisce of Network Southeast. Plus there are several Network Southeast Facebook Groups on Facebook that have lots of stuff about Network Southeast.