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Trenitalia c2c,
trading as A trade name, trading name, or business name is a pseudonym used by companies that do not operate under their registered company name. The term for this type of alternative name is fictitious business name. Registering the fictitious name with ...
c2c, is a British
train operating company In the railway system of Great Britain, a train operating company (TOC) is a railway undertaking operating passenger trains under the collective National Rail brand. TOCs have existed since the privatisation of the network under the Railways ...
that operates commuter services from its London terminus at to parts of East London and south Essex along the
London, Tilbury and Southend line The London, Tilbury and Southend line, also known as Essex Thameside, is a commuter railway line on the Rail transport in Great Britain, British railway system. It connects Fenchurch Street railway station, Fenchurch Street station, in central ...
, as part of the
Essex Thameside Essex Thameside is a railway contract, and former franchise, for the provision of passenger services on the London, Tilbury and Southend line in east London and south Essex. It was formed on 26 May 1996, following the privatisation of British Rai ...
railway contract. It manages 25 stations and its trains call at 28. It is owned by
Trenitalia Trenitalia Società per azioni, SpA is the primary train operator of Italy. A subsidiary of Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane, itself owned by the Italian government. It was established in 2000 following a European Union directive on the deregulati ...
, the primary train operator of
Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
. After the
privatisation of British Rail The privatisation of British Rail was the process by which ownership and operation of the Rail transport in Great Britain, railways of Great Britain passed from government control into private hands. Begun in 1994, the process was largely compl ...
, the London, Tilbury & Southend railway franchise was awarded to Prism Rail, who began operating as LTS Rail in May 1996. To fulfil its original franchise commitment of replacing its slam-door rolling stock, LTS Rail ordered 44 Class 357 ''Electrostar''
electric multiple unit An electric multiple unit or EMU is a multiple-unit train consisting of self-propelled carriages using electricity as the motive power. An EMU requires no separate locomotive, as electric traction motors are incorporated within one or a number o ...
s (EMUs) in 1997; an additional order two years later saw the replacement completed by 2003. During 2000, LTS Rail rebranded as c2c, the same year Prism Rail was acquired by
National Express Mobico Group, formerly National Express Group, is a British multinational public transport company with headquarters in Birmingham, England. Domestically it currently operates bus and coach services under brands including National Express. Th ...
. The original franchise was scheduled to conclude on 26 May 2011, but received multiple extensions before National Express was awarded a second franchise in 2014. Various service changes and amenities have been introduced over the course of the two franchise periods, including the fitting of
regenerative braking Regenerative braking is an energy recovery mechanism that slows down a moving vehicle or object by converting its kinetic energy or potential energy into a form that can be either used immediately or stored until needed. Typically, regenerativ ...
to its rolling stock (the first UK train operator to do so) in March 2007, the launch of Quiet Zones onboard its trains in early 2008, the provision of
Wi-Fi Wi-Fi () is a family of wireless network protocols based on the IEEE 802.11 family of standards, which are commonly used for Wireless LAN, local area networking of devices and Internet access, allowing nearby digital devices to exchange data by ...
in April 2017, and the rolling out of pay-as-you-go and National Rail ITSO smartcard ticket options over multiple years. In February 2017, National Express sold c2c to Trenitalia. During December of that year, c2c announced an order with Porterbrook for six Class 720/6 ''Aventra'' EMUs in response to growing demand; these were introduced in September 2023. Largely in response to the
COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...
pandemic, the franchise agreement was replaced by a rail contract on 19 July 2021 under which services have continued to be run. In February 2023, the
Department for Transport The Department for Transport (DfT) is a Departments of the Government of the United Kingdom, ministerial department of the Government of the United Kingdom. It is responsible for the English transport network and a limited number of transport ...
(DfT) announced the extension of c2c's contract through to July 2025. c2c was one of several train operators impacted by the
2022–2024 United Kingdom railway strikes The 2022–2024 United Kingdom railway strikes were an industrial dispute between rail workers and companies, with the latter supported by the UK government. The rail workers were represented by several unions including the National Union of Ra ...
. The company will be renationalised and taken over by DfT Operator when its contract expires on 20 July 2025


