With the UK Government continuing its Great British Railways plans, Essex Thameside operator c2c has returned to public hands.
c2c moves into public ownership. Pictured, Rob Mullen, Managing Director of c2c, Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander – Image, UK Department for Transport
c2c operates the Essex Thameside services from London Fenchurch Street (and sometimes Liverpool Street) to Barking, Grays, Ockendon, Basildon, Pitsea, Southend and Shoeburyness. In recent years, the franchise was operated by Trenitalia, with past operators including Prisim Rail and National Express.
With the transfer of c2c from Trenitalia to a Department for Transport Operator (a body under government ownership), it’s another step in plans to implement the Great British Railways plan.
c2c joins Northern, TransPennine Express, Southeastern, LNERand South Western Railway that are currently operated by DFTO.
This follows the passing of the Public Ownership Act in November 2024, which will enable passenger services operating under contracts with the department to be brought into public ownership.
Fleet
c2c operates a fleet of 74 4-carriage Class 357 Adtranz/Bombardier Electrostar Trains.
Refurbished c2c Class 357 – Image, c2c.
These were ordered by Prism Rail after privatisation in 1997, with deliveries from 2000 onwards in two batches to the company.
They also operate 12 5-carriage Class 720/6 Alstom Aventra Trains.
c2c Class 720./6 train – Image, c2c
These were ordered by Trenitalia to replace a short-term lease and provide extra capacity on the route, with them entering service in 2023.
This makes up a total of 356 carriages, marshalled into 86 trainsets.
In Quotes
Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander, said:
Whether you’re shopping in Lakeside or walking along the beach in Southend-on-Sea, from this Sunday you will be able to get there on a train service run by the public, for the public.
Public ownership is already tackling deep-rooted problems we see on the railway that’s led to spiralling costs, fragmentation and waste. A unified network under Great British Railways will take this further with one railway under one brand with one mission – delivering excellent services for passengers wherever they travel.
Rob Mullen, Managing Director of c2c, said:
At c2c, we are proud of the reliable and high level of service we offer our passengers, consistently being rated as one of the best performing operators in the country.
We now have a golden opportunity to collaborate with the wider family of publicly owned operators, sharing our successes and best practice, but also learning from a wide range of different and diverse operators who have already benefited from public ownership, to drive even more improvements for the people and places we all serve.
A unified and focused railway can deliver more for our communities, including better growth, jobs and houses. If we are thriving as a train operator it helps our communities to thrive. This is the positive feedback loop we are excited to deliver, supported by better and closer collaboration with our partners in the lead up to GBR.
The stops to Great British Railways continue
Earlier in May, South Western Railway’s services became the first to come into public ownership under new legislation. c2c’s will follow as the second, and Greater Anglia’s services will be next to be brought in on 12 October.
This is a prelude to The Railways Bill, which will be introduced to Parliament later this year. This bill will enable the establishment of Great British Railways.
In the meantime, public sector operators will have to meet rigorous performance standards and earn the right to be called ‘Great British Railways’. Public sector operators will be set bespoke standards on things like punctuality, cancellation and passenger experience.
Like a lot of things, we await with bated breath what those standards are.
For now, tickets brought in advance remain valid, as do season tickets and so on.
Just don’t expect prices to go down for a while… if ever.
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