C2c
Encyclopedia
c2c is a British train operating company that is part of the National Express Group
. It provides passenger rail services on the London, Tilbury and Southend Railway
line from Fenchurch Street railway station
in the City of London
to east London and the entire length of the northern Thames Gateway
area of southern Essex
including Basildon
, Chafford Hundred
(for Lakeside Shopping Centre
), Tilbury
and Southend-on-Sea
. This route was called the Thameside franchise, and was renamed the Essex Thameside franchise
in 2009. The main route from Fenchurch Street to Shoeburyness via Basildon is 39.5 miles (63.57 km) and the fastest timetabled journey time from Fenchurch Street to Shoeburyness is 58 minutes giving an average speed of 40.7 mph, although the route can be done in 47 minutes, giving an average speed of 50 mph.http://www.railperf.org.uk/fast/C2C.pdf The line currently has a maximum speed limit of 75 mph (120.7 km/h), although the Class 357 Electrostar
electric multiple unit
trains which run on it are capable of a maximum speed of 100 mph (160.9 km/h). Before July 2002, it traded under the name LTS Rail. The current managing director is Julian Drury.
18.4 million, and will expire on 31 May 2011. But the franchise was extended by the government till 26 May 2013 so c2c could operate during the 2012 Olympics. It was initially awarded to Prism Rail
in December 1995 and was marketed as LTS Rail. It was due to begin operation in February 1996 but "the LTS Rail franchise was not completed because of allegations of ticketing and settlement irregularities. It was re-tendered in March 1996 and awarded in May 1996 to Prism Rail." Prism Rail was purchased by National Express in September 2000 and the franchise was rebranded as c2c. The name could be conceived to represent city to coast or "capital to coast", reflecting the nature of the route, or "commitment to customers".
The c2c website states:
c2c used the slogan "way2go", but now uses the "Making travel simpler" slogan also used by the other companies in the National Express Group. All stations on the route are managed by c2c except Fenchurch Street, which is managed by Network Rail
, and West Ham, which is managed by London Underground
. Liverpool Street and Stratford stations are two further non-c2c stations called at by some trains during late evenings and during engineering diversions.
The typical off-peak service consists of eight trains per hour (tph) arriving and departing Fenchurch Street:
On Sundays, the non-stopping service does not run and the Grays via Rainham service is reduced to a 1 tph shuttle from Barking.
As c2c is mainly a London commuter railway and the average c2c journey is between 40 to 70 minutes, c2c does not offer first-class seating: all of its Class 357 units are fitted with standard high-density 3+2 Chapman seating to meet demand at peak times when the line is very busy.
The London Underground
District Line also serves Upminster station
, Barking station
, West Ham station
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 service and the District Line providing the stopping service. Cross-platform interchange
is provided at Barking between the two.
The number of peak services calling at West Ham is restricted by signalling system constraints. A new peak timetable introduced on 11 December 2006, with the stated aim of improving services for the Thurrock
and London Riverside
sections of the Thames Gateway
, was withdrawn on 8 January 2007 after a successful campaign by passengers as a result of delays and cancellations that affected other lines on the network.
In January 2005, it was announced that an on-train television
service would be tried out on the fleet. 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 has indicated it will recommence the roll-out should a suitable partner be found for the scheme. Although only one unit had the television service installed and subsequently decommissioned, Wi-Fi
has now been installed and tested and will soon be available for public use.
In June 2006, it was announced that portable X-ray
machines and metal detectors would be randomly placed at c2c stations and carried by officers on trains during summer 2006 to catch people carrying weapons in a joint operation with Essex Police
and British Transport Police
, following trials at London Underground
stations.
In October 2007, c2c announced that the first coach of each unit would be made a "Quiet Zone", where loud talking and use of mobile phones and personal audio players is prohibited. The "Quiet Zone" was introduced in early 2008 and is indicated by magenta vinyl stickers on the doors of the coach.
is used as an alternative London terminus when necessary engineering work restricts access to Fenchurch Street. Regular late evening c2c services have previously operated from there. , a limited number of weekday services in the early morning and late evening operate between Grays, Barking and Liverpool Street, calling at Stratford
.
