This coming Sunday (20 July) will see c2c’s rail services come under public ownership, the second transition of its kind to be completed in the United Kingdom following South Western Railway’s move this past May.
The move forms part of Government plans to establish Great British Railways, which aims to bring all rail services across the country under public control by 2027.
Services operating from Fenchurch Street to Shoeburyness will now be run by the Department for Transport Operator (DFTO), bringing 4 in 10 passenger journeys under public ownership.
With the move, c2c joins Northern, TransPennine Express, Southeastern, LNER and South Western Railway in now currently being operated by DFTO.
Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander said:Whether you’re shopping in Lakeside or walking along the beach in Southend-on-Sea, from this Sunday you will be able to get there on a train service run by the public, for the public.
Public ownership is already tackling deep-rooted problems we see on the railway that’s led to spiralling costs, fragmentation and waste. A unified network under Great British Railways will take this further with one railway under one brand with one mission – delivering excellent services for passengers wherever they travel.
The transition to public ownership follows the passing of the Public Ownership Act in November 2024, which enabled passenger services operating under contracts with the Department to be brought into public ownership.
Rob Mullen, Managing Director of c2c, said:At c2c, we are proud of the reliable and high level of service we offer our passengers, consistently being rated as one of the best performing operators in the country.
We now have a golden opportunity to collaborate with the wider family of publicly owned operators, sharing our successes and best practice, but also learning from a wide range of different and diverse operators who have already benefited from public ownership, to drive even more improvements for the people and places we all serve.
A unified and focused railway can deliver more for our communities, including better growth, jobs and houses. If we are thriving as a train operator it helps our communities to thrive. This is the positive feedback loop we are excited to deliver, supported by better and closer collaboration with our partners in the lead up to GBR.
The next service to be brought into public ownership is Greater Anglia, with the move planned to be executed on 12 October 2025.
The Railways Bill, which is planned to be introduced to Parliament later this year, is set to enable the formal establishment of Great British Railways.
In due course, public service operators are set to be held to a number of high performance standards in order to be allowed to operate under the Great British Railways banner, including punctuality, cancellation and passenger experience.
