The story
LTS Rail
The London, Tilbury and Southend franchise was created as part of the privatisation of British Rail. In December 1995, the franchise was awarded to a management buyout; 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.
LTS Rail started serving West Ham from 14 May 1999 to coincide with the opening of the Jubilee line 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. 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.
During January 2005, it was announced that an on-train television 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 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 and British Transport Police, following trials at London Underground stations.
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A peak timetable introduced on 11 December 2006, with the aim of improving services for the Thurrock and London Riverside sections of the Thames Gateway, 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 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 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 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 franchise, having successfully tendered against Abellio, FirstGroup and MTR Corporation. 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. 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 service free to all customers. Also, it had an on-board entertainment service called Vista. c2c 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 £10 million 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. 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 Barking Riverside, 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 was one of several train operators impacted by the 2022–2024 United Kingdom railway strikes, which was the first national rail strike in the UK for three decades. Its workers were amongst those participating in industrial action owing to a dispute over pay and working conditions.
State ownership
In the lead up to the 2024 United Kingdom general election, the Labour Party of Keir Starmer committed itself to bring the passenger operations of the British rail network back under state ownership. Following its election in 2024, the government introduced the Passenger Railway Services (Public Ownership) Act 2024 that received the royal assent 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 operated c2c National Rail Contract would not be renewed when it expired, with DfT Operator took over on 20 July 2025.
At the time of its takeover, Trentalia-owned c2c had a customer satisfaction rating of 89%, one of the highest in the country.
From Wikipedia’s article on C2c (1996–2025), shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.3