The Class 707 CityBeam trains on SouthEastern 

I understand partly why they don't have toilets, but for someone with Crohn's disease or similar, it can make it an absolute nightmare to travel - especially if the train gets stuck between stations. Even just the one toilet per train would be a lifesaver.

Nice to hear passengers called as "passengers" by TOC staff.

So cool to see rolling stock being upgraded! I love the look of the 707 . . . they remind me of the Heathrow Express Stock.

I didn't realise that 3+2 seating was purely for advertised capacity to win franchises. How much have passengers suffered for something that makes traisn less pleasant to use. Good to hear they are on the way out!

I think the plug sockets should be upside-down, less pressure on the cable in my opinion.

Chris and Phil in the same video! What a treat.

Fifty years ago a 4DD was dumped at Plumstead yard awaiting scrap. A noble experiment.

I'd like to say, I'm very impressed with the rail staff members' ability to look into the camera when being interviewed. There are a lot of "professional youtubers" that aren't even good at that.

Geoff the train that has plug sockets that have the longer pin at the bottom is the class 745/755 FLIRT

Thanks for the video, brilliant! It is on my local toc, I have been exited for this train for over a year. I am going on the train on Saturday. If anyone wants to travel on the class 707, here is the full list of services on weekdays: Sidcup Line: 05:31 Crayford to Cannon Street 06:19 Crayford to Charing Cross 09:18 Charing Cross to Gravesend 09:38 Cannon Street to Cannon Street via Sidcup and Woolwich 10:48 Gravesend to Charing Cross 14:18 Charing Cross to Gravesend 14:38 Cannon Street to Cannon Street via Sidcup and Woolwich 15:48 Gravesend to Charing Cross 17:02 Charing Cross to Gravesend 18:18 Gravesend to Charing Cross 19:32 Charing Cross to Dartford 19:38 Cannon Street to Cannon Street via Sidcup and Woolwich Grove Park Line: 06:20 Cannon Street to Orpington 07:11 Orpington to Cannon Street 11:20 Cannon Street to Orpington 12:11 Orpington to Cannon Street 16:20 Cannon Street to Orpington 17:11 Orpington to Cannon Street 21:20 Cannon Street to Orpington 22:11 Orpington to Cannon Street Hayes Line: 07:57 Cannon Street to Hayes 08:45 Hayes to Cannon Street 12:57 Cannon Street to Hayes 13:45 Hayes to Cannon Street 17:57 Cannon Street to Hayes 18:45 Hayes to Cannon Street 22:57 Cannon Street to Hayes Bexleyheath Line: 08:16 Cannon Street to Cannon Street via Bexleyheath and Woolwich 15:17 Cannon Street to Cannon Street via Bexleyheath and Woolwich 17:15 Cannon Street to Cannon Street via Bexleyheath and Woolwich 19:15 Cannon Street to Cannon Street via Bexleyheath and Woolwich Woolwich Line: 07:09 Slade Green to Cannon Street 07:12 Charing Cross to Dartford via Lewisham 08:11 Dartford to Charing Cross via Lewisham 08:16 Cannon Street to Cannon Street via Bexleyheath and Woolwich 09:38 Cannon Street to Cannon Street via Sidcup and Woolwich 12:12 Charing Cross to Dartford via Lewisham 13:11 Dartford to Charing Cross via Lewisham 14:38 Cannon Street to Cannon Street via Sidcup and Woolwich 19:38 Cannon Street to Cannon Street via Sidcup and Woolwich 15:17 Cannon Street to Cannon Street via Bexleyheath and Woolwich 17:15 Cannon Street to Cannon Street via Bexleyheath and Woolwich 19:15 Cannon Street to Cannon Street via Bexleyheath and Woolwich

Scotrail runs 2 car 156 and 158s, 3 car 153/156, 170 and 385s, 4 car 156 and 158s, 5 car 170/158 combo and 6 car 318, 320, 334 and 385 as well as 7 car and 8 car 385s. Potentially could run 153 as a single unit too.

I was just thinking ‘when is Geoff going to make a 707 video’ 4 seconds later I get a RU-vid notification saying Geoff made a video

Chris is great value for money in Geoff's videos. I see a presenting team emerging... 😃

If the plug is under the seat it is best for it to be upside down (earth pin pointing to ground). The London Overground 710 units have usb chargers at end of carriages which are useful. The Greater Anglia 379 units have plugs in the 2 seats (airline style) which are just below the window).