History


First franchise (1996–2014)


LTS Rail

The London, Tilbury and Southend franchise was created as part of the
privatisation of British Rail The privatisation of British Rail was the process by which ownership and operation of the Rail transport in Great Britain, railways of Great Britain passed from government control into private hands. Begun in 1994, the process was largely compl ...
. In December 1995, the franchise was awarded to a
management buyout A management buyout (MBO) is a form of acquisition in which a company's existing managers acquire a large part, or all, of the company, whether from a parent company or individual. Management- and/or leveraged buyouts became noted phenomena of 19 ...
; the handover was initially due to happen on 4 February 1996. However, on 1 February 1996, ticketing and settlement irregularities were discovered and the other shortlisted bidders were invited to tender again. In May 1996, the franchise was awarded to Prism Rail by the Director of Passenger Rail Franchising for a period of 15 years. It began operating as LTS Rail on 26 May 1996. The franchise period could have been reduced to seven years if the operator did not fulfil commitments made during the bidding phase to replace its rolling stock with new-build trains. Passenger numbers increased above forecasts which caused overcrowding as trains reached capacity at peak times. During 1998, the franchise was renegotiated to provide for the elimination of slam-door rolling stock and increased fleet by March 2002, increased staffing of stations, real-time passenger information system, improved security measures, improved station facilities for disabled people, increased cycle storage and pedestrian access from Chafford Hundred railway station to
Lakeside Shopping Centre Lakeside Shopping Centre (commonly referred to as Lakeside) is a large Out-of-town shopping centres in the United Kingdom, out-of-town shopping mall, shopping centre located in West Thurrock, Essex just beyond the eastern boundary of Greater Lon ...
. LTS Rail started serving from 14 May 1999 to coincide with the opening of the
Jubilee line The Jubilee line is a London Underground line that runs between in suburban north-west London and in east London, via the West End of London, West End, South Bank and London Docklands, Docklands. Opened in 1979, it is the newest line on the ...
extension. Peak services were restricted at West Ham, because of limitations of the signalling system. These were eliminated in time for the December 2011 timetable change ahead of the 2012 Summer Olympics. On 2 July 2000, the business was rebranded as c2c. To coincide with the rebranding, the company website was launched on 16 June 2000. The company name was also changed from LTS Rail Limited to c2c Rail Limited shortly thereafter.