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 two years running.
c2c was previously criticised by Transport for London
over an incident on 2 April 2007. A power failure, caused by a piece of rubbish 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 line. As a safety precaution, London Underground
cut the power to the adjacent District Line
, causing serious delays to their service too.
Performance at c2c has remained exceptionally high: the latest official ORR statistics released for the final quarter of the 2010/2011 financial year rate show a PPM of 95.8% for the quarter, and MAA of 94.8% for the 12 months up to the end of March 2011.
franchise, the Department for Transport
indicated that it would be "unacceptable" for National Express
to continue to operate the c2c franchise. Instead of terminating the contract immediately, it would be allowed to run until 31 May 2011 and would be put out to tender, with National Express not allowed to rebid. National Express Group indicated it would like to continue operating the franchise. In 2010, after a change in government, the policy was reversed, and an extension to the current franchise was put under consideration.
On 23 December 2010 it was announced that the franchise would be extended until 26 May 2013.
Tickets for trains between Fenchurch Street and Upminster are inter-available with London Underground
services between Tower Hill and Upminster; and are sold at standard Transport for London
rates. All other journeys are priced by c2c. Under this arrangement Oyster card
pay-as-you-go
has been available since 2004 from Fenchurch Street/Liverpool Street and Upminster. It was extended to Rainham in 2008 and was extended beyond Travelcard Zone 6
to Grays in January 2010. Oyster cards may be purchased or topped up at certain c2c stations which are not also London Underground stations, including Chafford Hundred, Grays, and Purfleet. c2c ticket machines in the Oyster PAYG area have been upgraded so they can now read Oyster cards.
In 2003, c2c became the first train operating company
to replace its entire fleet with new trains. In March 2007, after extensive trials, c2c began fitting regenerative braking
systems to all of its Class 357 fleet, becoming the first UK train operator to do so. On 3 June 2007, the eve of World Environment Day, Class 357 Electrostar
unit 357 010 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 has enabled energy savings of up to 20%. On 2 October 2007, c2c announced that it had switched to using renewably generated electricity sources in all of its stations, maintenance facilities and offices in a contract with E.ON
UK, which was the largest of its kind in the transport sector. 357 010 lost its green livery in March 2011 as part of the relivery project.
Units 357 002, 357 028, 357 043, and 357 045 being out of service at the same time for various reasons from late 2006 led to two spare Class 321/4
units, 321 408 and 321 428, being loaned from sister National Express Group train operator Silverlink
for 3 months for use at Monday-Friday peak hours on diagrams between Fenchurch Street-Pitsea via Rainham and Fenchurch Street-Laindon to cover for the unavailable Class 357 units. The Class 321 units were used with guards as they are incompatible with the positioning of c2c's face-on Driver Only Operation (D.O.O.) mirrors. http://www.railwayscene.co.uk/showthread.php?thread=2096 http://www.railwayscene.co.uk/showthread.php?thread=2661
In June 2009, c2c and Bombardier began a repainting programme on the Class 357 units. The vinyl wraps carrying the original purplish blue
and magenta
c2c livery were removed and the units reliveried into their original white colour, but with dark blue doors, and branded with both "national express" and "c2c" logos in lower-case. The "Quiet Zone" stickers are now white with sky-blue lettering instead of magenta with white lettering. c2c ran a special "Farewell to the Blue Train" railtour service to commemorate the last day of running in passenger service of the blue livery on Saturday 5 March 2011.http://www.c2c-online.co.uk/bluetrain/
National Express Group
National Express Group plc is a British transport group headquartered in Birmingham that operates bus, coach, rail and tram services in the UK, the US and Canada, Spain, Portugal and Morocco and long-distance coach routes across Europe...