Much love (and appreciation) for Chris. And Phil

Paul is a great guy who I saw twice at New Cross when on test. He told me about the first units being in the new livery and helped me film it on the first trip out! That 707 pin 😍

Excellent Video Geoff, love the fact that this will be my new local train! And great seeing you on board too just by luck which absolutely made my day! Keep it up!

In addition to the Window Shoulder Test, I would like to suggest the Shoulder On My Neighbour Test. There have been rants and multi-page articles on this topic in the magazine pictured in this video ;-) That would be a nice video topic : the real-life test of how people effectively sit on train seats, based on seat width, ajacent seat spacing and the presence or absence of a separator between adjacent seats; for a selection of different train Classes and interor layouts.

These are better than I thought to be fare. They look nice in SE livery, nice video Geoff! :)

I can't wait to be in London in less than a week and visit all these spots from your videos! I've been looking forward to this moment for years

I gotta say that Chris is mind full of knowledge and always interesting. Good video Geoff.

A good example of good seating is the difference between Southern's 455 and the SWT refurbished 455s. The Southern are packed with seats, 3+2, with narrow aisles. The SWT refurbishment are 2+2 seats with lots of circulation space around the door vestibules. The SWT/SWR 455s and hands down far superior to the Southern 455s. Likewise the Merseyrail 507s+8s and the new 777s are 2+2 and much better for it.

A beautiful upgrade. I'm fast becoming a South Eastern fan, ever since they introduced the Javelin.

I used to drive the old networker 465/466 units and one of their major faults was the plug type doors. The 707s have encapsulated doors so they in themselves will be far more reliable. I have had to take a train out of service at Greenwich on the up because of sheer number of passengers crammed on board caused a set if doors to fall off their runners and i could not get the doors to shut, no matter what, ( this was in about 1995 ).

Cracking video my friend, I always enjoy what you do!!!

In Answer to the last question about SE operating 2/3/4/5/6 coach trains Scotrail also come close if you count the 385/380s running in multiple with a through corridor connection. 158/156 (2 Car) 158-153/170 (3 Car) 380/385 (4 Car) Inter7City (HST+5) (5 Car) 380/385/320/318 x2 (6 Car)

I'm fairly sure ScotRail operates trains of length 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 as well as 7 and 8. 2 car: Classes 156 and 158 3 car: Classes 170, 318, 320, 380, 385 and probably more? 4 car: Class 380, 385 5 car: Either 158 + 170 in combo or the recently lengthened 5 car HSTs (not including PCs) 6 car: Various of the 3 car units doubled up 7 car: Not sure how often these run now but 7 car 385 sets (3 car + 4 car) were being run while those units were first being rolled out 8 car: Class 385s doubled up Now we just need them to run single 153s... actually no we really don't.

Thank you for saying hello to Plumstead! A nice looking train though. 👍

Don't care about the orientation of the passenger use sockets, the main thing is they work and continue to do so.

My girlfriend lives in Staines, so I have often ridden on these to get into london (as well as 450/455/458s). However, I missed the first 6 to go to SE, so I haven't yet seen 003-008 at all (which haven't been reliveried and entered service with SE yet). Can't wait to head across to SE territory and ride these (although I do also need to get in as many 465/466s as possible before they go)

Brilliant Video, love the clips of the Class 707s at different locations, need to try them on SouthEastern one day

At least these trains have the sockets in the whole train on these 707s unlike the 700s, yes I do realise first class has them and coach 12 is always declassified and on the long services services and declassified in both on metro services

i get on the 707s every week at waterloo going to Battersea as some of them are still with southwestern and now i get go on them coming home and they are a smooth ride

I've seen these at Orpington they look really smart.. I also saw these when still in southwest livery a few months ago when they were being tested by SE running Through Orpington station.

They've been running 5-car trains for years, The class 376 is that length.

I love these trains. I can't wait to try them out!

Wow, it's a good day when Geoff and Georgia post on the same day!

Recently moved away from the UK. I will forever miss the alien ringing of class 707 trains. It's the most memorable sound from my commute.

To answer "Is Southeastern the only TOC to run Trains in continuous car lengths", if it includes joining more than one unit together, Transport for Wales do operate services as 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 car lengths. I think once they've even had 7 cars on a service with a 3-car and 2 2-car 175s all coupled together.

When 707001 was delivered brand new to Clapham yard they stabled it and it was tagged that night nov 2016 002 had a pan fitted for a while

Great new trains - nice to see Chris D too!

SWR did the right thing getting rid of these hideous trains, however it's definitely a good thing that SE picked them up, as they have been refurbished to a decent standard, especially the space, honestly I'm impressed.

