South Kent International Airport Express

Description
The South Kent International Airport Express, also known as the Airport Express or the Kent Aeroflier is a service which runs from London Charing Cross through to South Kent International Airport station.

The service was introduced in 2001 and is operated using dual-voltage class 375 units. These trains can reach speeds of up to 100mph; their interiors are equipped with features suitable for an airport service, such as extra luggage racks, and a more luxurious interior with leather seats and wooden panelling.

The service departs exclusively from platforms 15 and 16 at London Charing Cross station. They run on the fast lines as far as Brackwell Common, where they traverse a high-speed power pickup changer, the pantograph is dropped, and the units continue on 3rd rail power along the Medway Vale Line as far as South Kent International Airport. The only intermediate stop is at Nydalen Bridge. However, most services during peak hours do not stop there and run non-stop on the whole service.

The trains may use the slow lines temporarily during rush hour delays or engineering work, where express trains out of London take priority.

At South Kent International Airport station, the trains traverse a balloon loop from Platform 1, and re-emerge at Platform 4 on the way back to London.

Service Pattern
There is a half hourly service throughout the day, 7 days a week. with one intermediate station stop, Nydalen Bridge. Some services during the peak hour run non-stop between Charing Cross and the Airport. Trains are usually formed of 8 coaches and the average journey time is between 40 and 50 minutes. This is the only Southeastern service that runs 24 hours a day. Services during the night run every 90 minutes and make 3 additional stops at Nydalen & Imbesbrook, Clerkville Central and London Bridge. This is to cater to passengers flying late at night.

Future
It is planned that in the near future that the Class 375s that run on this service will be replaced by a variant of the Class 700, proposed currently to be the class 705. They will be formed of 10 coaches and have one third of one of the driving coaches dedicated for luggage space. In a similar fashion to the Class 460s and Class 332s.

If the plan goes ahead, the Class 375s that run on the Kent Aeroflier services will either return to running mainline and metro services or be converted to Class 377s for TGSN to run on the Brighton and Midland Mainlines.