Southeastern is spending £27 million refurbishing its high-speed trains operating between London St Pancras and destinations across Kent.

With the first of the upgraded Class 395 units entering service between the capital and the coast today, we dispatched Rhys Griffiths to see what’s new…

The first thing that strikes me when I board the 11.01am train at Folkestone is just how busy it is; seating is already at a premium despite there being three more stops and almost an hour before we arrive in the heart of London.

Enduring hybrid working patterns which began during the pandemic may be depressing peak-time commuter travel, which remains down on its pre-Covid levels, but leisure travel is booming and there are plenty of families taking the train for a summer holiday day out.

I am making the dash up to St Pancras and back so I can take a look at the refreshed interiors of the Class 395 trains which have operated the UK’s fastest domestic rail journeys since 2009, when Southeastern commenced operations on the HS1 line.

Having been fortunate enough to report from the first-ever journey from Folkestone to London, I remember the excitement of the new trains well. Not only did the feeling of hurtling across Kent at 140mph provide a sense of exciting progress, but the trains themselves felt incredibly modern compared to the older units rattling up and down the slower mainline routes to Victoria, London Bridge and Charing Cross.

But as the years have passed, and millions of passengers have benefited from the reduced travel times between Kent towns and the capital, the trains themselves had definitely started to show their age. Carpets and upholstery were starting to look a little threadbare, and given high-speed fares attract a significant premium, an overhaul was certainly needed.

Southeastern is investing £27 million in a programme of works to overhaul its 29 high-speed trains, which it says “will provide a real step change in the passenger experience”.

“The upgrades are a clear demonstration of Southeastern listening to their passengers, and then giving them what they want and need to improve the overall passenger experience,” the company said when the works were announced.

But, having been on the first of the refurbished trains this morning, I am afraid to say passengers may not exactly be bowled over by the changes.

The seats have been given a makeover, with new upholstery, but no changes have been made to the design of the seating.

Carriage carpets have also been changed. Unfortunately, the darker design only serves to highlight the sheer amount of crumbs passengers have managed to drop into the aisle during their journey.

There are some other cosmetic changes, with the inside door panels appearing to be a much darker blue and the use of new LED lighting, but I suspect most travellers would have to be relatively eagle-eyed to notice much of a difference.

On the journey back to Folkestone I spoke to a few passengers to see if they had noticed anything new on their journey today. One woman, who said she uses these trains regularly, had failed to spot any difference until it was pointed out she was on the first of the refurbished trains.

Another passenger had picked up on the fact there are now USB charging points between the seats, where previously there were just plug sockets, but other than that she had not been particularly struck by the changes.

Next year there should be an upgrade to the live passenger information displayed in the carriages, but that will likely be the extent of the changes to the passenger experience on board.

It is great to see investment being made, and there are some technical changes which Southeastern says will help with monitoring passenger flow and managing maintenance work, but my first experience of the upgraded train did not represent a noticeable leap forward.

Refreshing the carpets and upholstery should be a standard expectation when these trains have been in service for more than a decade. But I still witnessed passengers with bikes struggling to keep aisles clear, and the relative dearth of tables for four passengers facing each other continues to be an issue for leisure travellers in larger groups.

And I am sure many of those forced to stand between Ashford and St Pancras would prefer money to be spent increasing overall capacity, especially on those high-speed routes which operate with just six carriages. Fresh upholstery is great, if you can find a seat in the first place.