agreement, responsibility for the Redhill to Tonbridge Line passed to Southern. Southeastern high-speed services began full operations on 14 December 2009. Having met the performance criteria, in March 2011 the DfT granted Govia a two-year franchise extension until March 2014. Following the DfT's review after the cancellation of the InterCity West Coast franchise process, extensions were granted to the franchises due for renewal, and Southeastern's franchise was extended until June 2018. It was later extended until December 2018. In March 2009, the bay platforms at London Blackfriars closed for reconstruction as part of the Thameslink Programme. Southeastern services previously terminating at Blackfriars, mostly from via the Catford loop, were extended to Kentish Town, St Albans, Luton or Bedford. When the station fully reopened with new bay platforms in May 2012, these services continued to run, but in the evening and at weekends (when the station had been closed), instead of terminating at Victoria, services now terminate at Blackfriars. Following the DfT review after the cancellation of the InterCity West Coast franchise process, extensions were granted to the franchises due for renewal in the near future. In 2013, the coalition government extended Southeastern's franchise, without competitive tender, from March 2014 to June 2018, and in 2016 further extended it until December 2018. The Invitation to Tender, detailing the improvements that must be made by the new franchisee, were be released in September 2017 for contract award in August 2018. Amidst a background of ongoing rail strikes nationwide, in September 2017, Southeastern cleaning staff, outsourced to employment agency Wettons, voted to stage industrial action in a dispute over pay and working conditions. The first strike by RMT-affiliated Wettons cleaning staff at Southeastern took place for 24 hours starting at 20:30 on 19 October 2017. There was no further industrial action, although negotiations between the RMT, Southeastern and Wettons remained ongoing. As part of the 2018 Thameslink Programme, several of the routes formerly operated by Southeastern changed into Thameslink routes, including services to and . These services using the Class 700 now run from through the London Core via and on to the Kent Main Line or the North Kent Line. Development of future franchise In January 2016, Transport for London announced its intention to take over the London suburban parts of the franchise from 2018, integrating the routes into a proposed metro network. However, in December 2016, Transport Secretary Chris Grayling rejected