Class 395 Javelin trains are to be upgraded thanks to a new agreement between Eversholt Rail, Southeastern and Hitachi Rail.

The first phase of the project will take seven months and will include design, engineering and procurement.

The upgrade to the first of 29 trains will start in March 2023 at Southeastern’s depot in Ashford.

Javelin trains will receive the following as part of the project:

• Full interior refresh, with new carpets, seating and a new seating layout
• Live passenger information screens, with media screens coming in 2024
• CCTV upgrade
• USB charging
• LED lighting

Paul Sutherland, Client Services Director at Eversholt Rail said: “We are delighted to be working in partnership with Southeastern and Hitachi Rail to deliver these upgrades to our Class 395 fleet.  Our investment in this package of upgrades will ensure these high specification trains continue to provide the passengers on HS1 with a superior service.”

Mark Johnson, Engineering Director for Southeastern said: “We’re proud to run the UK’s fastest domestic passenger services which have been crucial to the continued regeneration and prosperity of many places on our network, and we’re looking forward to working with Eversholt Rail and Hitachi Rail to complete this upgrade across the entirety of the 140mph Javelin fleet, the fastest of their type in Britain. When finished, it will bring the fleet up to the very latest standards and ensure that standards of comfort, accessibility and information provision are as high as possible for our customers, improving the on-board environment for our customers who like to work or use personal devices when travelling with us”.

Jim Brewin, Head of UK & Ireland, Hitachi Rail said: “We are delighted to be awarded this contract which is just reward for the hard work of the local Hitachi Rail team at Ashford. We now look forward to delivering on our commitments over the coming months and thank Eversholt Rail and Southeastern for close to 12 years of continued teamwork and collaboration on the Javelin Class 395, our flagship UK fleet.”