National Express

During July 2000, c2c was included in the sale of Prism Rail to
National Express Mobico Group, formerly National Express Group, is a British multinational public transport company with headquarters in Birmingham, England. Domestically it currently operates bus and coach services under brands including National Express. Th ...
. The merger of the companies was completed on 19 September 2000. National Express combined the management and support functions of c2c, Silverlink, WAGN and Stansted Express in a single organisation called London Lines in March 2001. In March 2002, management of Fenchurch Street Station was transferred from c2c to
Network Rail Network Rail Limited is the owner (via its subsidiary Network Rail Infrastructure Limited, which was known as Railtrack plc before 2002) and railway infrastructure manager, infrastructure manager of most of the railway network in Great Britain. ...
. During January 2005, it was announced that an on-train
television Television (TV) is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. Additionally, the term can refer to a physical television set rather than the medium of transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...
service would be tried out, and one unit had televisions installed. In June 2006, the ''360 On-Board Television'' service ran into financial difficulties when c2c's partner in the project, TNCI (UK), ceased trading, and the service was withdrawn. c2c indicated it would restart the roll-out should a suitable partner be found. In June 2006, it was announced that portable
X-ray An X-ray (also known in many languages as Röntgen radiation) is a form of high-energy electromagnetic radiation with a wavelength shorter than those of ultraviolet rays and longer than those of gamma rays. Roughly, X-rays have a wavelength ran ...
machines and metal detectors would be randomly placed at stations and carried by officers on trains during summer 2006 to catch people carrying weapons, in a joint operation with
Essex Police Essex Police is a territorial police force responsible for policing the county of Essex, in the East of England. Essex Police is responsible for a population of over 1.8 million people and an area of . The chief constable is Ben-Julian Harring ...
and
British Transport Police British Transport Police (BTP; ) is a national special police force that polices the railway network of England, Wales and Scotland, which consists of over 10,000 miles of track and 3,000 stations and depots. BTP also polices the London Under ...
, following trials at
London Underground The London Underground (also known simply as the Underground or as the Tube) is a rapid transit system serving Greater London and some parts of the adjacent home counties of Buckinghamshire, Essex and Hertfordshire in England. The Undergro ...
stations. A peak timetable introduced on 11 December 2006, with the aim of improving services for the
Thurrock Thurrock () is a unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Essex, England. It lies on the north bank of the River ...
and
London Riverside The London Riverside is a redevelopment area on the north side of the River Thames in East London, England. The area was identified as a zone of change following the introduction of the Thames Gateway policy in 1995. Proposals for improvements i ...
sections of the
Thames Gateway Thames Gateway is a term applied to an area around the Thames Estuary in the context of discourse around regeneration and further urbanisation. The term was first coined by the UK government and applies to an area of land stretching east from ...
, was withdrawn on 8 January 2007 after a campaign by passengers as a result of delays and cancellations that affected other lines on the network. During August 2006, c2c agreed to work with
Passenger Focus Transport Focus is the statutory watchdog for transport passengers and road users in Great Britain, with offices in London and Manchester. It was named the Rail Passengers Council until January 2006 when renamed Passenger Focus. It was renamed ag ...
to establish a passenger panel. In October 2007, c2c announced that the first coach of each unit would be made a Quiet Zone, where passengers are asked not to use their mobile phones or play music out loud. The Quiet Zone was introduced during early 2008 and is indicated by magenta vinyl stickers on the doors of the coach. In October 2007, c2c announced that it had switched to renewably-generated electricity in all its stations, maintenance facilities and offices in a contract with E.ON UK, said to be the largest of its kind in the transport sector. The franchise was originally due to conclude on 26 May 2011. In December 2010, the
Department for Transport The Department for Transport (DfT) is a Departments of the Government of the United Kingdom, ministerial department of the Government of the United Kingdom. It is responsible for the English transport network and a limited number of transport ...
granted National Express an extension until 26 May 2013 to allow DfT time to conduct a review of the franchising process. During March 2013, the
Secretary of State for Transport The secretary of state for transport, also referred to as the transport secretary, is a Secretary of State (United Kingdom), secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, with overall responsibility for the policies of the Departm ...
announced the franchise would again be extended until 13 September 2014. A further delay saw this extended until 8 November 2014.


Second franchise (2014–2021)

On 9 November 2014, National Express was awarded the new 15-year
Essex Thameside Essex Thameside is a railway contract, and former franchise, for the provision of passenger services on the London, Tilbury and Southend line in east London and south Essex. It was formed on 26 May 1996, following the privatisation of British Rai ...
franchise, having successfully tendered against
Abellio Abellio (also Abelio and Abelionni) was a god worshiped in the Garonne Valley in Gallia Aquitania (now southwest France), known primarily by a number of inscriptions which were discovered in Comminges, in the Pyrenees. He may have been a god ...
,
FirstGroup FirstGroup plc is a British multi-national transport group, based in Aberdeen, Scotland.MTR Corporation MTR Corporation Limited is a majority government-owned public transport operator and property developer in Hong Kong which operates the Mass Transit Railway, the most popular public transport network in Hong Kong. It is listed on the Hong K ...
. The c2c brand was retained for the new operator, NXET Trains Limited, which replaced c2c Rail Limited. Management of Fenchurch Street station transferred from Network Rail to c2c. During December 2015, c2c introduced a new timetable to reflect long-term changes in passenger numbers at stations on the line. Consultation responses to the draft timetable published in October 2014 indicated dissatisfaction with many of the proposed changes. c2c was criticised for putting the interests of "one-stop hoppers" (passengers travelling between Barking and West Ham) above those who travel further on the line.