As a blindy, I’d much prefer sockets to be the right way up otherwise it would mess with my head!

They gave us this "new trains" line in Bristol when they cascaded 25-year-old Turbos to replace Sprinters a few years ago. At least these are only three or four years old.

I Iove that you can see all the way through the carriages , I live in Sidcup so I am real happy, I met you twice in one week in Bromley South when lockdown just came in,,, I’d just came out of Greggs,, I checked out the two Subways with in 50 metres of each other in Glasgow and got great photo of it,,, keep filming mate it’s so refreshing , your work is full of interesting facts , best of luck Gerry

Another great video! Love your work!

Fantastic video

Now I’m trying to find 707007 The Bond Train.

Plugs should be the correct way up. There’s a safety aspect there (British plugs best plug) and it’s more familiar for visually impaired users. Toilets would be nice too please.

Wish we had better designers for public transport. From an engineering standpoint the UI on the boards could be cleaner and the information could be displayed better. Not asking for luxury but it still looks like the inside of a hospital. Chairs look really uncomfortable, with no armrests or back support. The accessible areas look spacious which is a good thing. Think sockets upside down if under the seat like that.

Feels strange seeing flash, clean trains ran by Southeastern.

lovely video as always

SWR operate 2 car (159/456), 3 car (159), 4 car (450/455) and 5 car (444/458) units and the new 701’s will be 5 & 10 car. They also operate combinations of 5,6,8 & 10 car multiple workings so I guess they come closest.

3:16 United Kindom: Do you want sockets that are rightside up or upside down? Mainland Europe: What on earth do you mean? Our sockets have 180° rotational symmetry, they are usable both ways.

Having driven these (and the remaining units) with SWT and now SWR I can say most drivers will sadly miss these. And yes @Geoff Marshall the acceleration and deceleration is excellent. So easy to keep to time (everything else being good) in the 707. We sent the 707 to the Shepperton road specifically to troubleshoot punctuality with great success. Yes, shame to loose them for sure.

There wasn't the obligatory beggar walking through like every other line that has this style of train. Word will get round no doubt

I can't think of any other TOCs that operate 2-6, but Southern come close: 2 on the Marshlink, 3 on the West/East Coastway, 4 on everything and 5 on the updated 377 metros.

Did enjoy the irony of pointing out the wheelchair bay while approaching Albany Park, a station with (quite steep and numerous) steps to both platforms.

SW also run 2 - SIngle 158 3 - Single 159 4 - Single 450 5 - Single 444 6 - Double 159 trains

The only other six car sets are the 717s, so if you want to count the whole of GTR as one TOC, then that would fit the criteria

I was waiting for this video ever since I came across my first one of these last week :)) Keep up the fab work, Geoff!

I love your work & the info that you provide. But watching on RU-vid, after this video, RU-vid started your earlier blog of Underground : USA and even though I've previously watched it I enjoyed a second time as I do love your work. Thanks!

This video mentioned the station where I was born and the one where I now live. Now about the 3-2 seating..... in rush hour trains they were all used. So it meant that if you were on the Dartford line most of the time there were seats until Greenwich but with the new trains people are standing much earlier. say Maze Hill or Westcombe Park. I don't live there however so I always get a seat and the new trains look very nice.

Ooo that’s a great Q from Chris! No others that have 2-6 car fixed sets BUT: West Midlands Railway* & Scotrail have 1-5 car fixed sets. WMR: 1-car 139, 2-car 170/196, 3-car 172/323/730, 4-car 196/350, 5-car 730 SR: 1-car 153, 2-car 156/158, 3-car 170/318/320/334/380/385, 4-car HST/380/385 & 5-car HST *WMR 196s & 730s are not yet in service The nearly ones are: GWR (2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9) EMR (1, 2, 4, 5, 7) SN (2, 3, 4, 5) SWR (2, 3, 4, 5, 10) XC (2, 3, 4, 5, 7)

I think Southern also runs 2,3,4,5 and 6 car trains too (2 car on the diesel lines, 3 car on the south coast trains, 4 and 6 cars to Southampton and Portsmouth and 5 car on south London metro)

Platform 1 for the 12:15 southeastern service to Hayes via Catford bridge calling at : London Bridge, new Cross, st John's, Lewisham, ladywell, Catford bridge, lower Sydenham, new Beckenham, clock house, Elmers end, Eden park, West Wickham & Hayes. This train has 10 coaches. Platform 1 for the 12:15 southeastern service to Hayes via Catford bridge. There are unusually many seats avaliable on this train. (City Beam)

They came in for South West Trains, not South Western Railway...

