Essex Thameside is a railway franchise for the provision of 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 British railway system. It connects Fenchurch Street station, in central London, with destinations in east London and Essex, including , , ...

in east London and south

Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and Grea ...

. It was formed on 26 May 1996, following the

privatisation of British Rail The privatisation of British Rail was the process by which ownership and operation of the railways of Great Britain passed from government control into private hands. Begun in 1994, it had been completed by 1997. The deregulation of the indust ...

and the franchise was originally called London, Tilbury and Southend. The only train operating company on the line to date has been

c2c Trenitalia c2c Limited,Companies House extract company no 789726 ...

. Following a number of temporary extensions caused by problems with the rail franchising system, c2c was awarded a new 15-year franchise which commenced on 9 November 2014. As part of an abandoned round of re-franchising, bids were received from the shortlisted parties in September 2012 with a winner expected to be announced in January 2013. In October 2012 the government announced the refranchising process would be put on hold, pending a review of the franchising system and the failures of the InterCity West Coast franchising process. In January 2013 the government announced a revised invitation to tender would be issued in summer 2013 with an interim contract for up to two years to be negotiated with

National Express National Express Group is a British multinational public transport company headquartered in Birmingham, England. It operates bus, coach, train and tram services in the United Kingdom, Ireland (National Express operates Eurolines in conjunction ...

. In March 2013 the Secretary of State for Transport announced the franchise would again be extended until 13 September 2014."Railway plan puts new focus on passengers"
Secretary of State for Transport statement 26 March 2013 A further extension of up to eight weeks became necessary following a delay in awarding the franchise. In June 2014 c2c were awarded a new franchise to commence in November 2014.c2c award 15-year Essex Thameside franchise
''BBC News'' 27 June 2014 In February 2017 National Express sold c2c to

Trenitalia Trenitalia is the primary train operator in Italy. A subsidiary of Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane, itself owned by the Italian government, the company was established in 2000 following a European Union directive on the deregulation of rail tra ...

."National Express To Sell C2c Franchise To FS Italiane's Trenitalia For £70 Mln"
''RTT News'' 11 January 2017

History

Initial franchise

The initial London, Tilbury and Southend franchise was offered to private operators in 1996. It was for the provision of all regular services, and management of 25 stations, from

Fenchurch Street Fenchurch Street is a street in London linking Aldgate at its eastern end with Lombard Street and Gracechurch Street in the west. It is a well-known thoroughfare in the City of London financial district and is the site of many corporate office ...

along the

to Shoeburyness, including a loop line via Rainham and a branch line via Ockendon. The franchise was due to commence in February 1996 but because of allegations of ticketing and settlement irregularities with the preferred bidder, Enterprise Rail, was re-tendered. In May 1996 the franchise was awarded to

Prism Rail Prism Rail was formed in July 1995 to bid for rail franchises in the United Kingdom during the privatisation of British Rail. It expressed interest in eighteen franchises, was shortlisted for twelve and was ultimately awarded four, LTS Rail, Va ...

by the

Director of Passenger Rail Franchising The Director of Passenger Rail Franchising was a statutory office in the United Kingdom created in 1993 by the Railways Act 1993 and usually called the Franchising Director. It lasted from 5 November 1993 until 31 January 2001 when it was sup ...

for 15 years with an average annual subsidy of £18.4 million and commenced operating as ''LTS Rail'' on 26 May 1996. In July 2000

was purchased by

. An additional stop under the management of

London Underground The London Underground (also known simply as the Underground or by its nickname the Tube) is a rapid transit system serving Greater London and some parts of the adjacent counties of Buckinghamshire, Essex and Hertfordshire in England. The ...

was opened on the route at

West Ham West Ham is an area in East London, located east of Charing Cross in the west of the modern London Borough of Newham. The area, which lies immediately to the north of the River Thames and east of the River Lea, was originally an ancient ...

in 1999. In 2002 responsibility for managing the main terminal station at Fenchurch Street transferred from the franchisee 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 infrastructure manager of most of the railway network in Great Britain. Network Rail is an "arm's leng ...

and in July that year the train operator was rebranded ''c2c''.

