Southeastern says its customers may spot a new splash of colour on their journeys as the first refreshed Class 376 Electrostar is in service with a stylish blue livery – replacing the white original – and improved interior lighting.

Unit 376027 is the first train to undergo stage one of the mid-life transformation, marking a major milestone in Southeastern’s wider fleet improvement programme.

The programme includes the £27million refurbishment of the Class 395 highspeed ‘Javelin’ fleet, the arrival of more Class 377 trains and the upgrade to the Class 375 fleet that was completed last year. In the coming months, design work will also get underway to retrofit toilets to the Class 707 ‘City Beam’ fleet.

In partnership with Alstom and Eversholt Rail, Southeastern is delivering a full interior and exterior refresh of all 36 trains in the Class 376 fleet. The multi-million-pound upgrade aims to provide a better and more comfortable travel experience across Southeastern’s busy Metro routes.

Customers can look forward to:

The first refurbished train will offer customers an early glimpse of the upgrades coming to the full Class 376 fleet. The refresh work is being delivered at Southeastern’s Gillingham Maintenance Centre, with more updated trains entering service progressively over the coming months.

Passengers can expect the first train to feature both the completed interior and exterior enhancements by the end of the year. That work will be carried out at Southeastern’s Grove Park Centre of Excellence.

Mark Johnson, Engineering Director at Southeastern, said: “We’re very excited to mark this first milestone in the refresh of our Class 376 trains. I’m sure customers will appreciate the bright, clean blue exterior and the improved lighting that we’ll have in the carriages.“There is much more to come and the first train that has the full refresh, which includes power points for charging on the go and refurbished seating, will be in service by the end of the year.”

Peter Broadley, Commercial Director UK and Ireland at Alstom, said: “We’re proud to be supporting Southeastern and Eversholt Rail in delivering a more modern and connected experience for fare-paying passengers across South East London. Alstom will soon begin providing the engineering expertise and materials for the fleet’s refurbished seating and installation of at-seat power – improvements that will make a real difference to Southeastern’s customers. It’s great to see the first upgraded train in service and we look forward to supporting the next stage of the refreshed fleet’s rollout over the coming months.”

Paul Sutherland, Client Services Director at Eversholt Rail, added: “It is fantastic to see the start of the refurbished Class 376 trains going into passenger service for the customers of Southeastern to benefit from. This first train showcases the new livery and lighting with further work taking place later this year to upgrade the seating and at-seat power to further improve the passenger experience.”