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On November 30th 2005, Govia announced that it’s wholly owned subsidiary, London & South Eastern Railway Limited (LSER), had signed an agreement with the Department for Transport to operate the Integrated Kent Franchise (IKF) for the next eight years.
Under the deal, there will be significant investment in the business to create a better railway for passengers, with cleaner and more reliable trains, improved safety and security on the network and graffiti-free stations and trains. This investment is additional to the substantial investment in new trains for use in the franchise, both as replacement for old “slam door” trains, and to operate the Channel Tunnel Rail Link (CTRL) high speed service.
London and South Eastern Railway Limited will take over from South East Trains in Bexley and will be spending £18.1m on refurbishing the train fleet, £5.5m on help points and measures to improve accessibility, and £17.6m to put CCTV on the train fleet.
The new operator will bring some significant improvements including -
· extra services
· more reliable, cleaner and more secure trains
· improvements to stations including more CCTV
· new ticket machines
Additional trains will be run to ease overcrowding during the peak periods from December 2006, and a major overhaul of the timetable will be introduced in December 2007.
Keith Ludeman, Govia’s Chief Executive said:
“We are delighted to have been selected as the operator of the new Integrated Kent Franchise. We believe it is good news for rail passengers in London, East Sussex and Kent. Govia will use its significant expertise and resources, gained through the operation of its Southern and Thameslink franchises, where the challenges are very similar.
“We are looking forward to running extra services with more reliable, cleaner and more secure trains, and carrying more passengers. We will bring significant new investment into the South Eastern rail network for the benefit of rail passengers.
Cllr Daniel Francis, Cabinet Member for Transport Planning and Parking says: “I want to take this opportunity to acknowledge the improvements brought by South East Trains to services across Bexley. I hope that the new operator will continue to deliver even more improvements.”
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