1998 renegotiation

In 1998 the franchise was renegotiated to provide for: * Slam door rolling stock replaced by Class 357s and the fleet to increase by at least twelve vehicles by March 2002 * Increased staffing of stations, real-time passenger information system, and improved security measures including Secure Stations Scheme accreditation * Improved station facilities for disabled people and increased cycle storage * Pedestrian access from Chafford Hundred railway station to

Lakeside Shopping Centre Lakeside Shopping Centre, is a large out-of-town shopping centre located in West Thurrock, Essex just beyond the eastern boundary of Greater London. It was constructed on the site of a former chalk quarry. The first tenants moved into the compl ...

Abandoned 2011 renewal and extension to 2013

The franchise, now renamed Essex Thameside, was due to be renewed on 29 May 2011 and the consultation process began in 2009. However following the 2010 United Kingdom General Election there was a change of government and the franchise renewal process was delayed so it could be reviewed. On 23 December 2010 the Department for Transport granted

an extension until 26 May 2013.

Abandoned 2013 renewal and extension to 2014

On 29 March 2012 the Department for Transport announced that Abellio, First, MTR and

had been shortlisted for the Essex Thameside franchise. On 2 July 2012 the Department for Transport issued the invitation to tender to the shortlisted bidders for a new 15 year franchise. The bids were submitted on 27 September and the successful bidder was expected to be announced in January 2013, but in October 2012 the government halted all ongoing franchise competitions to allow reviews to take place into the franching process, following the failed InterCity West Coast renewal. In January 2013 the government announced a revised invitation to tender would be issued in summer 2013 with an interim contract for up to two years to be negotiated with National Express. In March 2013 the Secretary of State for Transport announced the franchise would again be extended until 13 September 2014.

2014 renewal

In September 2013 a revised invitation to tender was issued, with the winner was due to be announced in May 2014 and the new franchise due to start in September 2014.Essex Thameside franchise 2013: invitation to tender
/ref> After a delay

was announced as the winner with the franchise running from 9 November 2014 until 2029. In February 2017 National Express sold the operating company c2c to

. The minimum train service requirement for the franchise for 07:00-21:59 Monday to Friday and 09:00-19:59 on Saturday is as follows: * 8 trains per hour at Fenchurch Street, West Ham and Barking * 6 trains per hour at Limehouse * 4 trains per hour at Upminster, Grays, Laindon, Basildon, Pitsea, Benfleet, Leigh, Chalkwell, Westcliff, Southend Central * 3 trains per hour at Southend East, Thorpe Bay, Shoeburyness * 2 trains per hour at Dagenham Dock, Rainham, Purfleet, West Horndon, Ockendon, Chafford Hundred The train service requirement is met if a service calls at Stratford and Liverpool Street instead of Fenchurch Street and Limehouse. Responsibility for upkeep of stations is to be transferred from

to the train operator under the new franchise. The new operator will manage all stations on the route except Liverpool Street (to remain under Network Rail operation), Stratford and West Ham (both TfL). Fenchurch Street will transfer from Network Rail management to the new operator. The operator is required to implement ITSO-compliant smartcard tickets within five years. The invitation to tender asked for proposals to deliver the following optional schemes: * Barking station redevelopment * Increased service frequency and extended hours on the route between Grays and London via Dagenham Dock * Start of passenger services at a new Beam Park railway station between Dagenham Dock and Rainham

References

External links

Essex Thameside: Invitation to tender (2011)Essex Thameside: Invitation to tender (2012)Essex Thameside: Invitation to tender (2013)
{{Rail franchises in Great Britain, state=collapsed London, Tilbury and Southend Railway Railway franchises in the United Kingdom