Southeastern and Hitachi Rail have agreed a new contract for the maintenance of the iconic Class 395 ‘Javelin’ which will see more units in service for customers every day alongside the continuation of the £27million refurbishment programme.
The new contract will see the maintenance of the flagship fleet brought in-house with technical support and spares supplied by the train’s manufacturer, Hitachi. This new contract will reduce the cost of maintaining the fleet and therefore the cost to the taxpayer.
It also extends Southeastern and Hitachi’s partnership through to at least 2027 and will transition from a Train Service Agreement (TSA) to a Technical Support & Spares Supply Agreement (TSSSA). There will be no changes to services, timetables, or any customer-facing aspects.
Since entering service in 2009, Hitachi has maintained the fleet at the Ashford Train Maintenance Centre. The fleet operates on High-Speed lines between London St Pancras International and Ashford International as well as standard lines across Kent, serving Canterbury, Dover, and Margate.
The Class 395 is currently undergoing a £ 27 million refurbishment programme, jointly delivered by Southeastern and Hitachi Rail. The internal refurbishment is now past the halfway mark with the final unit due to enter service in Spring next year. Following that, a further programme to replace the external livery and upgrade the onboard customer information facilities will be carried out.
The Class 395 fleet is the only Southeastern fleet which is not currently maintained ‘in house’. The new maintenance contract is intended to reduce costs, and improve the availability of the units while also continuing Hitachi Rail’s expertise, technical skills and access to the global supply chain.
Image credit: Southeastern
