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File:C2c logo.PNG
Overview
Franchise(s)	Thameside (LT&S) 1996 - 2011
Main Route(s)	Fenchurch Street to Shoeburyness via Basildon
Other Route(s)	to Grays via Rainham to Pitsea via Ockendon
Fleet	74 Class 357 Electrostar sets
Stations called at	26 (24 managed)
Parent company	National Express Group
Reporting mark	CC
Other
Website	www.c2c-online.co.uk

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c2c is a train operating company that provides train services, on a franchise basis, on the London, Tilbury & Southend line from Fenchurch Street in the City of London to East London and the entire length of the northern Thames Gateway area including Basildon, Chafford Hundred (for Lakeside), Tilbury and Southend. Before 2002 it traded under the name LTS Rail.

The c2c line is unusal in the fact it only has what is basicly one line and is the only train operating company on the UK mainline other then the island Line in the isle of wight to have only one main route which terminates Shoeburyness and there is no space to expand it due to the the Shenfield to Southend Line branch and Crouch Valley Line already serves the area operated by sister company National Express East Anglia orginally called `one`

Management

c2c is a National Express Group company. The franchise began in May 1996 and expires in 2011. It was initially awarded to Prism Rail and was marketed as LTS Rail. Prism Rail was purchased by National Express in September 2000 and the franchise was rebranded as c2c in 2002. The name could be conceived to represent city to coast, reflecting the nature of the route, however from the outset the operator has said it does not officially stand for anything in particular. All stations on the route are managed by c2c with the exception of Fenchurch Street which is managed by Network Rail and West Ham which is managed by London Underground. The current managing director is Julian Drury.

Ticketing

Unlike most other rail operators in the London area, c2c allow Oyster card (including pay as you go) to be purchased at and used between Fenchurch Street, Limehouse, West Ham, Barking and Upminster and in January 2008 Oyster Pay As You Go was introduced at Dagenham Dock and Rainham.

Services

The typical off peak service consists of eight trains per hour (tph) arriving and departing Fenchurch Street:

• 4tph to Shoeburyness via Basildon
  • of which 2tph do not stop at Limehouse, West Horndon or Pitsea
• 2tph to Grays via Rainham
• 2tph to Southend Central via Ockendon

On Sundays the not-stopping service does not run and the Grays via Rainham service is reduced to a 1tph shuttle from Barking.

The London Underground District Line also serves Upminster, Barking, West Ham and Tower Hill (for Fenchurch Street). Tickets are fully interchangeable between the two operators. The District Line runs alongside the c2c tracks from Bow to Upminster with c2c services providing the fast, and the District Line the stopping, service. Cross-platform interchange is provided at Barking between the two services.

Peak services calling at West Ham are restricted by a limitation of the signalling system. A new peak timetable introduced on 11 December 2006, with the stated intention of improving services for Thurrock and London Riverside sections of the Thames Gateway, was withdrawn on 8 January 2007 after a successful campaign by passengers.

Liverpool Street

Liverpool Street is used as an alternative London terminus in times of engineering work, and regular late evening c2c services have previously operated from there. As of December 2007, a limited number of weekday services in the early morning and late evening operate between Barking and Liverpool Street, calling at Stratford.

Performance

In 2005, c2c was named the most punctual rail service in Britain, with 95.3% punctuality . The latest performance figures from the ORR (Office for Rail Regulation) as of the second quarter of the financial year of 2007/8 were slightly up on the same period last year, c2c achieved PPM of 94.8% and MAA 94.2%. These figures make c2c the second best performing TOC of this quarter, just behind Merseyrail which achieved 95.5% PPM. In 2005 c2c was awarded the "Golden Spanner Award" at the Annual National Rail Awards. This was presented to its East Ham Depot team for its work in maintaining the fleet of Electrostar trains. In 2006 c2c held on to this award, making it the winner for 2 years running.

Incident of 2 April 2007

c2c has received criticism from Transport for London due to an incident on 2 April 2007. A power failure, caused by a piece of plastic wrapped around the overhead power cables, caused trains in the West Ham area to become stranded. Some passengers forced open the doors on a c2c train and walked along the track. As a safety precaution, London Underground cut the power to the adjacent District Line, causing serious delays to their service.

Rolling Stock

Current fleet

Class	Image	Type	Top speed		Number	Routes operated	Built
			mph	km/h
Class 357 Electrostar		electric multiple unit	100	160	74	London, Tilbury & Southend line	1999 - 2002

The fleet features regenerative braking.

Future Fleet

Under the Government's rolling stock plan, c2c is due to receive an additional 40 vehicles, which are projected to be either cascaded Class 321s from London Midland or Class 317s from National Express East Anglia.

Future

On 11 November 2007, National Express Group announced plans to re-brand their UK rail service companies, including c2c, under the National Express identity.

References

1. National Audit Office - Office of Passenger Rail Franchising (OPRAF): The award of the first three passenger rail franchises
2. c2c - What does c2c stand for?
3. ^ c2c - New timetable for c2c begins 11 December
4. c2c - Morning and evening weekday peak schedules to return to previous patterns as c2c restores old timetable
5. Southend Echo - Old c2c timetable back on Monday
6. BBC News - More than 85% of trains on time
7. PPM actual "Office of Rail Regulation - National Rail Trends". ORR. {{cite web}}: Check |url= value (help)
8. thelondonpaper - Fenchurch St commuters risk lives. 3 April 2007.
9. c2c - c2c takes the lead in energy saving train travel. 3 June 2007.
10. Rolling Stock Plan - Indicative Number of Additional Vehicles required by English TOCs by 2014

External links

• Official Web site
• Rebranding of c2c in 2002 PDF
• Unofficial c2c site
• Thurrock Rail Users Group - Campaign group for Thurrock c2c rail users
• c2c User - unofficial help for passengers

• Post-privatisation British railway companies
• National Express Group Companies
• Transport in Thurrock
• Railway operators in London