Trenitalia

In February 2017, National Express sold c2c to
Trenitalia Trenitalia Società per azioni, SpA is the primary train operator of Italy. A subsidiary of Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane, itself owned by the Italian government. It was established in 2000 following a European Union directive on the deregulati ...
. c2c was the only remaining National Express operated UK rail franchise, down from a peak of nine in 2003. The company name was subsequently changed to Trenitalia c2c Limited. On 1 April 2017, c2c introduced a new on-board
Wi-Fi Wi-Fi () is a family of wireless network protocols based on the IEEE 802.11 family of standards, which are commonly used for Wireless LAN, local area networking of devices and Internet access, allowing nearby digital devices to exchange data by ...
service free to all customers. Also, it has an on-board entertainment service called Vista. c2c has partnered with Now TV to provide free television shows available to stream for c2c passengers. During the summer of 2019, c2c ran an hourly weekend limited stop service between Fenchurch Street and Shoeburyness. The new service coincided with the weekend extension of Fenchurch Street to Southend Central via Ockendon trains to Shoeburyness, providing a seven trains per hour service between Shoeburyness and Benfleet on Saturdays and a five trains per hour service on Sundays. In September 2019, it was announced that c2c had invested more than £10million into a new self service ticketing system with a user-friendly self-service interface developed with Voodoo Park. The interface is completely web-based and can be remotely repaired. The ticket machines installed in 2019 are from the Italian company Sigma Spa. On 23 September 2019, c2c announced that it would be removing the first-to-last staffing at some stations and reducing ticket-office opening hours. On 31 March 2020, Trenitalia and the Department for Transport entered into an emergency measures agreement to vary the terms of the franchise agreement during the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
. This took effect on 1 April 2020 and lasted until 20 September 2020. On 19 September 2020, Trenitalia and the Department for Transport entered into an emergency recovery measures agreement. This was a precursor to the replacement of the franchise agreement with a rail contract.


Rail contract (2021–2025)

On 19 July 2021, the franchise agreement was replaced with a rail contract, which was due to expire on 23 July 2023. During May 2022, the timetable was amended to accommodate the London Overground extension to , the extension having started running in July 2022 as a spur from the Tilbury loop line east of Barking, sharing infrastructure with c2c services. c2c has been one of several train operators impacted by the 2022–present United Kingdom railway strikes, which was the first national rail strike in the UK for three decades. Its workers are amongst those who are participating in
industrial action Industrial action (British English) or job action (American English) is a temporary show of dissatisfaction by employees—especially a strike or slowdown or working to rule—to protest against bad working conditions or low pay and to increas ...
owing to a dispute over pay and working conditions.


State ownership

In the lead up to the
2024 United Kingdom general election The 2024 United Kingdom general election was held on Thursday, 4 July 2024 to elect all 650 members of the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons. The opposition Labour Party (UK), Labour Party, led by Keir Starmer, won a lan ...
, the Labour Party of
Keir Starmer Sir Keir Rodney Starmer (born 2 September 1962) is a British politician and lawyer who has served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom since 2024 and as Leader of the Labour Party (UK), Leader of the Labour Party since 2020. He previously ...
committed itself to bring the passenger operations of the British rail network back under
state ownership State ownership, also called public ownership or government ownership, is the ownership of an Industry (economics), industry, asset, property, or Business, enterprise by the national government of a country or State (polity), state, or a publi ...
. Following its election in 2024, the government introduced the ''Passenger Railway Services (Public Ownership) Act 2024'' that received the
royal assent Royal assent is the method by which a monarch formally approves an act of the legislature, either directly or through an official acting on the monarch's behalf. In some jurisdictions, royal assent is equivalent to promulgation, while in othe ...
in November 2024. In February 2023, the Department for Transport announced that c2c's contract had been extended to 20 July 2025. In December 2024, it was announced that the
Trenitalia Trenitalia Società per azioni, SpA is the primary train operator of Italy. A subsidiary of Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane, itself owned by the Italian government. It was established in 2000 following a European Union directive on the deregulati ...
operated c2c National Rail Contract would not be renewed when it expired, with DfT Operator to take over on 20 July 2025.