. It provides passenger rail services on the London, Tilbury and Southend Railway
London, Tilbury and Southend Railway
The London, Tilbury and Southend Railway is an English railway line linking Fenchurch Street railway station in the City of London with northeast London and the entire length of the northern Thames Gateway area of southern Essex. It is currently known as the Essex Thameside Route by Network Rail...
line from Fenchurch Street railway station
Fenchurch Street railway station
Fenchurch Street railway station, also known as London Fenchurch Street, is a central London railway terminus in the south eastern corner of the City of London, England. The station is one of the smallest terminals in London in terms of platforms and one of the most intensively operated...
in the City of London
City of London
The City of London is a small area within Greater London, England. It is the historic core of London around which the modern conurbation grew and has held city status since time immemorial. The City’s boundaries have remained almost unchanged since the Middle Ages, and it is now only a tiny part of...
to east London and the entire length of the northern Thames Gateway
Thames Gateway
The Thames Gateway is an area of land stretching east from inner east London on both sides of the River Thames and the Thames Estuary. The area, which includes much brownfield land, has been designated a national priority for urban regeneration, taking advantage of the development opportunities...
area of southern Essex
Essex
Essex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England, and one of the home counties. It is located to the northeast of Greater London. It borders with Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent to the South and London to the south west...
including Basildon
Basildon
Basildon is a town located in the Basildon District of the county of Essex, England.It lies east of Central London and south of the county town of Chelmsford...
, Chafford Hundred
Chafford Hundred
Chafford Hundred is a recent UK housing brownfield just outside Greater London between Grays and South Ockendon in the Borough of Thurrock. It is immediately adjacent to Lakeside Shopping Centre and West Thurrock...
(for Lakeside Shopping Centre
Lakeside Shopping Centre
The Lakeside Shopping Centre is a large out-of-town shopping centre located in West Thurrock, in the borough of Thurrock, Essex just beyond the eastern boundary of Greater London...
), Tilbury
Tilbury
Tilbury is a town in the borough of Thurrock, Essex, England. As a settlement it is of relatively recent existence, although it has important historical connections, being the location of a 16th century fort and an ancient cross-river ferry...
and Southend-on-Sea
Southend-on-Sea
Southend-on-Sea is a unitary authority area, town, and seaside resort in Essex, England. The district has Borough status, and comprises the towns of Chalkwell, Eastwood, Leigh-on-Sea, North Shoebury, Prittlewell, Shoeburyness, Southchurch, Thorpe Bay, and Westcliff-on-Sea. The district is situated...
. This route was called the Thameside franchise, and was renamed the Essex Thameside franchise
Rail franchising in Great Britain
Rail franchising in Great Britain was created by the Railways Act 1993. Passenger services are franchised, for a limited period, to train operating companies...
in 2009. The main route from Fenchurch Street to Shoeburyness via Basildon is 39.5 miles (63.57 km) and the fastest timetabled journey time from Fenchurch Street to Shoeburyness is 58 minutes giving an average speed of 40.7 mph, although the route can be done in 47 minutes, giving an average speed of 50 mph.http://www.railperf.org.uk/fast/C2C.pdf The line currently has a maximum speed limit of 75 mph (120.7 km/h), although the Class 357 Electrostar
British Rail Class 357
The British Rail Class 357 "Electrostar" alternating current electric multiple units were built by ADtranz at their Litchurch Lane Works in Derby, England, in two batches from 1999 to 2002 at a cost of approximately £292 million...
electric multiple unit
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 of the carriages...
trains which run on it are capable of a maximum speed of 100 mph (160.9 km/h). Before July 2002, it traded under the name LTS Rail. The current managing director is Julian Drury.
Management and branding
c2c's franchise was one of the first three in the UK to be awarded, beginning on 26 May 1996 for a term of 15 years at an average annual subsidy of £Pound sterling
The pound sterling , commonly called the pound, is the official currency of the United Kingdom, its Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, British Antarctic Territory and Tristan da Cunha. It is subdivided into 100 pence...