I’m going to have to take a ride on those

Has it been mentioned yet? ScotRail run even more consists of units: 2 car - 156, 158 3 car - 156+153, 170, 318, 320, 334, 380, 385 4 car - 156, 158, 380, 385 5 car - 158+170 6 car - 156, 318, 320, 334, 380, 385 7 car - 380 (Sometimes 385) 8 car - 380, 385

Sockets should be upside down, because then your cabel will point up! 😊 Glad our European sockets are reversable :)

Very good - with the plug sockets - may be they ought to do both ways to please every one!!! 😉🚂🚂🚂

Glad I got to see 707001 before it gets taken over by Southeastern

The half-hourly trains to Dartford via the Sidcup line currently exrend to Gravesend, and one's just turned up there, forming the next service out back to Charing Cross!!

Nice to see Jennifer out and about on the network. A great video as always Geoff

I agree with the comments made on video about the 3x2 seating on Greater Anglia as they are cramped and getting past in the narrow gangway is not easy especially when the train is busy or of short formation.

Great review, Geoff - to me (not a rivet counter), they are the Thames link trains with a different paint job. Shame there’s no toilets - a real retrograde step. Still, they are bright and shiny and smoooooth

Think Chris is right at the end there. I cannot think of any other class of train, other than the class 395s, that are formed and built as 6 carriage units

They look very smart, but I wish they had maybe put the SE light blue on the sides of the front. The splodge of yellow just around the headlights looks a bit odd as it doesn't really "line up" with the yellow panel in the middle. Especially as it's not even the same shade of yellow!

Great video! Thank you for sharing it Geoff.

Got the same SE font for the station name at the beginning of the vid. Nice attention to detail.

Ooooo I’m going to ride one of these when I go up to London at the end of the month

I can't wait to see them in London Overground livery soon.

Love your videos Geoff. Your knowledge of trains is immense 👍

I had my first ride on 28 September out of Cannon Street and it was also the 11.20. The 707s are a vast improvement on the tired old Networkers, and I really like the scrolling destination information that lists all the stations. No more wondering if I am on the right train or straining to hear the announcement at stations down the line. Thanks for the overview and mention of things we humble travellers do not notice.

iRoNiNg bOaRdS

The revitalised and comfortable ex Mk 2s on the Wellington-Masterton line...the WRL ...with all those tables😄 and excellent 3 level lighting.......they have power points for every passenger...Proper pin arrangement :-):..facing the normal way but down near carpet level and a real pain to reach.

The nearest TOC to do such a thing (11:12) is EMR which operate 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 7 car units.

Southeastern back in Government hands on 17th October, well at least we have new trains.

Literally saw one at cannon street then saw the upload notification!

Please send this to Northern so they can see what a door vestibule grab pole looks like so they can fit them to 195s. On busy services if you can't get down the carriage or near the door you have to stand with nothing to grab on to. Not easy on rough track.

I live in the south-eastern area so this makes this very existing for me

In terms of sets (as opposed to multiple working) GWR operate 2 & 3 car sprinters & Turbos, 4 Car Electrostars & HSTs, 5 car IEPs, 9 car IEPs and 7 & 8 car sleeper services.

Can definitely tell it's a Siemen's train. At 3:45 it sounds exactly like a ScotRail class 380.

The 707s will increase passanger capacity and that's good. But they are replacing my favourite family of trains. The Networkers. I will miss the 465/466s when they all go. But The 707s will probably only replace some of the 465s if I'm correct. Some statistics: There are 30 Class 707 units each formed of 5 carriages. That makes a total of 150 individual Class 707 carriages. There are 147 Class 465 units each formed of 4 carriages. But that makes a total of 588 individual Class 465 carriages. It is impossible to replace all 465 units when the carriage totals combined are nearly 5 times as many as the 707s. Anyway I'll stop ranting about the 465s v 707s. A great video as always Geoff.

There may be a wheelchair space but it looks like at every station you stopped at there was a significant step up from the platform to the train meaning that wheelchair users would likely struggle to get on and off without assistance

SWR run all formations, or can do it with 158/159 combinations that run anything from 2 up to 9 car formations. Some aren't regular formations but you do see them when unit faults occur. Also Southern can run any formation from 2 to 12 car now with their 377s and 171s

looper is also a film with Bruce Willis in it. (no singing this time)...

A nice looking train inside & out.

I can't get over the "love Mondays again" poster, lol

Nicely done