Branding

The name c2c has no specific meaning, but is often thought to represent "city to coast" or "capital to coast", reflecting the nature of the route, or "commitment to customers". The c2c website stated: National Express also referred to the c2c route as City to Coast. c2c used the slogan "way2go", but later used the "Making travel simpler" slogan also used by other National Express companies.


Services


Routes

c2c operates passenger services on the
London, Tilbury and Southend line The London, Tilbury and Southend line, also known as Essex Thameside, is a commuter railway line on the Rail transport in Great Britain, British railway system. It connects Fenchurch Street railway station, Fenchurch Street station, in central ...
from in the
City of London The City of London, also known as ''the City'', is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county and Districts of England, local government district with City status in the United Kingdom, city status in England. It is the Old town, his ...
to in
Essex Essex ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England, and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the ...
, a distance of . The main line operates via Basildon with a loop line via Tilbury and a branch line via Ockendon. c2c trains connect
Central London Central London is the innermost part of London, in England, spanning the City of London and several boroughs. Over time, a number of definitions have been used to define the scope of Central London for statistics, urban planning and local gove ...
with
East London East London is the part of London, England, east of the ancient City of London and north of the River Thames as it begins to widen. East London developed as London Docklands, London's docklands and the primary industrial centre. The expansion of ...
and the northern
Thames Gateway Thames Gateway is a term applied to an area around the Thames Estuary in the context of discourse around regeneration and further urbanisation. The term was first coined by the UK government and applies to an area of land stretching east from ...
area of southern Essex. The main route between Fenchurch Street and Shoeburyness has a fastest timetabled journey of 56 minutes. Although the Class 357 ''Electrostar'' trains are capable of running at , the line's speed limit restricts them to only , To meet a 2014 franchise commitment, most services between Fenchurch Street and Barking have called at all stations during peak times since December 2015. the off-peak Monday–Friday service is as follows:


Use of Liverpool Street

On weekends, c2c operates a limited service to that diverges at Barking, and calls at instead of West Ham, Limehouse and Fenchurch Street. This route can also be utilised during engineering works or disruption. The route uses the Gospel Oak to Barking line and the
Great Eastern Main Line The Great Eastern Main Line (GEML, sometimes referred to as the East Anglia Main Line) is a major railway line on the British railway system which connects Liverpool Street station in central London with destinations in east London and t ...
, with trains passing through , , and stations without stopping.


Future services

, a new station between Dagenham Dock and Rainham, will eventually become part of c2c's Fenchurch Street to Grays via Rainham route when it opens.