18.4 million, and will expire on 31 May 2011. But the franchise was extended by the government till 26 May 2013 so c2c could operate during the 2012 Olympics. It was initially awarded to Prism Rail
Prism Rail
Prism Rail was established in 1995 to acquire passenger rail franchises being made available under the Government's rail privatisation programme. It bid for 17 franchises, was shortlisted for 12 and was ultimately awarded 4, which were LTS Rail, Wales and West, WAGN and Valley Lines Trains.Of the...
in December 1995 and was marketed as LTS Rail. It was due to begin operation in February 1996 but "the LTS Rail franchise was not completed because of allegations of ticketing and settlement irregularities. It was re-tendered in March 1996 and awarded in May 1996 to Prism Rail." Prism Rail was purchased by National Express in September 2000 and the franchise was rebranded as c2c. The name could be conceived to represent city to coast or "capital to coast", reflecting the nature of the route, or "commitment to customers".
The c2c website states:
c2c used the slogan "way2go", but now uses the "Making travel simpler" slogan also used by the other companies in the National Express Group. All stations on the route are managed by c2c except Fenchurch Street, which is managed by Network Rail
Network Rail
Network Rail is the government-created owner and operator of most of the rail infrastructure in Great Britain .; it is not responsible for railway infrastructure in Northern Ireland...
, and West Ham, which is managed by London Underground
London Underground
The London Underground is a rapid transit system serving a large part of Greater London and some parts of Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire and Essex in England...
. Liverpool Street and Stratford stations are two further non-c2c stations called at by some trains during late evenings and during engineering diversions.
Services
The typical off-peak service consists of eight trains per hour (tph) arriving and departing Fenchurch Street:
- 4 tph to Shoeburyness via Basildon
- of which 2 tph do not stop at Limehouse, West Horndon or Pitsea
- 2 tph to Grays via Rainham
- 2 tph to Southend Central via Ockendon
On Sundays, the non-stopping service does not run and the Grays via Rainham service is reduced to a 1 tph shuttle from Barking.
As c2c is mainly a London commuter railway and the average c2c journey is between 40 to 70 minutes, c2c does not offer first-class seating: all of its Class 357 units are fitted with standard high-density 3+2 Chapman seating to meet demand at peak times when the line is very busy.
The London Underground
London Underground
The London Underground is a rapid transit system serving a large part of Greater London and some parts of Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire and Essex in England...
District Line also serves Upminster station
Upminster station
Upminster station is a London Underground and National Rail station located in Upminster in the London Borough of Havering and in London fare zone 6. Located east-northeast of Charing Cross, it is the easternmost station on the London Underground network and the eastern terminus of the District...
, Barking station
Barking station
Barking station is a railway station served by National Rail and London Underground services. It is located in Barking in the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham in east London, England. The station is in Zone 4, has nine platforms, and is managed by c2c. It has been proposed that ownership of...
, West Ham station
West Ham station
West Ham station is an interchange station located on the corner of Manor Road and Memorial Avenue in the West Ham neighbourhood of the London Borough of Newham in east London, England. The station is served by London Underground, National Rail and Docklands Light Railway services...
and Tower Hill
Tower Hill tube station
Tower Hill is a London Underground station at Tower Hill in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets.The station is in Travelcard Zone 1 and near the Tower of London...
(for Fenchurch Street). Tickets are fully interchangeable between the two operators. The District Line
District Line
The District line is a line of the London Underground, coloured green on the Tube map. It is a "sub-surface" line, running through the central area in shallow cut-and-cover tunnels. It is the busiest of the sub-surface lines. Out of the 60 stations served, 25 are underground...
runs alongside the c2c tracks from Bow
Bow, London
Bow is an area of London, England, United Kingdom in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It is a built-up, mostly residential district located east of Charing Cross, and is a part of the East End.-Bridges at Bowe:...
to Upminster, with c2c services providing the fast service and the District Line providing the stopping service. Cross-platform interchange
Cross-platform interchange
A cross-platform interchange is a type of interchange between different lines in a metro system. The term originates with the London Underground; such layouts exist in other networks but are not commonly so named...
is provided at Barking between the two.
