The county's main train contractor has announced it will lease 30 new trains from South Western Railway.

Southeastern are in the process of acquiring the trains - five-car Class 707s - following their Kent-wide contract renewal at the beginning of the month.

The vehicles were ordered by South West Trains in 2014, however FirstGroup/MTR were awarded the contract in 2017 and they announced they would be replacing the Class 707s with Bombardier Class 701s.

Only entering into service in 2017, the engines are new compared to most models on the county's tracks.

A tender was put up for Kent's train contract, however Southeastern were granted the Direct Action Contract - or contract continuation - on March 30 and it took effect on April 1.

Currently the contract will run until 16 October, with the option to extend at the Department for Transport’s discretion until March 31, 2022.

Regarding the lease of the 30 Class 707s, a Southeastern spokesman said: ""We are in the early stages of planning for additional capacity for the Southeastern network - this is part of the Direct Award Contract announced with the Department for Transport.

"We are dependent on the availability of existing rolling stock, and we are working with the industry on a plan to transfer 30 x 5 car Class 707 units which are currently in service on the South Western Railway network – only when they become available."

South Western Railway - as the former South West Trains is now called - have faced delays with their 90 new Bombardier engines so the lease cannot take effect until they have been delivered.

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