Ticketing

c2c has issued tickets for travel to National Rail ITSO smartcards branded 'c2c Smart' since 3 November 2014. Through historic agreement there is interavailable ticketing with the
London Underground The London Underground (also known simply as the Underground or as the Tube) is a rapid transit system serving Greater London and some parts of the adjacent home counties of Buckinghamshire, Essex and Hertfordshire in England. The Undergro ...
between Fenchurch Street/Tower Hill and Upminster, with the fares set by
Transport for London Transport for London (TfL) is a local government body responsible for most of the transport network in London, United Kingdom. TfL is the successor organization of the London Passenger Transport Board, which was established in 1933, and His ...
. Since January 2004 the pay-as-you-go product on
Oyster card The Oyster card is a Payment#Types_and_methods_of_payment, payment method for public transport in London and some surrounding areas. A standard Oyster card is a blue ISO/IEC 7810, credit-card-sized Stored-value card, stored-value contactless ...
has been available at stations between Fenchurch Street/Liverpool Street and Upminster. It was extended to Dagenham Dock and Rainham in 2008. During January 2010, it was extended to Chafford Hundred, Grays, Ockendon and Purfleet. Pay-as-you-go payment by contactless bank card or
smartphone A smartphone is a mobile phone with advanced computing capabilities. It typically has a touchscreen interface, allowing users to access a wide range of applications and services, such as web browsing, email, and social media, as well as multi ...
is available at all stations between Fenchurch Street/Liverpool Street and Grays. Contactless pay-as-you-go payment was due to be extended to all stations by December 2023. The expansion of contactless pay-as-you-go ticketing was delayed indefinitely because of technical problems. During 2023, security teams employed by c2c and operating in partnership with the
British Transport Police British Transport Police (BTP; ) is a national special police force that polices the railway network of England, Wales and Scotland, which consists of over 10,000 miles of track and 3,000 stations and depots. BTP also polices the London Under ...
conducted a crackdown on
fare evasion Fare evasion or fare dodging is the act of travel without payment on public transit. When considered problematic, it is mitigated by revenue protection officers and ticket barriers, staffed or automatic, are in place to ensure only those with va ...
; the resulting fines generated in excess of £250,000 in under a year. Starting on 3 December 2023, fares were revised with a new weekday evening peak period introduced between 4pm and 7pm, during which off-peak tickets could no longer be used. Super off-peak tickets were withdrawn entirely. From January 2024 c2c started to accept electronic tickets that can be purchased and stored on a mobile phone. This followed a trial during December 2023.


Rolling stock


Slam-door replacement

LTS Rail inherited a fleet of slam-door electric multiple unit , and train sets from
Network SouthEast Network SouthEast (NSE) was one of the three passenger sectors of British Rail created in 1982. NSE mainly operated commuter rail trains within Greater London and inter-urban services in densely populated South East England, although the networ ...
. The original franchise agreement was for 25 sliding door trainsets (consisting of 100 carriages) to be transferred from West Anglia Great Northern (WAGN) and for 44 new trains (consisting of 176 carriages) to be ordered by the company. LTS Rail ordered 44 Class 357 ''Electrostar'' units in 1997, to be leased from Porterbrook. The most elderly Class 302 units were removed from regular service on 4 July 1998, several sets were retained as spares in case of stock shortages. By mid-1997, WAGN had released 18 units. However, both companies were experiencing an unexpected increase in passenger numbers and WAGN was unable to release more vehicles by December 1998. The franchise agreement was renegotiated in November 1998 to replace the entire LTS Rail fleet with new vehicles, allowing for the return of the Class 317s to WAGN and the planned elimination of slam-door stock by March 2002. The first Class 357 train was delivered in 1999. A second batch of 28 Class 357 units was ordered in December 1999, to be leased from
Angel Trains Angel Trains is a British rolling stock company (ROSCO). Together with Eversholt Rail Group and Porterbrook, it is one of the three original ROSCOs. Angel Trains was established in March 1994 as part of the privatisation of British Rail. In No ...
. This satisfied a franchise commitment to increase the fleet by three units. Reliability problems with the new trains led to their withdrawal from service at peak times in October 2000. By way of compensation, two additional units were added to the first order for free by the supplier
Adtranz Adtranz was a multi-national rail transportation equipment manufacturer with facilities concentrated in Europe and the US. The company, legally known as ABB Daimler-Benz Transportation, was created in 1996 as a joint venture between ABB and Daim ...
. During 2003, c2c became the first
train operating company In the railway system of Great Britain, a train operating company (TOC) is a railway undertaking operating passenger trains under the collective National Rail brand. TOCs have existed since the privatisation of the network under the Railways ...
to have replaced its entire fleet with new accessible trains. The last slam-door Class 312 service ran on 29 March 2003.