The number of peak services calling at West Ham is restricted by signalling system constraints. A new peak timetable introduced on 11 December 2006, with the stated aim of improving services for the Thurrock
Thurrock
Thurrock is a unitary authority with borough status in the English ceremonial county of Essex. It is part of the London commuter belt and an area of regeneration within the Thames Gateway redevelopment zone. The local authority is Thurrock Council....
and London Riverside
London Riverside
The London Riverside is a new development area in north east London, England and part of the larger Thames Gateway redevelopment zone. The London Riverside area forms part of the Green Enterprise District, a project to create a low-carbon economy region in Greater London.It is one of two zones...
sections of the Thames Gateway
Thames Gateway
The Thames Gateway is an area of land stretching east from inner east London on both sides of the River Thames and the Thames Estuary. The area, which includes much brownfield land, has been designated a national priority for urban regeneration, taking advantage of the development opportunities...
, was withdrawn on 8 January 2007 after a successful campaign by passengers as a result of delays and cancellations that affected other lines on the network.
In January 2005, it was announced that an on-train television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
service would be tried out on the fleet. 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 has indicated it will recommence the roll-out should a suitable partner be found for the scheme. Although only one unit had the television service installed and subsequently decommissioned, Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi or Wifi, is a mechanism for wirelessly connecting electronic devices. A device enabled with Wi-Fi, such as a personal computer, video game console, smartphone, or digital audio player, can connect to the Internet via a wireless network access point. An access point has a range of about 20...
has now been installed and tested and will soon be available for public use.
In June 2006, it was announced that portable X-ray
X-ray
X-radiation is a form of electromagnetic radiation. X-rays have a wavelength in the range of 0.01 to 10 nanometers, corresponding to frequencies in the range 30 petahertz to 30 exahertz and energies in the range 120 eV to 120 keV. They are shorter in wavelength than UV rays and longer than gamma...
machines and metal detectors would be randomly placed at c2c stations and carried by officers on trains during summer 2006 to catch people carrying weapons in a joint operation with Essex Police
Essex Police
Essex Police is a territorial police force responsible for policing the county of Essex in the east of England.It is one of the largest non-metropolitan police forces in the United Kingdom, employing approximately 3,600 police officers and operating across an area of over and with a population of...
and British Transport Police
British Transport Police
The British Transport Police is a special police force that polices those railways and light-rail systems in Great Britain for which it has entered into an agreement to provide such services...
, following trials at London Underground
London Underground
The London Underground is a rapid transit system serving a large part of Greater London and some parts of Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire and Essex in England...
stations.
In October 2007, c2c announced that the first coach of each unit would be made a "Quiet Zone", where loud talking and use of mobile phones and personal audio players is prohibited. The "Quiet Zone" was introduced in early 2008 and is indicated by magenta vinyl stickers on the doors of the coach.
London terminus
Liverpool Street stationLiverpool Street station
Liverpool Street railway station, also known as London Liverpool Street or simply Liverpool Street, is both a central London railway terminus and a connected London Underground station in the north-eastern corner of the City of London, England...
is used as an alternative London terminus when necessary engineering work restricts access to Fenchurch Street. Regular late evening c2c services have previously operated from there. , a limited number of weekday services in the early morning and late evening operate between Grays, Barking and Liverpool Street, calling at Stratford
Stratford station
Stratford station is a large multilevel railway station in Stratford, east London. The station is served by the National Rail services National Express East Anglia, London Overground and c2c, by London Underground's Central and Jubilee lines, and by the Docklands Light Railway . Stratford is in...
.
The Last Blue Train Railtour
At 0922 on Saturday 5 March 2011, operated a rail tour from Fenchurch Street Station formed of units 327028 (white) and 357227 (blue), which took in all of the c2c network in one day. The trip enabled rail enthusiasts and train spotters to travel on the final units carrying the blue c2c livery before being repainted and also included moves in to sidings which were not normally available to members of the public.Performance
For August 2005, c2c was named the most punctual rail service in Britain, with 95.3% punctuality for that month. At the end of the 2008-09 financial year, c2c was once again named the most punctual railway service, with 95.3% annual average of services running on time. In the four weeks ended 21 August 2010, 98.8% of all c2c services arrived within 4 minutes 59 seconds. The previous UK record was 98.0%, incidentally also set by c2c.In 2005, c2c was awarded the Golden Spanner Award at the Annual National Rail Awards. This was presented to its East Ham
East Ham
East Ham is a suburban district of London, England, and part of the London Borough of Newham. It is a built-up district located 8 miles east-northeast of Charing Cross...