Class 357

In March 2007, after extensive trials, c2c began fitting
regenerative braking Regenerative braking is an energy recovery mechanism that slows down a moving vehicle or object by converting its kinetic energy or potential energy into a form that can be either used immediately or stored until needed. Typically, regenerativ ...
to its fleet, becoming the first UK train operator to do so. On 3 June 2007, the eve of World Environment Day, one train was given an all-over green vinyl sticker livery with the slogan "All c2c trains are greener now – find out more at – www.c2c-online.co.uk – c2c – the greener way to go" to highlight the completion of the scheme, which the company says has enabled energy savings of up to 20%. With a few Class 357s being out of service at the same time, from late 2006 two s were hired from Silverlink for three months for weekday peak-hour use between Fenchurch Street and Laindon, and Pitsea via Rainham, to cover for the unavailable units. In June 2009, Bombardier began repainting the Class 357 units. The vinyl wraps carrying the original purplish blue and
magenta Magenta () is a purple-red color. On color wheels of the RGB color model, RGB (additive) and subtractive color, CMY (subtractive) color models, it is located precisely midway between blue and red. It is one of the four colors of ink used in colo ...
c2c livery were removed and the units reliveried in white with dark blue doors. The last blue liveried train ran on 5 March 2011.


Overcrowding relief

As part of the 2014 franchise, c2c committed to leasing new trains to cope with rising passenger numbers, which were boosted especially by the opening of the
Docklands Light Railway The Docklands Light Railway (DLR) is an automated medium-capacity rail system, light metro system primarily serving the redeveloped London Docklands, Docklands area of London and providing a direct connection between London's two major financi ...
station at in 2011 and the rise of Canary Wharf as a financial centre. The Class 357 trains had been introduced with high density 3+2 seating, with a total capacity of 406, consisting of 282 seats and space for 124 standing. In late 2015 c2c adapted 20% of its carriages into a "Metro" configuration, involving removing seats around doorways and converting trains to a 2+2 layout. The Metro configuration's capacity is 556, consisting of 222 seats, and space for 334 standing. This addressed the issue of the high volumes of passengers using c2c to travel between stations on the
District Line The District line is a London Underground line running from in the east and Edgware Road tube station (Circle, District and Hammersmith & City lines), Edgware Road in the west to in west London, where it splits into multiple branches. One br ...
; between , , and c2c trains stop less frequently and they travel further from the city. During early 2016, c2c announced that it would lease additional trains to relieve overcrowding. Later that year, the company commenced a lease on six Class 387s for three years from Porterbrook to increase capacity on the busiest services. The first Class 387 set entered service in November 2016.


Class 720

In December 2017, c2c announced it had reached an agreement with rolling stock financiers Porterbrook and manufacturer Bombardier to procure 60 Class 720 vehicles of the latter's Aventra family, formed into six 10-car units (later changed to twelve 5-car units), with the intention that they would enter service in 2021. The first train was delivered to c2c on 19 April 2022, and the fleet entered service on 27 September 2023. These replaced the six four-car units, which c2c was leasing.


Class 357 Repaint

On 15 May 2024 it was announced that Alstom would be painting and repairing c2c's s over a 24-month period at their depot in Ilford. The work includes the repair of huck bolt covers, body end corrosion, side vent corrosion, sole bar corrosion, roof corrosion and the repaint of all the units improving the longevity of the fleet .The first refreshed unit, 357207, entered into service on 10 December 2024. The programme is expected to take 24 months to complete with each unit taking 20 days to complete.


Current fleet

The c2c fleet is maintained at East Ham Depot and Shoeburyness Depot.


Former fleet

Below is a table of former units operated by c2c.


Performance

In the year to July 2024, c2c trains carried 35.8 million passengers (an increase of 5.9% from the previous year), who travelled 835 million passenger kilometres (+10.6%). Over the course of the year, c2c planned over 106,000 (+3.8%) services, of which 79.7% (+2.4%) ran on time. c2c has 638.3
full-time equivalent Full-time equivalent (FTE), or whole time equivalent (WTE), is a unit of measurement that indicates the workload of an employed person (or student) in a way that makes workloads or class loads comparable across various contexts. FTE is often use ...
employees (-0.2%).


References


External links

* {{Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane Mobico Group Railway companies established in 1996 Railway operators in London Train operating companies in the United Kingdom Transport in Thurrock 1996 establishments in England