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 two years running.
c2c was previously criticised by Transport for London
Transport for London
Transport for London is the local government body responsible for most aspects of the transport system in Greater London in England. Its role is to implement the transport strategy and to manage transport services across London...
over an incident on 2 April 2007. A power failure, caused by a piece of rubbish 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 line. As a safety precaution, London Underground
London Underground
The London Underground is a rapid transit system serving a large part of Greater London and some parts of Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire and Essex in England...
cut the power to the adjacent District Line
District Line
The District line is a line of the London Underground, coloured green on the Tube map. It is a "sub-surface" line, running through the central area in shallow cut-and-cover tunnels. It is the busiest of the sub-surface lines. Out of the 60 stations served, 25 are underground...
, causing serious delays to their service too.
Performance at c2c has remained exceptionally high: the latest official ORR statistics released for the final quarter of the 2010/2011 financial year rate show a PPM of 95.8% for the quarter, and MAA of 94.8% for the 12 months up to the end of March 2011.
2011 refranchising
Following problems with the East CoastNational Express East Coast
National Express East Coast was a train operating company in the United Kingdom, running high speed passenger services on the East Coast Main Line between London and Scotland, as part of the East Coast passenger franchise...
franchise, the Department for Transport
Department for Transport
In the United Kingdom, the Department for Transport is the government department responsible for the English transport network and a limited number of transport matters in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland which are not devolved...
indicated that it would be "unacceptable" for National Express
National Express Group
National Express Group plc is a British transport group headquartered in Birmingham that operates bus, coach, rail and tram services in the UK, the US and Canada, Spain, Portugal and Morocco and long-distance coach routes across Europe...
to continue to operate the c2c franchise. Instead of terminating the contract immediately, it would be allowed to run until 31 May 2011 and would be put out to tender, with National Express not allowed to rebid. National Express Group indicated it would like to continue operating the franchise. In 2010, after a change in government, the policy was reversed, and an extension to the current franchise was put under consideration.
On 23 December 2010 it was announced that the franchise would be extended until 26 May 2013.
Ticketing
London Underground
The London Underground is a rapid transit system serving a large part of Greater London and some parts of Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire and Essex in England...
services between Tower Hill and Upminster; and are sold at standard Transport for London
Transport for London
Transport for London is the local government body responsible for most aspects of the transport system in Greater London in England. Its role is to implement the transport strategy and to manage transport services across London...
rates. All other journeys are priced by c2c. Under this arrangement Oyster card
Oyster card
The Oyster card is a form of electronic ticketing used on public transport services within the Greater London area of the United Kingdom. It is promoted by Transport for London and is valid on a number of different travel systems across London including London Underground, buses, the Docklands...
pay-as-you-go
Oyster card (pay as you go) on National Rail
The acceptance of Oyster Card on National Rail in London, England had been limited to a restricted number of National Rail services since the introduction of the stored-value product on London Underground in January 2004...
has been available since 2004 from Fenchurch Street/Liverpool Street and Upminster. It was extended to Rainham in 2008 and was extended beyond Travelcard Zone 6
Travelcard Zone 6
Fare zone 6 is an outer zone of Transport for London's zonal fare system used for calculating the price of tickets for travel on the London Underground, London Overground, Docklands Light Railway and, since 2007, on National Rail services. The zone was created in January 1991; from May 1983 it had...
to Grays in January 2010. Oyster cards may be purchased or topped up at certain c2c stations which are not also London Underground stations, including Chafford Hundred, Grays, and Purfleet. c2c ticket machines in the Oyster PAYG area have been upgraded so they can now read Oyster cards.
Rolling stock
| Class | Image | Type | Top speed | Number | Routes operated | Built | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| mph | km/h | ||||||
| Class 357 Electrostar British Rail Class 357 The British Rail Class 357 "Electrostar" alternating current electric multiple units were built by ADtranz at their Litchurch Lane Works in Derby, England, in two batches from 1999 to 2002 at a cost of approximately £292 million... |
electric multiple unit 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 of the carriages... |
100 | 160 | 74 | London, Tilbury and Southend Railway London, Tilbury and Southend Railway The London, Tilbury and Southend Railway is an English railway line linking Fenchurch Street railway station in the City of London with northeast London and the entire length of the northern Thames Gateway area of southern Essex. It is currently known as the Essex Thameside Route by Network Rail... |
1999–2002 | |
In 2003, c2c became the first train operating company
Train operating company
The term train operating company is used in the United Kingdom to describe the various businesses operating passenger trains on the railway system of Great Britain under the collective National Rail brand...
to replace its entire fleet with new trains. In March 2007, after extensive trials, c2c began fitting regenerative braking
Regenerative brake
A regenerative brake is an energy recovery mechanism which slows a vehicle or object down by converting its kinetic energy into another form, which can be either used immediately or stored until needed...
systems to all of its Class 357 fleet, becoming the first UK train operator to do so. On 3 June 2007, the eve of World Environment Day, Class 357 Electrostar
British Rail Class 357
The British Rail Class 357 "Electrostar" alternating current electric multiple units were built by ADtranz at their Litchurch Lane Works in Derby, England, in two batches from 1999 to 2002 at a cost of approximately £292 million...
unit 357 010 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 has enabled energy savings of up to 20%. On 2 October 2007, c2c announced that it had switched to using renewably generated electricity sources in all of its stations, maintenance facilities and offices in a contract with E.ON
E.ON
E.ON AG, marketed with an interpunct as E•ON, is the holding company of the world's largest investor-owned energy service provider based in Düsseldorf, Germany. The name comes from the Greek word aeon which means eternity....
UK, which was the largest of its kind in the transport sector. 357 010 lost its green livery in March 2011 as part of the relivery project.
Units 357 002, 357 028, 357 043, and 357 045 being out of service at the same time for various reasons from late 2006 led to two spare Class 321/4
British Rail Class 321
The British Rail Class 321 alternating current electric multiple units were built by BREL York in three batches from 1988-91. The design was successful and led to the development of the similar Class 320 and Class 322 units for use by Strathclyde PTE and Stansted Express respectively...
units, 321 408 and 321 428, being loaned from sister National Express Group train operator Silverlink
Silverlink
Silverlink Train Services Ltd was a train operating company in the United Kingdom. It operated routes in North London and from London to Northampton...
for 3 months for use at Monday-Friday peak hours on diagrams between Fenchurch Street-Pitsea via Rainham and Fenchurch Street-Laindon to cover for the unavailable Class 357 units. The Class 321 units were used with guards as they are incompatible with the positioning of c2c's face-on Driver Only Operation (D.O.O.) mirrors. http://www.railwayscene.co.uk/showthread.php?thread=2096 http://www.railwayscene.co.uk/showthread.php?thread=2661
In June 2009, c2c and Bombardier began a repainting programme on the Class 357 units. The vinyl wraps carrying the original purplish blue
Blue
Blue is a colour, the perception of which is evoked by light having a spectrum dominated by energy with a wavelength of roughly 440–490 nm. It is considered one of the additive primary colours. On the HSV Colour Wheel, the complement of blue is yellow; that is, a colour corresponding to an equal...
and magenta
Magenta
Magenta is a color evoked by light stronger in blue and red wavelengths than in yellowish-green wavelengths . In light experiments, magenta can be produced by removing the lime-green wavelengths from white light...
c2c livery were removed and the units reliveried into their original white colour, but with dark blue doors, and branded with both "national express" and "c2c" logos in lower-case. The "Quiet Zone" stickers are now white with sky-blue lettering instead of magenta with white lettering. c2c ran a special "Farewell to the Blue Train" railtour service to commemorate the last day of running in passenger service of the blue livery on Saturday 5 March 2011.http://www.c2c-online.co.uk/bluetrain/
External links
- Official Web site
- Unofficial c2c user site
- Thurrock Rail Users Group - Campaign group for Thurrock c2c rail users